The Good Stuff

We have been looking forward to this one last weekend before the football frenzy begins with great anticipation of rest, relaxation, and no stress. All week we've been discussing going to the zoo today, but finally decided we really wanted to have a commitment free weekend and have absolutely nothing planned to do. It was even better than we imagined!.

Last night we decided to attend the Auburn High School football game. We knew we needed a quick dinner, so Turner and I came home after school and cooked a delicious homemade pizza with my new pizza pans from Chow Bella. (Thanks Holly!) Here's a picture of our final product. It was yummy (red onions, sausage, spinach, broccoli), but we are still in the learning phase of baking homemade pizzas. Anyone with tips or good recipes please share!We didn't plan it this way, but several friends were at the AHS game also and we had such a wonderful time visiting and cheering on the tigers! I was cheering on several of my former students, students who I might not have said would even still be in school at this point in their lives. This is always a necessary reminder that what I see in middle school is not the final product! And also a reminder that athletics can be such a powerful motivator in the lives of young men and women who need a sense of purpose and belonging. Here are a few pictures.

Getting all fired up as we neared the stadium!

Sitting with our friend Collin!

Daddy teaching Turner all about the game of "flootball" as she calls it!

Today, well, today we did nothing. All day. And it was awesome. Seriously, we got up and Mark made blueberry pancakes and we stayed in our pajamas until the afternoon. We alternated between playing inside and outside, and Mark and I squeezed in some naps in between play sessions with Turner. This afternoon while Mark went to campus for a while, Turner and I headed to a local fun event with inflatables, Aubie, and sno-biz. Turner wasn't keen on Aubie at ALL, but she was pretty fond of the sno-biz. Shocker? No.

When we got home the plan was to grill out hamburgers for dinner, and while Mark grilled Turner played in her pool and sand table outside. We decided to take dinner outside as it was rare cool night in August and we enjoyed an impromptu picnic in the backyard. We finished off the delicious "daddy-burgers" with a dessert of popsicles, which made Turner's whole night! We made a quick trip to the garden to check on our watermelons and squash and then it was time for baths and bed.



I am a country music fan, and a Kenny Chesney fan. If you don't know his song "The Good Stuff" it's worth a listen. I feel like the last two days have been just that for my little family - full of opportunities to create "the good stuff" in life. High school football on a Friday night, pancakes and cartoons on Saturday mornings,naps, backyard gardens, grilled out hamburgers, time to slow down. This weekend has been full of precious memories and hilarious moments.

Life doesn't get better than this.