This weekend, Dan, Brittain and I made the trip to Athens to spend some time with Cecilia and Matthew. As always, Cecilia and Matt had everything planned perfectly. They cooked us a delicious dinner Friday evening (and gave Brittain an adorable cow purse as soon as we arrived). After dinner, Brittain was entertained for hours by her Aunt CC and Uncle Matthew. After a full day and about as much fun as she could handle, Brittain finally called it a night at 12:30 p.m.!
The presentation of the cow purse:
Brittain insisted on being an “assistant” in the kitchen. You can tell how much of a help she was:
While we waited for Chef Matthew to finish up dinner, Brittain found her way to Aunt CC’s closet. Cecilia had been upset that night…upset because her closet was unorganized and she couldn’t find anything. So, she pulled every piece of clothing off the hidden shelf (hidden by hanging clothes) and threw them in the floor. Now, she was REALLY upset, of course. Little did she know that this was going to become the best playroom that Brittain had ever seen. We spent about an hour and a half in this closet, and had to drag Brittain out of there even then.
A big kiss for Aunt CC:
Aunt CC knew that some simple stickers would thrill Brittain:
After dinner was when Uncle Matthew pulled out the bubbles. She LOVED it!:
As you can tell, the adults were having as much fun as Brittain:
On Saturday, the guys headed out for a day of golf. Brittain, Cecilia and I decided to spend the day spending time together and perhaps doing a little shopping in Athens. Shortly after the boys left, we started watching the news and we saw the string of storms. Unsure of exactly where the storm was headed, we decided it would be safest if we hung around the house. Looking out the window, you would never know that storms were so close. Other than it being a little overcast, the weather was perfectly fine. We contemplated quickly running out to the K-Mart close-by just to get out of the house for a little while, but we decided against that as well figuring that as soon as we left the house, a tornado would directly hit our car. Finally, Daddy called us and said that a second round of storms looked to be coming right toward Athens. Afraid because we didn’t have a basement, Daddy told us to head to the mall where we would be in a more substantial building. When the storm was about 30 minutes from us, Cecilia, Brittain and I quickly threw a few things in the diaper bag and we jumped in the car to head to the mall. Although the weather was still fine, we were no less afraid on the ride over. You would have thought we were trying to outrun a tornado as fast as I was driving. As we pulled into the parking lot of the mall, it started to rain, so we quickly parked and ran inside. At this point, it still just seemed to be a rainstorm. We headed to the food court to grab a bite to eat, but suddenly realized that we needed to head into a store, and do it fast. As soon as we started hearing the hail on the roof, an employee of Macy’s came out and grabbed us and pulled us into the store. The three of us ran back to the designated area where they were sending everyone. We sat and waited as they made announcements about the weather. After about 30 minutes of being cramped in the corner of the store with lots of other people (and trying to keep Brittain constrained), the storm had passed and we were able to go home. Whew.
In case you’re wondering, the boys experienced a great golf day with absolutely no bad weather at all. And, while we were scared to death at the Athens mall, they continued their all day party at the house with again, no bad weather.
We left the mall and ran home to get ready for Chuck E. Cheese’s. What a fun night we had there! It was a perfect ending to a day. You will see from these pictures that Brittain looks less than thrilled. After the stressful day of weather (and no nap), she had a hard time showing her excitement. Of course, she is still talking about the big mouse and the pizza she ate there.
Jeff played golf with Dan and Matt earlier that day, and decided that he didn’t want to miss the good time at Chuck E. Cheese’s either:
The guys were so excited about their winnings, and couldn’t wait to redeem their tickets so they could get a prize for Brittain. As you can see from the next two pictures, they thought they had done GREAT! In the end, they were able to get a toy rocket (that broke before we left) and a Chuck E. Cheese ball.
After a couple of hours, Brittain decided that although toys and games are fun, she was perfectly content spending time in Aunt CC’s arms:
Leaving is never easy, and this was no exception. For the first 30 minutes of the trip home, Brittain cried “CeeeeCeeee…I want CeeeeeCeeeee.” There was nothing I could do for her, so I decided just to cry, too. The funny thing is, while I was on the way home I ended up feeling so fortunate that we were forced to stay in on Saturday. Spending time together is the most fun anyway, and this was exactly what we were able to do. I wouldn’t go back and change a thing. We miss you, Aunt CC and Uncle Matthew. Can’t wait to see you soon.
