Anniversary Day-Away

This Friday, July 13, is our 16th Anniversary!! <3

Last weekend Danny was invited to some friends for a campout from Fri. night till Sunday, so we thought Sat. a perfect day for Dan and I to get away for an anniversary celebration. The only thing was to find a place for Tamara. It's times like this that I miss my family. It took me literally ALL week to find a place for her to stay!! :P And it's not because she's a bad kid or a lot of work!! People are just busy!

Thankfully, my friend Emily offered on Friday, so the date was on! :)

We had originally planned to go to Thomasville, GA because we have a certificate for a bowling alley there, but Sat. morning I did a  little research and discovered the bowling alley didn't open till 5 PM and Thomasville is an hour and a half from here. It just didn't fit well into our supper plans either, so we decided just to go to Tallahassee. BUT, we didn't want to just go shopping! We really were trying to spend as little $$ as possible and really didn't NEED anything!

Our first stop was Alfred Maclay Gardens State Park

$6 for parking

We had never been here before, but we are making plans to go back next spring when the azalea's are in bloom! :)

This was the entrance to the garden and this brick path went the whole way through it. You could also take side paths for more walking.

~Lake Hall~

Enjoying the peaceful lake and the sounds of nature....and each other's company! :)

 One of the "side path's"

Pretty spidery flowers!

This was a cute little garden, in the garden! :) You can't see the pink flowers {above} very well in this pic! :P

Just one of the huge live oak trees full of Spanish Moss!

Another tree that had a branch that grew down to the ground and was starting a new tree off of it!! :O Crazy!

Our next stop was Hobby Lobby....I was looking at dress and skirt patterns for Tamara. Didn't purchase anything, because I want to keep looking! I wasn't real thrilled with their pattern prices! 

Then we went to Eternal Grounds Coffee Shop! 

I had a $10 gift card and we spent $3 over that! 

Dan got a Iced Lemonade and a Pistachio muffin :)

I got a cinnamon roll and a Mocha Frappe'.

They have sofa's, games, magazines, and free wifi! We played our own version of Apples to Apples Bible edition. It was a lovely atmosphere and I hope to go back again!

Next, we went to the Museum of FL History.

The kids and I have been there twice on field trips, but this was Dan's first visit. They put in some new exhibits since we were last there, so that was neat!

Dan hanging out with Mr. Friar Monk Man! :)

When we got back out to the parking garage we discovered parking is Free on weekends! *score!!

For supper, we planned to use a gift card we had for Olive Garden. Well, about half way through the day, we realized that neither of us had grabbed it! ;) *sigh*

So, we decided to eat at Genghi's Grill. 

They bring you a small bowl and you go through a "buffet line" of raw meat, veggies, seasonings, etc. then take your bowl to the grill and they stir fry it....

I had just missed the big flames on the grill....they really like to put on a show! :)

And this is our meals when they brought them to our table....it doesn't look like much, but it is FILLING!!

The best part of mine was the cilantro I added! :)

An evening meal is $9.99 a person plus drinks. Lunch is $8.99.....or for $4 more, you can make it bottomless! We didn't do that....you'd have to have a huge appetite for that!!

It was a really good day! We didn't rush from one thing to the next, just took our time and had FUN!! I can hardly believe it's been 16 years already!! But I am so exited about our future. We are going through the book "Real Marriage" by Mark & Grace Driscoll in our small group and it is really helping us work through issues we have!! I can't wait to see how much better things can be since we are understanding each other's {and our own} quirks better! :)

And I'm also amazed that we are not alone in the struggles of marriage. I know, that sounds weird, but sometimes I just think other couples must have it all together! I'm discovering that is not often the case!!

I thank God for the journey He has placed Dan and I on from that first day we met in August, 1994 till now! 

Cheers to the next 16 years!! :)

Memory Lane..................

Dating Days

{At Fresh Start in IN on chorus tour}

Married, but before kids!

Dan, Danny (2) and Tamara (newborn-2001)

Our little family!

:)