Plan one (see previous post) went brilliantly; I met Emily's mom, and she WAS fun. She reminded me of my mom which is a good thing, because my mom is my best friend. The girls had lots of fun...and LOTS of high-pitched giggles at three in the morning, but that of course is how you measure the success of a sleep-over.

Plan two (see previous post) ended up being a great surprise for me. Not only did Jeremy pick me up at work to take me out, but he had also taken the entire day off! (He had earned two extra vacation days for perfect attendance so he used one of them on me.) We also got to have an adventure and lots of laughs while on our quest to eat together. We planned to eat at restaurant number one, which is a little ice cream and sandwich shop that we have never tried before. Several people in town have recommended this place to us, and the weather was just sunshiny enough that we would be able to comfortably cuddle at one of the outside tables and share a sandwich. We walked over there from my office, but the sign at the ice cream window informed us that they did not accept debit cards. Oh well, we shrugged and skipped down the road in the opposite direction to try restaurant number two. We had also heard about their legendary sandwiches. As Jeremy opened the squeaky screen door at the meat market, the wonderful smells of freshly cured ham and made-on-the-spot bologna overtook our senses. We inhaled appreciatively and picked up a menu. The man behind the counter then informed us that the meat market does not serve sandwiches after 2pm. Jeremy and I looked at each other in puzzlement. What kind of restaurant does not serve food after 2pm? Do the people in this town quit eating at two o'clock?

We wandered back out into the sunshine, and questioned each other. "Where do you want to go?" We decided to try restaurant number three, the cafe a few blocks away, so off we scampered across the square. We stopped at the water fountain in remembrance of the fun snowman who had stood there, and I pointed out the bench where I had posed with his buddy "The Sitter." Upon arriving at the cafe, our light-hearted mood evaporated suddenly when we read the "Closed" sign on the front door. "CLOSED!" We shouted in unison, then we began laughing. "This is crazy! It's not even a holiday." Now what?

Restaurant number four was a steak and pizza parlor, a block and a half away. As we strolled that direction, we joked back and forth about the likelihood of it being closed also. Ironically, when we arrived on the scene, the sign in the door told us that it would not open until 5pm!

We ended up at restaurant number five, good ole Smokey Row, our standby. Of course, we've got the menu memorized by now, but they have great atmosphere, wonderful smells, live entertainment sometimes, and just plain good food. Jeremy ate a half-order of biscuits covered in sausage gravy, and I had a Turkey Croissant, mmmm-mmmm! Then we left to pick up Kimmie and Liberty and begin our action-packed weekend.

And here's where the prize comes in. Plan three (see previous post) actually produced a prize! (Notice the exclamation point.) We won a three day, two night "vacation." What this really means is, if we mail in $15.00, they will send us a brochure that tells us about a hotel room that we won (if we pay the room taxes the rest of the room bill is free). There were several destinations to choose from, but Jeremy noticed Branson, Missouri on the list, and that is within driving distance. So who knows? We may save up enough money to take a short road trip this summer! I LOVE ROAD TRIPS! We've already talked about inviting my family, because my mom has been wanting to visit Branson for several years now.

Moving on to plan four (see previous post). We had a lovely dinner at our friends' house: ham, mashed potatoes, sweet peas, croissants, and ice cream (can you tell I'm a little hungry right now?) Kim and Rachel played outside, and then up in Rachel's room with Liberty, while Jeremy and I spent the evening chatting with the parents. We really enjoyed our time there becoming better friends, relaxing, discussing. Towards the end of the evening, the girls came downstairs, and we played GAMES!!!! I quickly pulled out ahead of the pack in Phase 10; for a short time, Jeremy and I were neck and neck, then at the last second, he slid into the winner's spot. I had already laid my phase down, but he went out while I still had two cards left. Our hosts laughed at our competitive banter throughout, and a great time was had by all.

And here comes the best part...Jeremy has taken his second "Perfect Attendance" vacation day today! So our whole family gets to hang out together tonight. We're planning to play some tennis in the park then come home, grill hamburgers and play GAMES until late since Kimmie is on Spring Break.

PS> Liberty is this excited about it all...