Ryan left for Orlando with his baseball team the first Saturday of spring break, so the kids and I were left on our own for the week. I had really wanted to do some fun things with them, and God was good in allowing me to feel well enough to get out and about with them even though I started having a recurrence of some of my recent symptoms. Ava and Grandpa sent a birthday surprise card with some money for me to do some special things over the break. So, on Monday -- my 36th birthday -- we had Sonic for breakfast, then went swimming for a while at the gym. After lunch, I surprised the kids by taking them to Skyzone to meet some friends (it's a huge warehouse with trampolines galore!). I accidentally left my camera at home so no pictures, but, needless to say, they had a blast and wore themselves out! That night we had pizza for supper with a French silk pie for my birthday dessert, and we watched the cartoon version of "The Hobbit" since we had just finished the book.
Tuesday was another beautiful day, so we went to the Botanic Gardens and had a picnic lunch and played. Towards the middle of the afternoon it started getting pretty hot, but I was able to get lots of good pictures with the flowers blooming. Wednesday, we headed to Tchula and had a wonderful visit down there! On the way we stopped in Cruger to visit with Jan Jan. She had my uncle Steve and aunt Lee Ann, along with Stefani, who is married to my cousin Steven, and their little girl Leila Rose all over for a birthday lunch, which included a yummy strawberry cake. The weather forecasters had been predicting rain for the middle of the week, but God allowed it to be beautiful and sunny, so the kids spent most of their time outdoors playing with their cousin Morgan Hutton. They visited Cocoa the horse, rode the four-wheeler with Mama and the go-cart with Morgan, played in the hose and the mud, climbed trees, and just enjoyed the break. Nana cooked Mexican chicken the first night, then made a homemade carrot cake for my birthday the second night, and Papa grilled steaks for us that night. I was definitely being spoiled! Will was totally exhausted the second night and went to bed early without even finishing his steak supper, also missing out on the scavenger hunt that Nana fixed up for me for my birthday present. All of us girls enjoyed it though, and Nana had some great clues!
Friday, we came back home to Ryan who had come in earlier that morning. I am trying hard not to be too sad that the break is almost over. God gave the kids and me such a wonderful week together, keeping us all safe and bringing us back home to spend the last weekend together with Ryan. I am grateful for some very special memories!
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| Birthday pizza supper -- Will even remembered the "special plate" for me. |
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My pie complete with candles
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| Very bright heading into the botanic garden |
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| Will kept climbing on things wanting his picture taken : ) |
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| Meredith talked Mama into wading too, so the kids had to take turns taking my picture. |
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| Will's turn with the camera; I have some budding photographers. |
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| And of course one silly picture! |
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| Meredith was enthralled by the beautiful azaleas in Nana's and Papa's backyard |
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| She is also thrilled to finally get to wear her "long skirt" from last year -- a favorite! |
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| Cooling off! |
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| Will's bulldozer he made with some cool magnetic blocks |
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| And his motor boat |
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| Nana laid down on the couch for a bit on Thursday, then Meredith joined her and conked out! |
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| Morgan's go-cart and Dixie tagging along |
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| Leila Rose saying goodbye and giving love |
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| So, so sweet! |
