Vacation Days 4 & 5 - the end of this saga

Well, after traveling to Atlanta and Chattanooga, it was a day of "rest" at home Saturday. Thankfully, we slept in until about 8:30 (WoooHoooo) and woke up to cleaning the yard, working in the house cleaning like crazy, getting Stephen's new desk delivered and office rearranged and organized, wall patched and painted and loads and loads of laundry. :)

I did end up laying outside by the pool and reading for about 40 minutes that afternoon which was glorious.

It was also both my brother's birthdays (happy Bday Nathan and Justin!!)

Sunday was Kristina's shower at my house. It was so much fun seeing a ton of Auburn girls and celebrating the upcoming marriage of sweet Kris and Ben. The house was decorated with kitchen type stuff and I was so excited to use my china and crystal for the first time. I know my grandmothers would have been proud!

The bride to be

 

Finally, the end to the vacation had come, but there was still one thing left to do! Celebrate Stephen's 28th birthday! There were several "surprises" for him last week. His parents, sisters and the kids came over for cake and ice cream :) He opened presents, the kids performed skits for us and we enjoyed an evening of hanging out. It was a great vacation!

 

 

Vacation day 3 - to the CHA

On Friday morning we headed out again, bright and early to Chattanooga. Now, I know I had been here before as well (my mom informed me I had, even though I have no recollection of it), but again, easy day tip to explore some "new" city.

We headed up first to the River Walk. It was a muggy day and a little humid, but all in all a very nice walk. We went over a large walking/biking bridge, walked past the Hunter Museum of American Art, saw some kayakers and walked over a cool glass bridge. We headed to lunch at a place recommended by a co-worker, The Blue Plate. I had a great wrap while Stephen ate the best thick pancakes ever. This place was a winner!

We then ventured over to McKay's, a huge second hand bookstore where Stephen picked up a game and I got several books for $1.50 each! I purchased a book on the Vanderbilt's, Nicholas and Alexandra - the last Czars of Russia, a book on Queen Elizabeth, and one other random book that I thought looked good. It was customer appreciation day at the bookstore, so trivia was happening while we were there, as well as a radio station, food, drinks and shaved ice! It was packed but very fun to visit.

Afterward, we headed to Chickamauga, Georgia (about 5 minutes away, if we hadn't gotten lost a lot) and went to visit the Battle of Chickamauga. My dad LOVES Civil War history, so of course SMS and I had to stop by to see it. We watched a 20 minute video about the battle and then drove around the park to see historical markers.













When we left, the sky was collapsing and I could barely see to drive, but we made it to our final destination - Sticky Finger BBQ. Our friend Chip urged us to eat there at some point, and it was awesome. We shared a platter for two of 4 different kinds of ribs, and we were happy.

It was finally time to come home, so we headed back to good ole Birmingham. Thanks for stopping by!

Vacation Day 2

After a fun day in Atlanta on Wednesday, it was time for a day full of attic and house fun on Thursday. We decided to change up the house and add some new wiring to the office and den.  To move the TV, we had to run new wires up through the wall to the attic and down another wall. sweet Stephen spent all day in the heat and stuffy attic so I could rearrange the den and we could add new things to his office.

While he worked in the attic, I worked downstairs. I organized cabinets, drawers, closets, etc. I also touched up paint in the den and other places that had gotten scratched up over the years. The house looks incredible and I am so thrilled with the change. I am definitely loving making this house our home.

That night we enjoyed yummy take out dinner and a movie in bed.

The original set up.

The new set up.

The new set up.

Thanks for stopping by. Until tomorrow!

Vacation Day 1 :)

Phew. August 8th had arrived - the start to our vacation. It's a good thing too, because I was about to crack. The funny thing with vacation is, its not too relaxing. I guess people are so used to going, its hard to slow down and chill. Our vacation was no different. It was wonderful to spend some time with Stephen traveling and working on home projects, but I am exhausted from it (and have the sniffles too). Such is life :)

Our first day off, we went to the Georgia Aquarium in ATL. We wanted to do day trips, nothing overnight. Can't beat the comfort of your own bed. I had never visited this aquarium before, and was eager to go. How did I never go the 4 years I was at Auburn with it only 2 hours away? Eh, who knows! Nevertheless, I am so glad we went.

We packed our lunches and headed out. We saw all the areas of the aquarium and finished with the dolphins show. :) I think my favorite was probably seeing the whales. Holy moly they were awesome!

After the aquarium, we hit up Ikea (I love walking through it) and bought a couple of little items for the house, and ran quickly by H&M. We were planning on staying for dinner, but decided to go ahead and head home to Birmingham. We got back in time to enjoy yummy pizza for dinner and prepare for the next days busyness. Day 1, success!

I made SMS pose a lot for pictures. Tee hee hee.

Welcome in.

Creepy crab

Beluga whale.

Dori :)

See you tomorrow :)