Daves Trip

Last week I took what has turned into my annual trip to see my sister. The last couple of years I have managed to make it to Jana's first game of the year. I guess it started when I went to watch them beat Virginia Tech. The next year I flew to TCU only to get kicked out of the gym for not seeing eye to eye with an offical and the announcer. Last year I made it to George Mason for her first game at the new place only to find out that it was going to be a very long year. Wednesday afternoon I embarked on this year's adventure only to find out that the curse of Jana in the airport was waiting on me. I went to check in on the internet to find out that my flight had been cancelled so I rushed to find another flight which left me with two hours to take off and I was still in Tuscaloosa. Once I got to Birmingham that flight was delayed and it got delayed again once I got on the plane. This left me to make a mad dash in the Atlanta airport which by the way is no fun at all when you have done nothing in the way of running in the last few years.

Once I made it to D.C. Jana picked me up and we ate at C.P.K (California Pizza Kitchen) The pizza was great and we then went home to watch the C.M.A. Awards.

On Thursday morning we went to the office at 9:30. Thats right. I would hate for the poor girl to have a real job that started before 8:00am. And come to find out Coach Porter doesnt want to see her that early because word is she isnt a real happy person. I took a picture of her clock in the jeep to document the time that we arrived at Dunkin Doughnuts on the way to work.

Practice started at 12:30. You could tell that this was going to be a much better year than last year just by walking into practice. Last year everyone was kind of down but this year people were joking around and having fun with each other. That is until somebody screwed up which didnt make Coach or Jana to happy.

I know its a tough job but somebody has to do it. And since we got to work oh so early I just wanted to note what time it was when we went home as well.

After practice and a little time in the office Dad took Jana and me to Ruth's Chris for dinner. This was my first time but probably wont be the last. We just have to make sure dad is close by when the bill comes :-). Thanks again dad. After dinner we made it to REI where I thought I had picked out some real nice hats until I got home and showed Loren the pictures and she said "NO"!

Friday was game day and everyone was much more excited about this game than they were anytime last season. The picture below has Mike, EJ, and Jada in it. I guess they ran through the banner more than once. Must be nice to have Coach as a mom and be able to run the whole gym just like its yours. Because if anyone stops you all you have to say is my mom said I could and they just let you go. Thanks again to Coach and Mike for naming their little girl after Jana and me. I always knew that Jada was short for Jana Dave.

So it wasnt quite a packed house at the start of the game but by halftime there was a pretty good crowd. They won their first game which brings them to 1/4 of the wins they had all of last season. Good luck to everyone. Jana just know that they are young and they will make a lot of mistakes early in the year. Losing sucks but please answer the phone at least a day or two after a loss. Until next year, Roll Tide and GO Mason.

L-S-WHO?

YAY for another "W"!

Of course we had a wonderful weekend :) who didn't? And with it being one of THE biggest games of the year, we couldn't help but post lots of pictures with all these GREAT people we got to spend the weekend with!

Here are The Gladden's!
Mine and Dave's weekly Saturday picture!

This is Ryan (mine and Sam's cousin) and Ashley (his girlfriend)! They came to TTOWN for one of the best games of the year! We had so much fun with you guys on Saturday! You must come back when you can stay a little longer :)

The Boys (minus Brooks and PLUS a Corey)! What a crowd... What a crowd :)

Watching the boys run out of the tunnel! Get ready for kickoff - this is going to be NOTHING short of stressful (but we'll love it anyway, right?)!

Yay for family Saturdays! We've been so blessed this year to have LOTS of family around us every weekend! I must say that I have enjoyed it so much!

ROLL TIDE with a roomie pic! At this point, we were hoarse from screaming and had run the two LSU fans off that were sitting in front of us! OOPS :) We were happy though!

YAY!

Massive amounts of people on the field. For about .5 seconds I thought I was about to see the goal posts come down! I think I would've had to join on this particular night :)

Job well done, boys. Job well done!

FINAL SCORE: Alabama 24 - LSU 15

WHOA! What a game! Now that we're locked into the SEC Championship, keep your fingers crossed we get our second chance at a National Title! After all, Dave and I already have plans to make the trip to Pasadena... So it HAS to happen :) It just has to! Growing up I always said we'd win another National Championship during my time at UA. This is it! Get Ready! These are the stories you live to tell when you're old and grey and I can't wait!

Here's to another amazing weekend. See you guys in two weeks!

Couples Retreat

Last weekend Dave had conjured up a little surprise! He told me to pack a bag for the weekend - only to include blue jeans, no dresses - and be ready to go when I got home from clinical! Like usual, I figured he wouldn't be able to keep the secret for the whole week, but to my surprise, he DID! Here we are in the car, about to start our excursion and I am still clueless as to where we are heading. Luckily, he had told my mom so at least someone knew where we were going :)
Chic-Fil-A was our lunch stop Friday! It had become our usual Friday lunch place and Dave has become a little superstitious about it :)

At this point, I am still trying to get Dave to tell me where we're going. Tight lipped and everything - he never busted!

We made a little surprise stop by my mom and dad's houses, but... I wanted to surprise my mom so we didn't call. She was out having fun and we missed her but we did a little trick-or-treating while we were there and made a picture, of course!

It has started seeming like every time we take a trip, it's always on a race weekend. The last time we made this drive and there was a race, we came home engaged! So, it was kind of funny to drive by here again and remember the ride.

I was trying to get a picture of the "Welcome to Georgia", but I missed it and could only get this one!

Once we got to our destination - ATLANTA - Dave fed me a little bit of the plan. We were headed to the Varsity for a greasy hamburger for dinner, then to see "Couples Retreat". We didn't quite make it to the Varsity, but we did find a CPK at Atlantic Station! And.... The movie was GREAT! I would suggest it to anyone :)

Saturday morning was one of the two BIG surprises! We were headed to the Georgia Aquarium. We had been talking about going since it opened a few Christmas's ago, but have just never made it. Here, we are in the elevator headed to breakfast and thought we'd start our day with a picture!

At the petting pool, you could stick your hand in the tank and slide your fingers along the back of sting rays and sharks! They were slimy - yuck - but I'm glad I tried it!

This is the BIG tank where we watched them feed the fish and we ended up seeing this HUGE shark!

We found pumpkins and skeletons in most of the tanks and I got really excited!

"Ocean Voyager" was where the big tank was and all the HUGE fish!

We also went to see this 3-D show of a fish named DEEPO! It was pretty cute but we definitely jumped out of our skin a few times due to the special effects :)

This is a jelly fish! One of my favorites that we saw!

What a pretty picture!

NEMO! "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!"

This was a little "walk" through that you could crawl into and see the other side of the tank. Dave wanted to try it. Little did he know that it was only three feet high!

Here is a shark in the petting pool.

Me and DEEPO in the gift shop!

So, we asked a French guy to take this picture. I handed it to him vertically - and he took the picture horizontally. UGH. But, I guess it turned out ok.

Outside the aquarium! It was supposed to be raining, but when we walked out, it had stopped long enough for us to get to our car :)

Part Two of Saturday's surprise: Trick-or-Treating in Rome :) We were doing our usual Saturday football watching and somehow we got everyone together for a picture!

Dave was the perfect candy hander-outer! He enjoyed it SOO much!...So much exactly, that he always wanted to have his picture taken with the cute kids!

Sunday morning was the BIGGEST part of the surprise! Dave had planned with Ninnie for us to have a long awaited FRIED PIE making lesson! I was so very excited :)

He did such a good job! His were perfectly rolled out and round and everything!

He was SOOO very proud! His FIRST fried pie!

Now, it was my turn!

I need a little more practice getting my dough "round", but I think mine turned out pretty good as well.

All in all, I think we did a pretty good job! Thank you Ninnie for teaching us your secrets :) We thoroughly enjoyed our lesson and hope one day our fried pies are as good as yours!

After a WONDERFUL weekend of new adventures and FUN surprises, we were headed back to TTOWN! I had a paper to write. Our couple retreat weekend had come to an end, but this is definitely one I will not forget any time soon!

THANK YOU, Dave, for planning such a wonderful surprise! Fried Pie making again, soon?