Spring Break

Spring Breakin'


I've been MIA for  a good reason. (Did ya miss me?)

Spring Break is happening in different parts of our universe and we have had visitors.

First off some friends of the kids came to visit even knowing that my kids would not be around.  That made me feel pretty special for sure.   These are kids that practically lived at our house throughout elementary, middle and high school.  Now they are out of school but were visiting Colorado with the rest of their family.  They took an afternoon out of family time to come to the cabin.   And, as it turned out, they spent the night after making a wrong turn and taking twice as long to get here as they thought it would.

This is how long I've known these kids:

Bunny, Belle and Friend

The Big Guy and Friend

That was then and this is now:

NOW!

Wow!

You know what really struck me about having these kids come visit? How grown up they are!

They are adult-ish. I mean, they drove to see me. They were polite, lovely houseguests and when we got home from dinner we all had cocktails together. Because they are old enough to do that. And we talked about their plans for their futures and they were super interesting. 

How lucky am I? 

And after they left, Belle arrived.  Fortunately one of her friends picked her up in Denver and brought her to me. That round trip drive to Denver in one day can be grueling. I know because I did it on Sunday, returning Belle to the airport.

Anyway, I loved having my girls together even if it was only for a few days.

 Me with Belle. 

She's not a giant, I was just relaxed. 

Or slumped....

Bunny and Belle

On Saturday night the girls had their friend boys over for dinner and it hit me again.

Adults. Almost. Even with an age range of 17 to 21, these kids seemed so grown.

The guys, who have known each other practically from birth, were sharing stories and laughing and eating (and it was a pretty awful main course, I hate to say) and then they helped clear the table and were just FUN. 

So this is the pay-off for all those terrible two tantrums and late nights and constant supervision? Fun kids that grow up to be fun adults and are semi-responsible, etc? 

I LOVE IT!

Next week is Spring Break for Bunny and she will be heading to Florida to stay with Belle. They will go to Disney BY THEMSELVES! No adult supervision required! 

I will go to Texas to check on the parents who are "vacationing" at assisted living for a month or so.

So posting will be infrequent (i.e. non existent) for the upcoming week. 

Bear with me. 

I'll be back on track eventually. I have to be. I'm running out of time to finish my list!

No.21 :Go to Brunch

No. 21: Go to Brunch

Over Spring Break, while the girlies and friends spent the weekend in Texas, I snuck off to New Orleans with six friends from high school. 

And this is where I throw in a million zillion thanks to my fabulous brother who came through with last minute tickets on Southwest Airlines.  Love a road trip but sometimes getting on a plane is just the best. 

While in  New Orleans we ate. And ate. And ate. 

I came home 10 pounds heavier.

The whole gang on Saturday night. 

A little blurry. Kinda how the night went.

Allison, Ann, Kathleen, M. Anne, Peggy, Me, and Liddy.

But No. 21:Go to Brunch can now be officially crossed off the list. 

Sure, technically I do brunch frequently. But I don't consider just going to a late breakfast/early lunch at the same place that I always go to as worthy of being considered "Brunch" with a capital B.

And while in New Orleans we had lunch with a Capital B at the Commander's Palace.

Just love an establishment that is willing to make a statement.

That turquoise says "Here I am !!"

Commander's Palace has been a restaurant in the Garden District in NOLA since 1880!! During the 1920s it expanded it's menu to include ..um.... "entertainment"  upstairs for the traveling riverboat captains and gentlemen of the day. That era didn't last long and while the management has changed, the reputation for fabulous food has endured. 

And our Sunday brunch was fabulous.

 The festive upstairs dining room where we sat.

No ladies of the night, just cute waiters. 

From the spicy Bloody Mary's to the exquisite Southern Style pecan pie...  It was worth every calorie. 

A perfectly set table.

The jazz band that serenaded us was just icing on the pie.

Good food AND good music plus GREAT friends.

Just doesn't get any better. 

We returned home fat and happy with plans to get away again in the fall. 

We hope. 

No. 21 is done. 

While We Were Gone

While We Were Gone: A Wednesday Edition


We made it back from Spring Break in Texas.

YAY!

I'll post about our travels later on but until I get my act together and pictures gathered, y'all will just have to settle for what went on at the cabin while we were gone.  

Because of course, life is still doing its thing around here.

On the game camera we had your typical game of cat and mouse.
Only here at the little cabin in the woods we use different playing pieces.

Like fox and….

….bunny.

The deer came for lunch.   They don't wait to be invited. And they don't care whether we are home or not. Probably prefer for us to not be home, truthfully.

And my little seedlings lived!
Sort of.
The group that had already sprouted looks a little mildew-y or maybe burned.
But I think at least some of them will make it.  I made a little terrarium out of a plastic bag and it seems to have been semi-successful.

I think these are the peppers. 

Amazingly the other pots each had a sprout!  I am so excited.
I totally expected to come home to four dead pots so to have any life at all is a thrill.

 Which would make these two pots tomatoes.

I think. 

Last but not least, this little guy had to spend a whole week at the kennel.  He was really happy to have me come get him today.

Good dog, Carlos. We missed you, too.

Happy to be back home. Or back here. It all gets a bit confusing at times.

Follow up Friday...

Follow up Friday: Just Checking in.

Just checking in.

Amazingly I got all five girls to Texas without incident.   Score one for the mom.

The surprise was a stretch limo to pick us up at the airport and bring us to the house.
Just keeping it classy.
We'll slum it on the return trip.   Can't be the  Kardashians all the time.

We've had lots of girl drama.  Friend visits. And rain.  The main goal of the trip was to come home tan. (For the girlies, not for me.) We'll see.

Also had a car break down while Bunny was driving. This caused Belle to go on and on about how reliable her car had been until her sister BROKE it. Somehow she has forgotten how much she HATES that car. Even though she picked it out. And it's beautiful. And it has treated her well. Thank goodness she got a loaner.

Thursday was dinner with my parents, my niece, her husband and their babies. Couldn't wait to get my hands on those twins. They are almost one! Can't believe it.  But how did I get through the night without taking a picture on MY phone?

And my New Orleans weekend trip has taken an amazing turn for the better. While I love a road trip, I spend a lot of the time on the road as it is. My sweet friend that was driving me was going to come from Austin, pick me up and then off we would go.   Enter my fabulous and wonderful brother who offered  tickets to New Orleans, saving me a 7 hour drive and her a 10 hour drive. I love him. He's the bomb.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.