How Was Your Weekend?
Here's proof that mine was pretty GREAT!!

Starting on Friday afternoon, we had a very busy weekend. It was filled with all sorts of activities....but not the activities that make you wish you were hiding in bed under covers, but all sorts of good activities!

On Friday, I headed down to Tuscaloosa to watch McKenna's concert band perform in the Alabama Music Educators Assocation conference. They were one of just three bands from the state invited to play and they were AWESOME! Got a standing O and some wonderful complimentary words from the "experts" down there. McKenna is not really a musician first-and-foremost--the band is not her first love, because she has so many different things that she's interested in--but she really enjoyed this experience. (I doubt if you can spot her in this picture, but she's in the second row from the back and the fourth in. She's playing the french horn and her hair's pulled back. Nope, didn't think you could spot her.)

Sydney got all dressed up to watch the concert (and then promptly enjoyed one song, then said loudly between songs "How many songs are left?" and then fell asleep for the last three songs) and we met my parents for the performance. They'd never heard McKenna's band in concert, and I think they were impressed with them.

On Friday evening, Gary headed out with his Dad for their big, annual hunting trip together. As he left, I headed out to my favorite local Mexican restaurant to help celebrate my friend Miranda's 3oth birthday. This picture of Miranda and Allison investigating something on the ceiling (lights? a bug? splattered margarita?) just makes me laugh.

I spent Saturday morning at a team meeting for the spiritual retreat I'm working next month and, while I don't have pictures of anything there, suffice it to say that it was a wonderful time. I had to practice the talk I'll be giving and everyone was so complimentary and sweet about it. They gave me some good suggestions and just made me feel good about how I did. (All I can say is...God gave me the words and I'm doing my best to communicate them!)

On Saturday evening, the big event was McKenna's band banquet. This is a semi-formal/formal deal and the girls really take advantage of it as a chance to dress up!

Of course, we had to take a ton of pictures. Of McKenna and her friend Christine...


Of McKenna and her boyfriend, Brett...


Of Sawyer and Christine...

And of all of them together...


(Awww, to be young again. Right?)

And, of course, Sydney had to have her picture taken too.

On Sunday at church, we celebrated the "grand opening" of a new children's classroom area. We're calling it the Round Up Room and Sydney is SO excited about it. She talks about it all the time (if you can possibly imagine Sydney talking about anything incessantly...). I tried to get a few pictures of all the kids together, but they were running in so many different directions that I wasn't able to. But I did get one of Sydney with her friends Olivia and Maggie (as she left Sunday School that morning she said, "I have got so many BFFs.")

And enjoying the new room...


After church, we headed over to my sister-in-law's house for a birthday lunch for my niece. I was asked to make the birthday cake and, if I do say so myself, it turned out DELICIOUS!! It was milk chocolate cake and homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. (Now, you may notice that there is a slight "rip" in the cake at the bottom left. That rip became a huge crater by the time we served it. It had become a Chocolate Earthquake Cake and it looked awful...but it tasted good, and I guess that's what matters.)

We got to hang out with my great niece, Kelsey, while we were there. She's just learning to walk, and she's so cute!

After we left there, I took Delaney to softball practice (no pictures of that. Sorry, I was slacking!), and then I headed home to make food for the nighttime children's activities at church. I made a huge batch of macaroni and cheese and transported it to church...


There was a little bit left after all the kids ate, but then a couple of McKenna's friends came over after church to hang out for awhile. Let's just say that teenagers can wipe out some food, and it was all gone before long!

After all of that activity, I was ready to just crash by Sunday evening. And by the time Gary got home from his hunting trip, that was exactly what I'd done. I vaguely remember him coming home or leaving for work this morning (Hey, Gary!! if you're reading this!).

I hope you all had a great weekend! I'm gonna do my best to stop by everyone's blogs sometime today!

(And, oh...don't let me forget...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to my mother-in-law, Clara. To read a perfect post about her birthday, check out Gary's blog today. I hope you have a WONDERFUL day!!! We all love you!! )