***Hint: Next week I will be doing my first GIVEAWAY right here at Happily Mother After. So be sure to check back Monday as your odds of winning are pretty good!***
Last week, Brody and I had the opportunity to go to Alabama with Jonathan. It was so nice to be able to go on a business trip with him since, most of the time, we are left behind due to my part-time job. I was able to rearrange my patients last week, seeing them all on Monday, so Brody and I drove later that day to meet up with Jonathan in Birmingham.
There was really nothing special about this trip except for the time we were able to spend together as a family. You wouldn't believe how special something so simple can be when your husband has to travel for business regularly. We mostly just enjoyed eating dinner out together each night after he finished teaching {he is a software consultant/trainer}. Not only was it nice to not have to cook, but it was fun to giggle and hang out together without the day-to-day stress that sometimes haunts us at home.
After dinner one night, we drove around to find Fro-Yo {Frozen Yogurt}, our latest guilty pleasure, and found it at this beautiful little outdoor shopping mall called The Summit. We walked around and played in the fountains for a little while while our stomachs made room for the yummy treat.
Speaking of eating out.....we were sure to avoid Lloyd's BBQ this trip. We ate there a few weeks ago on a separate trip to B-ham. The sign promised "fine BBQ." However, it was the worst BBQ we had ever put in our mouths and the atmosphere was less than desirable. We felt like we were in an assisted living facility. I'm pretty sure the looks on our faces said it all as the old man sitting at the table next to us was hacking up his entire dinner. We snapped this picture before we left to remind ourselves never to eat there again. Sorry, Lloyd.
But besides all the eating out we did at night, Brody and I found a few fun things to keep us busy during the day while Jonathan worked hard for the money. {Have I told you lately that I love you, Hubby?}
The biggest hit for Brody was the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Can I get a whoop! whoop! for FREE admission!!
I'm pretty sure we were there at the wrong time of the year. And I'm pretty sure we walked around the least exciting half of the gardens. {It wasn't until we were walking out of the gates that I noticed we should have walked to the right as we entered early that day. There was a beautiful rose garden and my guess is that just past that we would have seen an array of beautiful flowers.} Oh well! Brody enjoyed it and that was the main goal for me that day. There were a lot of rocks to climb.....
.....And bridges to cross.
The cutest part was how Brody turned and said "CHEEEEEESE!" at the top of his lungs everytime he heard my camera click. He is used to the Mommy Paparrazzi following him, I guess. I loved watching his sweet grins as he bellowed out hundreds of "Cheeeeese's" for everyone walking around the gardens that day.
We spent most of our time in the Japanese Garden.
They had a nice bridge passing over a pond where we spotted a lot of Koi and turtles. It was really rather spooky how they all swam up to the surface near the bridge where we stood. I guess they are used to being fed by visitors because I sure thought they were going to swim away from Brody as he yelled at them through the "windows" of the bridge.
By the time we finished exploring the Japanese Gardens, Brody was pooped {not literally}. We had walked around a lot, and for the first time in his life, it proved to be too much for him to handle.
So with arms held up high, he looked at me eagerly and said, "Mommy hold you?" {translation: Mommy will you hold me?"} So I swooped him up into my arms and carried him a mile to the car. Super Mom? Maybe. But, I'd be lying if I said we didn't take a rest on the swing for Mommy to catch her breath.
I'm glad we did. It gave me a moment to reminisce about all the times I swung on the front porch swing with my Dad as a little girl. And it gave me a chance to get one more "CHEEEESE!" from my main squeeze.
I'm looking forward to joining Jonathan on many more business trips as I have quit my job {this is my last week} and will be a SAHM for awhile. But more on that subject another time.....
