46th Birthday

Most of my birthday celebration was over the weekend, but I did enjoy a few things on my special day.  I loved all the calls & texts from family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.  That made me feel so special!  Eric and the kids were awesome, too.  They gave me a new blender for my smoothies since I wore out the old one.

For my birthday cake, they wanted to have it specially decorated with something that reminds them of me.  To my surprise, they got me a dinasaur volcano cake!  Very cool, and I loved it!  They know me and my NOVA shows so well.  :)

Birthday Dinner

As customary in our family, I got to pick a place I wanted to go for dinner.  It has to be reasonable, and child-friendly.  For years I have promised my son I'd take him to the castle dinner show with jousting and such, but it was never in a convient location or time.  Well, now that he's 17, I decided to make it my birthday dinner place.

We packed up the family (minus our college student) and drove to Atlanta.  We had a 2pm dinner reservation at Medieval Times.  It's quite expensive without coupons, but we were able to find some discounts which made it more affordable.

We were seated in the black/white knight's section.  Of 6 competing knights, this was our knight we were to cheer for.  Since we didn't upgrade our seats to the "royalty" section that included flags, Eric bought us one to share.  We waved it proudly from the 2nd row!  Whenever our knight won a contest, like target or rings, he would grab some fresh cut flowers and throw them to the ladies in the audience.  Our youngest was the recipient of a flower toss.

The meal was quite good, and plentiful.  Garlic bread, tomato bisque soup, quarter chicken, roasted potatos, corn on the cobb, and lemon pound cake.  Delicious!  No utensils, though.  We ate like guests at the kings table...with our hands.  I can see why it's so expensive.  They really put on a show with lots of staff working behind the scenes: the king, queen, knights, and all the event staff and animal trainers.  It's honestly worth it for the experience to go once.

After all the battles to the death, our knight won!!  We were so excited!  We thought that would be the end of the performance, but there was one special treat left.  The winning knight gets to pick a maiden from his section who is given a sash, crown, and the honors of being his princess.  He hopped off his horse, bowed to the king for the royal sash, and came up the aisles to our little girl!!  How special was that?!!!  The queen gave her a crown, too, as a welcome gift into the royal family.  She got a little embarrased, but it was sweet.  There were so many people there, and what are the odds we would have that amazing of an experience.  Here's her keepsake photograph of that moment.  She gets to keep her crown and sash, too. 

Girl Time

Our little one wanted to go shopping.  As much as I really don't enjoy hanging out at the mall, I couldn't resist a sweet date with my daughter.

She suggested we wear our matching shoes.  Mine..Vans.  Hers..Converse.  Close enough.

After a day of shopping at several stores to buy her some jeans, we came home empty handed.  Each pair was either not soft enough, no snap, no zipper, wrong color of blue, too tight, too loose, too long, doesn't like the waist, doesn't like the pockets, etc.  

After several hours, we did agree on lunch at McAlisters, only the tea was mixed with too much unsweet tea.  Love that face!

Redecorate

When we came back from our Christmas break, we found our downstairs 1/2 bath was wet on the floor and the wood warped.  Our toilet had a slow leak that had gotten under the wood.

After ripping out part of the wood floor, we realized it had been leaking for quite some time.  The walls were wet, the baseboards wet, all of it!  So, Eric did what he does best and made it whole again!  This time, we decided to upgrade the decor.  

Once the bathroom was finished, we decided to finish the living room.  We found a painting that added a hint of color splash to our new fireplace.

Motivated to get everything done that weekend, I decided to spruce up all the family photos along the stairs.  This collage was on clearance at the store and provided a fun, yet clean look to our family tree.

Decorating, done.  Now back to important thinks like playing with the kids...

Children's Museum

Our yougest wanted to spend the day doing something fun and suggested the Children's Museum.  Knowing I may never have another opportunity, I agreed.

She quickly realized she was the oldest there, but it didn't matter.  She loved the exhibits and enjoyed the challenges of stacking building blocks, solving puzzles, and learning how things work.

 

This brick conveyor belt found at a construction site also had some eager little helpers to assist in getting the job done.

The recycle area was neat and showed how almost everything can be recycled somehow.

Little doctor, just like her big sis!

Now she works at a bank...

And finally the wind tunnel!

On the way home she said, "Mommy, I think I'm too old to go back again."  While I was a little sad, I'm thankful I agreed to go and didn't miss this opportunity.  

First Snow

Our first snow of the season and our little one couldn't wait to suit up and get outside.  She was the first one on the street to enjoy it!

Slowly the neighbors came out, each with a sleds.

The best hill was directly across the street from us in the neighbor's front yard.

With no cars daring the conditions, they had a clear shot across the icy road and onto our yard.

Next, her big sis came outside.  Do you want to build a snowman?

We had the largest snowman on the street!  

Texas Holiday

The family spent our Christmas-NewYear's holiday in Texas, accompanied by all the things we love:  family, food, and the farm life.  

Had lots of fun fishing!  We caught about 20 fish in total, but only kept the biggest ones that were 3-4 lbs.  Even the little one caught some!  Every other cast had a bite.  

We brought a skeet thrower and enjoyed shooting the shot gun.

After attempting to weed the beds and sidewalk, we decided it would be easier to scorch it.

At day's end, it was time to fillet the fish....

Celebrate a productive day...

And watch a movie:  Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a classic.

This is the farm life at it's best!