The Weekend Is Over, But Not the Excitement

It is now Monday, and the excitement of my amazing weekend with my mommy and sister has officially come to an end. I am so thankful for the time that I was able to spend with them. It gave me such joy to wake up to their faces every morning, as I looked forward to the fun day would share. Here's a little overview of my marvelous days with my family.

My mom arrived on Wednesday night, and we all went to dinner at a yummy sea food restaurant right by the water. It was the perfect night to sit out on the pretty waterside patio and eat fresh and flavorful fish (well, steak in Ryan's case :-)). We had a wonderful time getting to hug each other and catch up on the last few months apart.

My sister didn't get into town until late Thursday night, so my mom and I spent the day shopping. We found adorable fall decorations for the apartment, and I even got to use some of the Pottery Barn gift card from our wedding. My mom has such a good eye for home decor, and she thinks about where everything will fit in a space, so it was such a huge help to have her with me.

After picking my sister Jordan up from the airport, we proceeded to chatter the entire way home and late into the night. It was a blast to have girl talk over a bowl of buttery popcorn and to see each other's facial expressions for the first time in a while. We awoke the next day to get ready for another day of shopping. This time, we focused on clothes. I didn't find everything that I expected to find at Forever 21, but I was still able to use my gift cards to buy several adorable shirts and a couple of fun necklaces. My sister and I had fun advising each other about our outfits when we emerged from the dressing rooms and weighed our fashion options. At the end of the day, we were all very pleased with our new apparel :-).

Incredibly, it was a bit too cold to lay out at the beach, but we still drove along Indian Shores and Clearwater beach to show my mom and sister the beautiful ocean scenery. We also stopped to walk around the Clearwater beach area, and later we ate some good ol' fashioned barbecue ribs at Cody's Roadhouse. Our final night together ended with a scary movie at the Imax theater and some Starbucks coffee in downtown St. Pete.

I was so sad to see my mom and sister step past the ticket counters at the airport on Sunday. It was a blessing to see them again, but it also reminded me of why I miss them so much. The memories from their visit make me miss them even more now that they're gone again.

But the weekend unfolded with two more surprises to make me keep smiling. First, my dad broke the news that he wanted to buy me a plane ticket to Colorado for the weekend of Halloween! He just couldn't stand the fact that he was stuck at home while my mom and sister got to see me. Next, we got a new puppy! It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment occurrence. I had been whining about wanting a dog for some time, and Ryan suddenly decided that we should get one. So we went puppy shopping on Sunday after my family left. And we found an adorable miniature Australian Shepherd. He is chocolate brown with rust colored specks around his face, white paws and a white nose. Ryan named him Rusty because of the rusty hue to the fir around his face and legs.

My life, as always, is so full of blessings. Let's just hope that Rusty continues to get more comfortable with his new home and that we can potty train him QUICKLY :-).