When Friday creeps up each week, the excitement starts to build and the possibilities of what one can do with a few days of freedom loom large. This encapsulates my experience with nearly every Weekend in my life. I have banker's hours which means I work 8-5 M-F and I wouldn't have it any other way.

My bestie, Rebecca, and I have a standing Friday night friend date. We get together at either her place or mine, cook a meal, eat some hours d'oeuvres, and enjoy some drinks while listening to pleasant background music. It's a fantastic, fun, and economical way to kick off the weekend. By the time the day has wrapped up, I smile knowing that I have two days before me to do what I wish.

This month's weekends have been a blast so I thought I'd share some of it with you. 

The first weekend in March, I went to Rebecca's like usual. Saturday was pretty lazy so I was ready to get out and about. I called up one of my other besties, Libby, to see if she wanted to hit up a few wineries. She was game so we started at Soaring Wings and ended up at Cellar 426 where we got a nice assortment of ciders.

I tried a few and just wasn't that impressed. I am a huge fan of ciders so I felt a bit disappointed.

Still, we had a helluva good time so no complaints!

The next day, Sunday, was house cleaning and food prep day. While not exciting, it is good to get those things done when you have the time.

The second weekend of the month rolled around and Rebecca came to my house. I made cornish hens, roasted green beans, and a simple snack board. Saturday, I made my way up to Libby's. It was nice enough to sit outside so we lingered long after the sun went down and our coats came out. She found some James Arthur Vineyard's Sleigh Bells wine at a local grocery store and bought several bottles. JAV is a local winery that we love and this wine is a seasonal blend that we absolutely adore. She rounded it out with a delicious charcuterie board adorned with a few random pieces of pizza.  LOL

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous and I was ready to get outside. So, my Daughter and I headed to a perennial favorite: Schramm Park SRA. We walked around the fish hatchery ponds and took pictures of the geese on crystal clear water.

We were there to hike, though, so hike we did.

After our hike, we drove to Ashland to meet up with my son at Glacial Till Tasting Room. It's halfway between our homes so is a good place to meet up.

My daughter had a coke while my son enjoyed a glass of wine and I a cider. I've talked about Glacial Till before but for those of you unfamiliar, they started off as a cider maker but later built a winery about 40 minutes south of here.

GT closed an hour after we got there but my kids weren't ready to quit hanging out. Since I homeschool my daughter, I suggested she just head home with him for a few days since his weekend is Mon and Tues. 

It made sense then to meet back up at GT on Tuesday to exchange my daughter again. I grabbed a cider flight while I waited for them to arrive.

The third weekend (last weekend) my daughter and I met up with my Dad in Iowa, about halfway between our respective homes. The three of us took a short hike at Whiterock Conservancy to check out the River View.

There is a dedicated post coming for this day trip so I'm not going to share too much.

After our time at Whiterock, we ended up here. More on that later!

Sunday was breezy and chilly, but gorgeous. My daughter, Rebecca, and I went out to my favorite local hiking spot - Neale Woods. 

From the trail, we spied a ginormous downed tree with turkey tails growing on it, so we hiked down to it.

My daughter peeking out from under it.

Since it was St. Patrick's Day and I had a brand new bottle of Templeton Rye, I invited Rebecca over for snacks and drinks. I put out cheese, crackers, bread, and fruit. My daughter's snacks are in the background.

What a great month it has been so far and there are still two weekends left. This weekend, my daughter and I are Lincoln-bound to spend it with my son. The plan is to start chili in the crockpot, do some hiking, hit up a winery, and then come home happy and exhausted to a warm meal waiting and ready. We'll probably end the day watching a movie and enjoying some drinks (not my daughter, obvs).

 Weekends are for living so I hope you live yours to the fullest.

Cheers!