Monday, March 18, 2013

The Weekend Wrap-up





What a weekend!

Friday I spent the biggest part of the day baking monster cookies … not only are they huge cookies, but the recipe makes 10+ dozen!  Surprised smile  It takes a good while to mix them and then bake them.  But they’re good, so it’s worth it.  DD asked me to make a batch to bring to our “send-off” party for T#1 that evening.  All the grandparents were there with Daddy, T#2, T#3 and T#4 when Mama and T#1 returned from running errands … he was surprised!

We drove up to DeKalb Saturday morning … the plan was to get checked in, go grab some dinner and then get to bed good and early.  My sister lived in DeKalb for 4-5 years in the early 80’s, and then she moved to a small town to the west where she lived for 10-15 years.  So I traveled I-55 to I-39 many a time in years gone by.  But boy have things changed!  We must have seen several hundred wind turbines along the way!
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As usual, you can get a better look if you click on the picture … but better is a relative term here since I was using my iPhone in a car moving at 67-68mph and this was the view out the driver’s side of the car (I was the passenger).  See the white stuff along the ground?  That’s snow … something we haven’t seen here in a month now.  Here’s a better shot of the snow.
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DH and I got there first so we got settled in and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive.  DD and I were texting back and forth, and they were further behind than I would have thought … DD said that it took longer than expected for lunch because the place where they stopped was packed.  Even so they weren’t gaining any ground (DSIL drives a little faster than DH so we thought they’d make up some of the time they lost).  We heard what sounded like a knock on the door … I thought sure it was them, so I ran to the door … no one there.  A few minutes later DD texted asking if someone knocked at our door … I replied that someone had but no one was there and wanted to know why she was asking.  Her response was that she’d heard of that happening.  We continued to text.  It happened again.  According to DD they were about 5 minutes from the hotel.  A couple of minutes later, it happened a third time.  This time I asked if it was them … her reply was that they had just arrived and were checking in.  I’m sure that you all have long since figured out that it WAS them … I’ve always said that if you look up “gullible” in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of me.  Winking smile  I told DD that why shouldn’t a mama be able to believe what her daughter tells her?  ha!

We discovered a new place for sandwiches … even better, we think, than our old favorite Firehouse Subs.  Potbelly Sandwiches.  Oh my, the Italian is simply wonderful!  And DH was wild about his meatball sandwich.  It’s so good we stopped on the way home on Sunday for lunch at Potbelly in Bloomington.  And hooray!  And there’s a Potbelly in St. Louis … not all that far from where I’ll be taking that paper piecing class on Tuesday afternoon.  Gee, I wonder where I should have lunch that day? 

Sunday morning, T#1 and his entourage (Mama, Daddy and T#2) headed to the Y for warm-ups at 7:00 … his groupies (Nana and Papa) got there at about 9:00.  We had a couple of hours to wait for his event (100 yd butterfly), but that gave us time to find some good seats close to the pool … prime video territory. 
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If you click on the picture, you’ll get a better shot … T#1 is in the far lane.  He finished 3rd in his heat, but he wasn’t able to advance to the finals.  Sad smile  Still this Nana was so proud of him … to advance to the state competition after just one year of competitive swimming.  I can’t wait to see what he does next season!  T#2, too!

Because he was done swimming (he qualified for only the one event (he and T#2 both had qualifying times in their relay events, but because they were swimming on the B teams, they weren’t eligible to go to state for those events … only 1 team can go, and it’s the A teams), we headed back home.  As mentioned above, we took a bit of a detour and stopped in Bloomington for lunch at Potbelly.  Winking smile

The last 90 minutes we encountered a lot of rain, much of it mixed with snow and even some sleet.  Thankfully the temperature stayed just (barely) above freezing so the temperatures and the traffic kept the roads from being treacherous.   Whew!

We got home by about 4:30, so that meant that we had plenty of time to unpack, throw the dirty clothes in the washing machine, and just take it easy before an early bedtime.  It was a busy but fantastic weekend!  Red heart

15 comments:

  1. So funny about the knocking on the door at the hotel room. You will have to get even with her. So glad you had fun.

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  2. Glad you had a good trip and I'm sure your DD and all enjoyed the door knocking ;) We like Potbellys too - good sandwiches. It is now snowing again! ~Jeanne

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  3. Good morning! Sounds like a good trip with some good memories made. haha on the door knocking...this Grandma is pretty gullible too! Your grandson did great! 3 rd place is really very good! Congrats to him.. Enjoy your day!

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  4. Call me gullible, too, 'cause I was getting worried about that door knocking! ;)

    It sounds like a busy, fun weekend for all!

    Lincoln peas are a type of green peas, otherwise known as english or garden peas.

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  5. Kids!!!! Why do they torture us like that????

    Sounds like a fun, yet busy weekend. Glad you are home safe and sound.

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  6. It sounds like a really great weekend. I've heard of Potbelly's but have never gone. Guess I need to try it out.

    We had Firehouse Subs in Pigeon Forge I fell in love! :)

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  7. That's a lot of cookies but they sound yummy! Love how they teased you knocking on the room. He should be very proud of himself for getting to the finals and placing 3rd in his heat. So glad you had a nice weekend. It's fun to have a short getaway!

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  8. I'm very gullible, too, Kathy, so you're not alone! Monster cookies, huh? Would sure love the recipe! Our minister told yesterday about how he craves Double Doozy cookies from the Great American Cookie Co. and I've been craving them ever since! You have every right to be extremely proud of your grandson on a job well done!

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  9. A full weekend! Congrats to your grandson! That is quite an accomplishment!

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  10. Ha-love the door knocking : ) Glad you all had a nice weekend. Swimming is a great sport!

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  11. What a fun and busy weekend; so glad you had such a good time. I hope my sil's company was the maker of those wind turbines. Hope you had a wonderful day today!
    Hugs, Noreen

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  12. Sounds like a fun weekend!! Sorry your grandson did not win, but he did place and that's a big thing for the first time, isn't it.

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  13. Oh, my, that's a boatload of cookies!

    Well, my picture would go right beside yours. People love to play tricks on me because I'll fall for them every time.

    What a fun time watching the swim meet. Our little Princess is about to play "wee ball" so guess we'll get to watch her pretty soon. What fun!

    Happy week!

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  14. What a nice weekend. I had to laugh about your daughter playing that trick that is so cute.
    I am glad your grandson did so good for just swimming a year. That is pretty good.
    I am so glad you found a sandwich shop you like. I don't think we have them out here. Which is maybe safer. They sound yummy.

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  15. I thought my name would be next to gullible, but I guess it is yours! Glad you had such a fun weekend. Congrats to your little swimmer. What a wonderful experience for all of you. We are big Potbelly fans too-so yummy!

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I am SO glad you stopped by! No proving that you're a robot here ... I want to hear what you have to say! ;-)