Awesome Date Night

 Last year, some friends of ours had a fundraiser for their daughter who has cancer.  It was a huge event and LOTS of items were donated for the silent auction.  Bobby bid on the one night stay at The Westin in Huntsville and won.  We've talked a couple times about setting up a date night, but nothing's really panned out. 

Yesterday, I was trying to figure out what we were going to do for the day.  There was a car show in Priceville that some friends of ours band was playing at so I mentioned that.  The next thing I knew, Bobby said something about the Westin and was on the phone making reservations!  I love me some spontaneity!

I cut Bobby's hair, we set the kiddos up for the night, we packed up and headed out.  We did drive to Tennessee first to pick up some Powerball lottery tickets.  $600 million...I mean COME ON...we wanted in on that action!

Staying somewhere like The Westin is a treat for us.  Let's face it - we're not fancy.  We don't have a ton of money.  We camp.  We're not spending a lot on a place to sleep when we travel.  This was special for us.

Our room

Huge, comfy king size bed!

The bathroom has a separate shower and tub.  Double shower head...it was wonderful!

View of the Monaco from our room

His and Hers drinks :)

Spiced rum and Coke for him.

Malibu and pineapple for her.

We had a fantastic dinner at PF Chang's

.

 and picked up a couple goodies from The Chocolate Crocodile.

We were back in our comfy bed by 9:30.  Live Free or Die Hard was on TV so we watched that before falling asleep.  We have a queen bed at home, and have talked about getting a king for years.  That SO needs to happen.  I LOVED that bed!

It was a wonderful night.  Many brownie points have been added to Bobby's brownie point bank :) 

Walking Trails & a Date

Wednesday was absolutely beautiful, so we decided to get out and enjoy the weather. First, we went to pick up our photo passes for Point Mallard. I've never had a season pass to...anything in my whole life. The kids are so excited. This will be the first swimming season that Cody will be able to swim without having a hole in his neck. He can't wait to get in the water!

Anyway, after that we walked one of the trails out at Point Mallard.

Our Dogwood

Brit and I decided to run back to The Beast from here...about 1/4 mile. I ran the whole way. Part of me is completely jazzed by that...ya know baby steps and all. But the other part of me is like Damn girl, you're out of shape! I used to run the track at Wilson Morgan. Oh well...baby steps.

After running, my throat tightened up and I coughed for the next hour or so. Perhaps asthma? Perhaps my body is now allergic to running? I don't know. My right lung still hurts when I take a deep breath, laugh, or cough but it's getting better. I'll keep an eye on that.


Then we decided to hit the Flint Creek Trail.

I saw a shadow of a bird on the ground and looked up to see a Bald Eagle! It circled above us twice and then it was gone. It was so exciting to see...I didn't get a picture :(

This guy rode on our windshield all the way home. I named him Squishy...and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy :)

Our Dogwood again. I love that tree.

Bobby and I went out on a date that night. We went to Chili's and grabbed a bite to eat, went to the movies and watched Limitless and went to Logan's for a drink. I had a peach daiquiri...YUM

I sure do love that man.

Birthdays, Open Mic Night, Plays, Tunica, Rocks and Seeds

and of course, a sunset. I love sunsets.

On Valentine's Day, the new Maximum Ride book came out. Brit had been waiting for months and was SO excited! She grabbed the book and immediately sat down to read.

The kids spent the night with Cathy on Valentine's Day so Bobby and I could go out. We had a fantastic evening:) I love that man! We're going to try to implenment a monthly date night!

The next day, Bobby and I went up to Tennessee to visit friends and work on their website. We hit some roadblocks along the way, but the site is up and running. We didn't get home until late that night so the kids spent the night with Cathy again. I swear they would move in with her if we would let them:)

That Thursday, we picked Sarah and Tori up and headed to The Daily Brew for Open Mic Night.

See Brit's name?! She got up there and sang 'Love Song' while Sarah played the keyboard for her. She did a GREAT job!

Cody playing Sarah's drum.

We celebrated Dad's birthday with a delicious lunch at Longhorn's.
Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

Sarah and Tori's 16th birthday was on the 19th. 16?!! I need a moment...


The 23rd was quite the busy, fun day! In the morning, we got ready and headed to Hartselle to watch 101 Dalmatians. Chandler and Keilee did a fantastic job! This version of 101 Dalmatians was the same one the kids did for their first play. It was fun for us because we knew all of the lines and songs. Plus we got to see LOTS of friends! Old and new:)

Our kiddos!

I LOVE this picture!!! The kids are doing a super hero pose. Brit looks like Michael Jackson and Cody's doing Mario!

Hmm...now that I'm looking at the picture, my two are the only ones posing:)

Our beautiful, talented girls

We've done several plays with Shane, Karley, Drew, Abbey, and Sophie. It was GREAT to see everyone!!

The 23rd was Heather's and Elisa's birthday!

We met Elisa and Donna for lunch after the play. While we were finishing up, Elisa started talking about Tunica and how much she wanted to go for her birthday. Bobby and I were talking about it the other day, so we both wanted to go. Donna had only been one other time and she really wanted to go. So I called mom and we set up a VERY spur of the moment trip to Mississippi!

Bobby, Elisa and I had offers from the hotels and casinos. We didn't have to pay for our rooms or meals and had over $100 of their money to play on!

Did you know you're not suppose to take pictures out on the floor? I didn't either so I took this one of my first 'big win' before Bobby told me the rules:)

One of the casinos, Sam's Town maybe, is giving away this Mustang on March 26th. Britney has decided that we will win it for her!

We had a great time. Elisa did really well on a penny machine of all things. I had never even played one before. Bobby and I both came home with money in our wallets...not as much as we took there, but that's why they call it gambling.

Thanks Mom for hanging out with the kiddos!

Cody has become VERY interested in rocks again.

He brought all of these into the house yesterday and put them in a box in his room.

Britney has become VERY interested in something else lately, but more on that this afternoon...

Bobby came home from work the other night, and we set to work planting seeds in the starter containers. We planted tomatoes, onions, and several different kinds of peppers.

The next day, Cody and I took out his carnivorous plant kit and made a mess in the kitchen:)
There are over 10 species of plants in this kit! Cody is super excited!


He made a peace sign out of the rocks:) That's my boy!
After those were planted, I planted my indoor herb garden. It's my first try so I hope everything turns out well. Grow seeds GROW!