TGIF!

The kids have not been here very long and we've already done so many things. Who knew Friday nights could be so productive? To start, we patched some holes and cracks in the walls.

Then we painted some color splotches on the exterior of the house. We still don't think we've found the right color yet.

We made sugar water and hung the new hummingbird feeder.

We cooked dinner and ate it.

We learned about our ancestors.

We matched in our cherry aprons.

And finally, since we had all been good and eaten a good dinner, we made cookies and ate them too.

After all that, we were exhausted. Lights were out at 10:00 on the dot.

Now, as I finish writing this, it sounds like everyone is finally stirring. The sunshine's out so who knows what today has in store for us!

Birthday Celebration: 3 of 3

Just joining us? Part one can be found here and part two is here. We wrapped up the party with dessert and presents. Of course I had to have a helper since I had so many gifts.

Here we are inspecting the "bweakable" humming bird feeder that he and his family gave me. It's very cool and I can't wait to find a spot to hang it - hopefully right outside a window. We had already oohed and ahhed over the insulated picnic bag you can see on the table. I have a feeling that will come in handy on trips to the park.

We also opened up some new clothes and a photography book.

The last gift was a new purse. We looked aaaaaalllll through it but unfortunately, it was not full of money.  Good thing it's cute!

It was a good, good birthday. I can't wait to do it again next year!

I'll leave you with some more random pictures from the night. Enjoy.

Birthday Celebration: 2 of 3

In case you missed it, part one is here. In my family, when it's your birthday you get to choose whatever you want to eat and that's what my mom will make for dinner. Excited about some good home cooking, Doc and I quickly changed clothes after work and headed to my parents' house.

We were greeted with big smiles from my littlest nephew.

Isn't he the cutest? He loves his momma too.

But we all have to have a meltdown every now and then, right?

Next to arrive was the bigger nephew. He got to carry in my present and quickly let me know that it was "bweakable."  I told him I could see all his chest hairs since he forgot to button his shirt.

His little sister just did not want to have anything to do with me when she arrived.

Once everyone got there, it was finally time to eat! But first, I took pictures for you guys so you could see what you missed out on.

Poppyseed chicken:

Green bean bundles:

Potato casserole:

Salad:

All prepared by my sweet, sweet mom:

It was all so delicious. Thanks, mom!

Remember my niece that didn't want anything to do with me? All it took was a little bit of under-the-table peekaboo to clear that up. At least for a minute.

Wanna see what presents I got? They're coming up next!

Birthday Celebration: 1 of 3

My birthday is such a big event that it's going to take three posts for me to tell you all about it. It started out fabulous. Who doesn't love breakfast and presents in bed?

I got to open presents from Doc and his parents. From him I got a gift certificate so I can buy some new swimmy suits for our beach vacations this summer. My mother-in-law knitted me super soft, super cute shoulder wrap.  She is very talented and I can't wait to use it. I also got a baking mat to use when making cookies and whatnot. I have a feeling it's going to get put to use very soon, maybe even this weekend.

I tend to think that everyone should get to take the day off of work when it's their birthday, but alas, I had to go in. But to be a work day, it was pretty good. I had lunch with three of my Memphis besties which is always very fun. It was hard to go back to work but when I pulled into campus God smiled down on my and opened up a parking spot on the very front row! That would've been especially awesome if I hadn't walked all the way to the parking garage that afternoon before remembering that my car was right up front. Sigh...  We had chocolate chip pound cake at work to celebrate my birth. It was very yummy.

Remember when I said colorful flowers make me happy? Well take a look at these sunshiny little guys that perked up to tell me happy birthday!

They've been hunkered down and bundled up all winter, but they have finally decided to spring to life this week. I love them. Every time I look down I feel like they're just smilin' up at me.

There was still more partying to do. Stay tuned!

Weekend Recap

The weatherman had told us that we would be getting some nice weather this past weekend, and he was right. It was so nice to see the sunshine again! Doc picked up some purple tulips on his way home from work on Friday and they have been such a nice reminder that spring is around the corner. Colorful flowers just make me so happy. I love them!

Saturday morning my mom picked me up so we could go shopping. The purpose of the trip was so I could pick out some birthday presents, so you know I was up for it! We went to an outdoor shopping mall so we could enjoy the nice weather. Doc was also enjoying the weather out on the golf course with my dad. In my family we kind of have an understood rule - the guys can play golf all they want but that means the girls can shop all we want. It works out pretty well. :)

Can I tell you about a pet peeve I have? It's pretty silly, but I was reminded of it while we were out shopping on Saturday. I always forget about this peeve, but it always reappears this time of year and doesn't take long to make itself at home under my skin. Ok, here it is: it really annoys me when people rush the seasons. I know - silly, right? But I can't help it. It really just kind of drives me nuts when one day of sunshine makes everyone throw on their tank tops and flip-flops and head outside. It's still winter! I'm all for leaving your coat in the coat closet and going out to enjoy the weather, but it's really not necessary to pull out your summer wardrobe. Trust me, I'm just as sick of wearing my winter clothes as everyone else and my toes are just itching to go sockless too, but come on! If I'm not mistaken, the time changes next weekend which means spring and Easter are only days away. I think we can leave the tank tops in the closet until then, can't we?

Oh, it's not just about the clothes either. Since we had a few days of nice weather this weekend, my office building is now running the air conditioning. !!! Today it was cold, damp, and rainy outside but the air was still on. My productivity rate declines significantly when I can't feel my fingers and I'm shivering all day.

And I'll get off my soap box now. Back to the weekend...

By the time I got back home, Doc had already picked up A and W and they had early birthday presents for me. Super exciting! I got a fondu pot from A that we immediately put to use after dinner that night.

From W I got an accessories kit for my laptop. It has a ten-key so I don't have to use the top row of numbers anymore and a small mouse that I can plug in. I can also plug up lots of USBs now and I have a light attachment. Pretty cool, huh?

After opening presents, we decided to grab the football and head to the park. The guys tossed the football back and forth while we walked. Here's a blurry picture of W catching it. (I still haven't figured out how to use my camera...class starts soon!)

A was jumping rope and I was bringing up the rear with this sweet girl.

We took the back path to the park instead of walking through the neighborhood. Along the way we found this tree.

(Yes, I realize A's dress is springy...)

Here are some pictures from our time at the park.

On the way back home, my sweet furry girl was dragging and ended up having to be carried. Bless her. It's hard when you have little legs.

I love her even if she can't go on long walks.

And I love this little girl too!

Unfortunately, my pictures from the weekend end there.  As I mentioned earlier, we topped off our dinner with a fondu dessert. Poor W gave up chocolate for Lent so he didn't get to eat any of the yummy goodness.

Sunday started off with church where Doc read scripture. He read 1 Corinthians 10: 1-13 and did a great job. In fact, several people came up to him after the service to tell him what a great reader he is. We had pizza and buffalo chicken tenders for lunch afterwards and the rest of the day was pretty low-key. I headed to Lowe's with my dad while Doc spent another afternoon outside with the kids. After Doc dropped them back off at their mom's, we settled in to watch the Oscars and came to terms with the fact that our sunny weekend was over.