the thoughts of anna june: Padres Visit

Last weekend, my parents came to Louisiana to celebrate Mom and my birthday's! We had a wonderful time. I absolutely, love my padres. I am so thankful for the people they are. :)

They came in Friday and met me at work. I have changed a lot in my office, and so they were able to see all that I had done! I think it is still kind of surreal to them that I am a 'professional' with a real job in a real office that has four walls and a door. Let's be real, half the time it is still surreal to me! Anyway, we went to eat a Newk's, which is by far one of my favorite places to eat in Shreveport. After lunch, they dropped me back off at work and ran some errands and stopped to visit some friends. We met back at the Mission and followed each other to Arcadia. By the time we got home, David was off work. We had dinner at JR's in Simsboro, and hit the hay early. David and Dad had big plans for early morning bulb hunting!

David and Dad got up before the sun and went searching for bulbs and other various flowers/plants. I love that my husband and dad both share the love of gardening. Growing up, that was always something I loved to do with my dad. We would go to Callaway's, Lowe's, Home Depot, and pick out things. Dad would always let us pick out the "prettiest" flowers and then we would go home and help him plant them. Now, I get to do the same thing with David. :)

Mom and I spent the morning in Bossier attending the Shop for a Cause that the Junior League of Shreveport puts on. We found some wonderful finds, including some great new skirts for me! I got some birthday money, so I treated myself. (Not that I didn't get plenty for my birthday!) Anyway, I always enjoy spending time with my mom.

Once David was off work, Dad was done playing in the yard, and Mom and I made it back from Bossier, we had Subway for lunch and then went to pick up Aunt Char for our afternoon adventure. We headed south to Briarwood. It is about 160 acres of natural gardens. We were about two to three weeks early to really enjoy anything blooming, but did enjoy the time we had there. Everyone enjoyed the tour and riding on the golf cart. The tour guide was over 80 years old and had been giving tours there since he was in 7th grade! The best part was that it was so incredibly peaceful. I told David that I have decided we are going to have a log cabin one day that we can have as our winter weekend getaway! Naturally, I would also like a lake house that can be used for our summer weekend getaways. Hey, you might as well dream big! We are living like no one else so that we can LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE! :)

After our tour, we headed to Ruston and went to eat at Portico. David and I were the only ones that had been there before, so everyone else was a little skeptical. However, after the appertizer was devoured, they knew there main course was going to be delicious. Portico was a success and will be repeat!

Since this was a birthday celebrating weekend, Mom and I had found a cupcake bakery that was set up at the Shop for a Cause and got six different cupcakes to share. After dinner, Dad and David dropped off the girls and they went to get the cupcakes from our house and pick up some ice cream. We split each cupcake in half and everyone was able to get to taste them. It was the perfect way to end a great day!

Sunday morning Mom and Dad packed up and headed back to Dallas. But before they left, Mom taught me how to make Baking Powder Biscuts. We have several containers of jelly that people have made locally, and Mom asked why we hadn't opened any of them yet. I told her we didn't have anything to eat with it. She fixed that! We had a wonderful breakfast and the biscuits will be repeat for sure. While we were cooking breakfast, David and Dad spent the morning outside. We had tilled up a part of our flower bed to expand it, and they were finishing it up. The new flower bed looks wonderful.

Their visits are always too short. We can't wait to see them again at Easter in Dallas. Thank you for everything Mom and Dad! We love you!!

The following are a variety of pictures from the weekend:

David and I SOOOO excited to go on the tour at Briarwood! ;)