Fun-Filled Family Weekend

The one big bad negative about living in Madison, MS is that me and Alan are, what we consider, far away from our families. I am five hours away from my parents and three and a half hours away from my sister, her husband and my niece. We are also three and a half hours away from Alan's family. For some, this may not seem that far away at all. However, considering we have never been further than an hour and fifteen minutes away from our immediate family members and have lived in the same city as most of them our entire lives, it is quite a change for us. So when weekends like this past one happen, I am in hog heaven! My mom, dad, sister and niece, Anna Scott, came to the pretty little city of Madison, MS to visit for the weekend. We missed Scott, my sister's husband who had to work, but I am sure Mary Catherine will bring him to visit very soon. Here is a recap of our fun-filled weekend!  

They arrived Thursday night to a meal cooked by yours truly!! It was my first attempt to cook for my family (besides Alan). I was so nervous and slaved in the kitchen for two days straight trying to make sure every last ingredient was perfect.  They cleaned their plates and couldn't stop talking about how impressed they were with the food. Either they were being truthful and it was really good, or they love me too much to tell me it wasn't :) 
On the menu:  Garlic Parmesan Crusted Chicken, made from scratch Mac & Cheese, Green Beans, and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie topped with Ice Cream for dessert. (I give pinterest all of the credit.)

During dinner, Anna Scott decided to explore the den area and found the "balls" on my coffee table to be quite entertaining. So much so, that she decided to tear one up! She got off easy because she is just way to precious to get upset at her. We took pictures of the mess she made instead! 

On Friday, I had a tennis lesson at the country club. I scheduled it for Friday, so that Anna Scott, and of course Mom and Mary Catherine, could watch me play. I knew that she would love it since her favorite thing to say and play with is "BALL!" She was happy as a lark in the 98 degree weather watching me play. I can't wait to start teaching her lessons! 

We went to the Pizza Shak for dinner on Friday night. Alan and I had never been there but we heard it was a must to try in Jackson. And let me tell you, we did not leave disappointed. It was some of the best pizza we have ever tasted!

When we got home from dinner, someone discovered the putting green in our back-yard. She LOVED it!

"Ball" Heaven

Mary Catherine, Dad and I went for an enjoyable run on Saturday morning. This has started to become a tradition when the three of us are together and I really enjoy this special time. After our run we showered and headed out to do a little shopping and grab some delicious lunch and ice cream! There is a Cold Stone Creamery right around the corner from our house. Although this sounds like a great thing, when you love ice cream as much and Alan and I do it can be quite dangerous. We are going to have to limit ourselves to how many times (per week) we stop by for a scoop.

Before they left Saturday evening I knew that we just had to take Anna Scott to the park near our house. It's called Strawberry Patch Park and is such a cute area. It was a play ground for kids,  a walking trail and a pond. We visited with the ducks and Anna Scott got to swing, one of her favorite things to do!!

We had such a wonderful weekend!  It was so nice to for everyone to be in the same place for a couple of days (missing Scott, of course!).  The hardest thing about this move for me is feeling like I am missing watching Anna Scott grow up. At her age, she is doing new things every day and not being close to her breaks my heart.  I loved watching her do all the new things she has learned since I last saw her.  My favorite thing is hearing her sweet little voice say "ball" and then grin from ear-to-ear! I am so grateful that my family makes the sacrifices they do, despite their busy, busy schedules, to visit me and allow me to get my "family fix."  Even though we don't get to see each other as often as we would like, it sure does make the times that we get to see each other so memorable and special.  There is nothing quite like family, and I am so blessed with mine!!

Unfortunatly, cleaning house, laundry, and a trip to the grocery store are calling my name. 

Happy Sunday!