We got home just after Lily had gone to bed, and she actually got out of bed a few minutes later. I went to put her back down and she was so excited to see me. After a big hug, she said "Mommy, I have a surprise for you and Daddy, come on!" I thought about saying no and putting her back to bed but she was so excited, I couldn't. She took me by the hand, and we walked out to get Ryan. She led us to our bedroom where we could see our surprise. Lily had painted each of us a picture frame ("Pink because pink is my favorite color") and put stickers spelling Lily and Mia on it plus some pretty flower stickers on them. She had also put some Dove candies out for both of us, and I received several magazines (my favorite way of relaxing). Liz also gave each of us a gift card to use just on ourselves which was very appreciated. Lily was so excited about giving us these things. She was precious to watch. Thank you so much to Liz for "helping" her put this together and for all the wonderful help you have given!
Our office was closed on Friday, and we wanted to spend the whole day with the girls. We got up that morning, had breakfast and headed out to the zoo. It was a beautiful day; a perfect one for being outside. The flamingos are right inside the gate, so we of course went to them first. They were cleaning out their space, so they were bunched up near the top, but Lily was still excited to see them. She immediately took out her camera to take a picture. After she took it, she turned to me and said "they all smiled and said cheese for me." Here's the resulting picture.
We enjoyed our time there even though it was pretty crowded. Here are some more pictures we took while visiting.
The pandas were very active. This little one was playing on his ropes and trees and walking all around his area.
He stopped for several minutes right in front of Mia. She kept trying to reach in and pet him, but thankfully, there was glass between them!
He was right there!
Mia also enjoyed watching the little monkeys jump and swing through their area.
The girls liked playing on the Willie B statue for a few minutes.
Mia liked the little school bus on the playground.
They have a four person seesaw which is pretty fun. I should know because I got to sit on the other side to balance them out!
After being at the zoo and playing for a couple of hours, we decided it was time to go. Mia fell asleep almost immediately since she had missed her morning nap. Lily stayed awake for a few minutes but then was out too. We were going to The Varsity for lunch, but as we pulled up we saw at least a hundred people trying to walk in. I have been there on GA Tech gameday's before, and it was nothing like the crowd that was there. We couldn't even count all the tour buses that had just emptied out. Needless to say, we kept going. We went to Jason's Deli at Cumberland which was different than The Varsity, but it was good. As we were walking up to the entrance, Lily said "Mommy they have ice cream here!" I don't remember taking her since she was just a few months old...how did she know that? Anyway, we enjoyed a good lunch (complete with ice cream), and Mia kept us entertained the whole time. 
Ryan and I were able to take naps Friday afternoon too which was a wonderful treat. We were all pretty wiped out from our day playing, and it wasn't until Ryan's cell phone rang at 5:30 that I woke up; I woke Ryan up, and we quickly got the girls up and ready because we were supposed to meet the Lundquists' at Chuck E Cheese at 5:30! It was fun to catch up with them, enjoy some pizza and have fun with some games and rides. Here's Lily on the carousel which she says is her favorite ride there.
Mia tried it too, but didn't like it quite as much. As you can see in the picture, you have to watch her because she will try to jump off a ride before it's finished!
They also had a new horse racing game which Lily tried. It's a pretty big horse that you sit on and it moves back and forth, jumps, etc to make you feel like you are in a race. She must have ridden this a dozen times. She had a blast on it.
On Saturday, Ryan took Lily to run some errands with him in the morning, and I got to spend some time alone with Mia. What a treat! I am so amazed every time I am with her. I remember being like this with Lily too; just amazed at every thing she is learning. You would think the second go-round would be less impressive, but it's not. I am so in love with this little one! We spent close to an hour in the play kitchen. Mia would mix things in a bowl with a spoon that was way too big for her (it's one of my old silicone mixing ones), but she didn't care. She would mix a few things, then put it in the oven, turn the knob to make the timer sound, open the oven, remove whatever she had cooked and pretend to eat it or offer it to me to eat. She did all this too while sitting on an upside down green storage box so she would be at the right height; she would scoot all around on it. Then she had a blast practicing jumping as she would stand on a box top (approximately 1 inch from the ground), hold my hands and "jump." Of course, it was more of a quick step off, but to her, it was jumping and the look of joy on her face was priceless; I couldn't stop to get the camera because I wanted to see the look on her face again and again. We read a book together which always thrills me, and we sang some songs together. It was much-needed time together. I could see she was starting to get tired though, so I finally put her down for a nap, and then decided to lay back down myself just because I could.
Ryan and Lily got home, but let me sleep for awhile longer until Mia woke up. We decided to go Steak and Shake for lunch and try their new Kool-Aide milkshakes; if you're wondering, they taste just like Kool-Aide. After lunch we drove down to the playground just for a change of scenery. The girls had lots of fun playing on the two playgrounds there. After becoming so brave on the beanstalk at the zoo, Lily decided to try the little rock-climbing wall they have on one of the playgrounds. She would climb about 3 feet into the air and then step onto the platform again and again and again. I love seeing how proud of herself she is after doing something new like this! After about an hour, we decided to head to Karen's down the street because it is an adorable store, and the owner has decided to retire; she's having a 50% off sale right now so we found several cute things at a great price.
After nap time, Ryan headed down to the Braves game with Charlie and Brian which is something he loves to do. He even came back with a great new hat. I think this was a fun way for him to relax after a long tax season; he definitely deserves it with all the hard work he put in. While he was there, the girls and I had breakfast for dinner (a favorite around our home) and just enjoyed playing together. After Mia went to bed, Lily and I cleaned up the playroom and then cuddled while watching Charlie and Lola and reading a couple of books together. It was really nice to have some time alone with her too. After she went to bed, I put up a few things and then watched a Netflix movie called "My Sister's Keeper." It was an incredibly difficult movie to watch (the story revolves around a family who has a daughter with leukemia), but it was wonderfully done and acted. While not really a relaxing movie, it was nice to have some quiet to just enjoy to myself.
On Sunday morning, we all went to church which was great. It was wonderful to catch up with our friends, the Barbados and the Rohans, at Moe's afterwards too. We came home and Mia immediately went down for her nap; Sundays always throw her off schedule. Lily and I played for a little bit and then watched the second half of Horton Hears A Who, a movie she loves. When the movie ended, it was time for her nap. Mia woke up shortly thereafter, and she and I played together some more. We were back in her kitchen which was still fun. Lily came out a little while later, and then Mia actually needed to go back down for a late second nap. While she napped and Ryan watched the Braves game, Lily and I went to Publix which is something we both enjoy. We had a fun evening all playing together and both girls went to bed without problems.
This has been a wonderful weekend decompressing after the stress of tax season. We have about 10 weeks of extremely hard work, and at times, it becomes really difficult and I'm not sure it's worth it. However, when I think of the flexibility and opportunities it affords us the other 42 weeks of the year (and even during those 10 weeks when necessary), I realize how fortunate we are to have this business. I have to say though, I am glad life can return to normal again though, and this was a great way to welcome "normal" back!
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