When someone mentions an IKEA trip, I immediately get my calendar out and see what DAY I’m available to go. Seriously, if you have never been, you must mentally prepare to spend a considerable amount of time there and also come to terms with the fact that you are GOING to leave with a household item that you didn’t intend to buy.

So when my good friend Haley and I began plotting our trip to IKEA we had to make sure it was a day when we could both block out at least five hours. Haley also happens to be mother to Huxley’s baby bestie. We planned our girls’ trip and off we went! No trip to IKEA is complete without Swedish meatballs, which is where we started…obviously—you must stockpile calories before perusing the maze (no really, there are arrows on the ground to tell you which way to go) of trendy furniture that would never look right in your own home. Throughout the maze, a few photo ops presented themselves, along with dreams of a perfectly styled home. Although we didn’t leave IKEA with all the materials to have a perfectly styled home, we did capitalize on those photo ops.

It was a struggle when we finally got to the end of the maze and it was time for me to find and load the shelves that would soon be the “built-ins” my dad helped me make (read: made for me). Picture two ladies, two babies, a stroller, a car seat, a cart, a set of dishes, and a dolly loaded with three very tall, cumbersome shelves all making their way to the checkout line. It was a sight! But neither people nor household items were broken in the endeavor. We would like to thank the Marine Corps (Haley, too, is a Marine Corps spouse) for making us the independent women we are today!

I bet you thought that was the end to the adventure…not so fast! Once Haley dropped me and Hux off at home, we met Caleb, his mom, dad, sister, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew just in time to head back to DC to catch the Nationals playing the Marlins! Caleb is a baseball lover, and we are thankful to be pretty close to an MLB team while at this duty station. It’s our second game this season! Each time we have gone, we gather our Nationals gear and prepare for the traffic. One of my other baseball favorites—hot dogs. I typically am not a fan of hot dogs, unless I’m at a baseball game. They just taste better when you’re in a stadium.

It was a great game with a couple homeruns that resulted in a Nationals win! Although it was a long day, it was one of those days you know you’re making memories with friends and family. We couldn’t have asked for a better one!