Frozen Rivers and a Curious Spouse

After the holidays, temperatures went from bad to worse.  We hit wind chills in the -20's which resulted to ice everywhere.

I was surprised one day when Peter called me after work, asking if I wanted to take pictures out at Credit Island.  I was really hesitant with it being bitterly cold, but realized I hadn't used my camera in a while, so I decided to go.

It's always fun to see Peter with nature.  It helps me think of what he might've been like as a kid.  I was told he was very curious as a child, and after being married to him for only a few years, I quickly learned that that attribute didn't go away.  The river was mostly covered with a thick layer of ice and instantly, you could see that inner-child's eyes light up with the thought of walking onto the river to see how strong the ice really was.  But alas, that inner-child married an overly cautious woman who wouldn't let him go further than two feet away from shore.  He was disappointed, I'm sure.  But he's still alive, so I'm not sorry.

No photographers were harmed in the making of this picture.

A Davenport Christmas and Atlanta New Year's

This past Christmas was by far the weirdest one that I have experienced.  

Peter and I were forced with the fact that we had to work up until the actual holiday (well, the 23rd anyways).  So, with us going back and forth about how to celebrate this merry time, we decided to spend our Christmas in Davenport, and spend the rest of our time off celebrating in Atlanta with the whole Barnes family (minus two or three members).  

Living out west my whole life, I have never had a Christmas where there wasn't any snow.  So you can imagine my mixed emotions when I got home from work and saw that Santa didn't give me a white Christmas like I asked, but rather an intense rain storm, followed with a severe tornado warning that forced our little family to hide in our bathroom for a few minutes until the storm passed.

My mixed emotions continued when I had to keep reminding myself that I wouldn't spend Christmas in a house filled with baked goods and family, but spending it in a small apartment with a husband, a fat dog, and some candy I bought last minute.

Weirdest. Christmas. Ever.

However, I will make a small confession.  It was also the most peaceful Christmas I've experienced.  It was nice spending time with Peter watching movies, eating junk food, and opening presents given to us by loved ones (we were very much spoiled this year and we are very grateful).  While we don't have children now, who knows what the next year will bring.  We may never have another quiet Christmas like that in a long, long time.  So, while this Christmas was a bit odd for me,  it was also a tender reminder of how grateful I am for Peter and how happy I am to have him as a partner in our little family.

Shortly after having our Christmas dinner at Village Inn, we left a big tip to our poor waitress who had to work on Christmas, took down the festive decor in our apartment, and got ready for the long drive to Atlanta.

Atlanta is about 12-13 hours away from us.  We could've taken the long drive, but the Barnes family were still in North Carolina with Papa, Grandmother, Drew, Jessie, and Naomi, and we didn't want to show up completely exhausted from the long drive.  So we stopped in beautiful Tennessee and managed to find a pet friendly hotel in Nashville to stay in for the night.

Murphy loves car rides, but gets bored pretty easily.

I always love driving through Tennessee.  I love just laying back in my seat and looking at all the beautiful scenery that the state has to offer.  However, once we reached our hotel, I was far from impressed.

Our room was, for lack of a better term, extremely dated.  The carpet was gross, the bathroom was tiny, and I found it difficult to sleep with the a large and creepy photo of some old country stars staring at me while I'm trying to sleep.  Once I managed to get some shut eye, I woke up shortly after to the noise of someone knocking violently on our door.  My first thought was that maybe we slept longer than we should've and the knocking was from the maid, but it was only three in the morning and the knocking was getting progressively louder and louder.  Peter, remarkably, was sleeping through it.  I ignored it, hoping that whoever it was would just get the hint and go away, but the knocking continued.  So I nudged Peter awake and told him someone was at the door.  I didn't want either of us to answer the door because I was concerned about what kind of character would be waiting for us on the other side.  But Peter was just as cranky that someone was knocking as he was brave and had no problem answering the door.  

He answered the door to see a man wearing nothing but briefs, holding our do not disturb sign, and appeared to be drunk.  Peter's only answer to the man was "You have the wrong room, dude." The poor, pathetic man apologized and Peter quickly closed the door, muttering all the way back under the covers.

We won't be back at that hotel again I'm sure.

The next day, we finally reached Atlanta ready to see family and meet our new nephew Beckham!

The next few weeks were filled with watching movies, playing with animals, visiting arcades, taking walks with Murphy, Lori, and Zach, and loving on one adorable baby boy!

Murphy LOVED this backyard!  Hopefully we'll have one sometime before his doggy days are through.

Can you spot Scout?

Still willing to smile for the camera after good cry.

The new parents catching up while entertaining a new baby.

Isn't he cute?

We always love being around family.  We always love visiting Georgia.  And, like most vacations, we were pretty sad to leave (especially when we discovered that the snow finally came to the Midwest when we got there).  I hope we can make another trip down south before we leave to Wherever-They-Say, USA.  But who knows! There is a Purina Plant just south of Atlanta and I know we wouldn't complain one bit if we were assigned there.

This holiday went from odd and quiet to adventurous and fun; 

A Christmas I'm sure we won't forget!