Tea Time!

Last Saturday, some of the ladies in our ABF went to the Chocolate Angel for afternoon tea!  I had never been before, but they had a beautiful little room set up for us called the Chantilly Room.

We had a delicious cranberry orange black tea with our first course - fruit, tea sandwiches, a quiche, a scone, and a tartlet.

Our second course was a delightful assortment of sweets paired with a white tea. Darling!

 

Carissa and I had tea leaves in our glasses, which we were told meant good luck!

 

We had a fabulous time lifting our pinkies and sipping away.  Such a fun way to spend the afternoon with some of my favorite ladies!

Kristin & Myla

Denise, Courtney, Alicia & Angela

  Anna, myself & Carissa

Running & Jumping

This past Saturday, Colin ran in a 5k called the Hotcake Hustle!  He absolutely loves to run  (crazy man!), so one of his resolutions this year is to run several races, building up to a marathon by the end of the year!  He is off to a great start!

That evening, he and some of the other guys in our ABF went to Cosmic Jump to go jumping!  (Sorry for the poor quality on the pictures - I did not know the lights would be off or I would have taken my other camera.)

Actually Jumping

Taking a break/Strategizing Jumping Methods

Guys taking a break from Knock Out

Erin and I felt like the Mom's - watching all of the stuff, and taking pictures, of course!  It was fun to watch them jumping around and having fun.  Apparently, it was quite a workout to jump around for an hour.  The other kids (yes, kids) running around did not seem to mind.  I guess things really do change with age! 

It's my party, and I'll cry tears of joy if I want to!

Thursday (January 10) was my birthday!  Some people may not think their birthday is a special day, or they may even dread it altogether.  I, on the other hand, have always been made to feel extra special on my birthday by my loved ones, so I always look forward to it.  This year was no different!

The celebrations actually began this past Sunday.  My parents were in Dallas for a wedding, so we picked them up after church and went to Cotton Patch Cafe for some good home cookin'!  We enjoyed their company the rest of the afternoon before taking them to the airport.

 

On Wednesday night at our small group, Alicia was in charge of dessert, so she brought chocolate chip cookies and ice cream cups for us to make pazookies with!  Warm cookies with ice cream - MMmm.  It does not get much better than that!

Thursday morning, Colin surprised me with banana nut pancakes in bed just as I woke up!  What a delicious way to start the day!  He is such a sweetie! 

I went to work (yes, on my birthday!).  Honestly, I did not have a good reason to stay home since we had just gotten back from a two week break, and I love my job and the people I work with, so why not celebrate with them?  They kept me in tears from laughing so hard all day.   

A sweet friend, Marcia brought me flowers. 

Throughout the day, I was promised a performance.  I could not wait!  After the performers rehearsed, the team was invited to the performance of Tina Turner, Ike, and and Ikette (Courtney, Walt (my boss), and Emily).  This was one of the highlights of my day.  I am pretty sure I cried from laughter the entire performance.  The last minute or so is my absolute favorite.  Enjoy!

That night, Colin took me out to dinner to one of my favorite places - Geisha Steak & Sushi, a hibachi grill.  (Their fried rice is one of my absolute favorites!!) 
 

It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Grand Canyon & LA Trip with the Muellers

Since Colin and I had a couple of weeks off over the holidays, we decided to take a vacation with some of our favorite Aggie friends - the Muellers!  None of us had ever been to the Grand Canyon, so we knew that would be one of our stops.  We decided to drive to the Grand Canyon to see the sights along the way, and boy did we see our share of unique things!  We found a great deal on flights to Los Angeles, so we added it to the list! 

The first day, we made it to Albuquerque (approximately 10 hours).  The next day, we finished our journey to Flagstaff (approximately 5 hours).

Midpoint of Route 66

 House in Albuquerque, New Mexico

 Welcome figurine in Arizona

Tee-pee Hotel in Holbrook, AZ

Jack Rabbit Trading Post, Joseph City, Arizona

From Flagstaff, we drove to the Grand Canyon for a day trip (approximately 2 hours each way).  We had finally made it to the Grand Canyon!  Words cannot describe how beautiful it is!  We felt especially lucky to see it in the winter, covered in snow, since most people see it in the summer months.

For New Year's Eve, we watched the pine cone drop in Flagstaff!  Not quite the ball in NYC, but it was fun!

The next day, we made our way to Phoenix.  We stopped at some wineries in Sedona for some tastings, and Scottsdale for a little shopping.

The next morning, we flew out to LA.  Over the next few days, we hit all the highlights LA had to offer!

 Hollywood Chinese Theatre with all of the hand/foot prints outside and stars down the sidewalk

 Pink's Hotdogs

Beverly Hills - we cruised around the houses, and saw a lot of really big gates and fabulous landscaping!

 Regent Beverly Willshire Hotel - where Pretty Woman was filmed!

Warner Bros. Studio Tour - where we saw the Friends set, the Bat-mobile's, the sets for Hart of Dixie & Pretty Little Liars, and much more!

 

Central Perk set

 

Bob's - Home of the Big Boy Burger

   

Santa Monica Beach

 

Santa Monica Pier

 

 Graffiti Walls in Venice Beach

  

Skateboard Park in Venice Beach

 

It was a great trip, filled with a lot of contrast between locations - from snow to tropical weather, mountains to beaches, God-made to man-made landscapes, and beyond!  So blessed to have been able to enjoy it all with great friends!