Cotton Pickin’ Good Time

I made it! I made it! John and I left the baby girl for a WHOLE weekend, and while I missed her like crazy and called home a few times a day, I didn’t have a single meltdown…until I got home. When Ms. Jeanne pulled up to the curb at the airport and I saw her sweet sleeping face in the backseat, I lost it. All the things that I missed- laughs, sleepy smiles, pajamas, playtime, bottles, even diapers- just flooded over me, and the tears finally came. Then she woke up and looked over at me sitting next to her and gave me a sleepy crooked grin, and everything was better.

John and I had a great weekend in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl. We love staying at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, so we tried the one in Dallas- it did not disappoint! We love wandering around and checking out all the little details. We arrived in Dallas late on Friday afternoon and ate a late dinner with John’s friend, Chris, and his girlfriend, Emily, when they got to town. On Saturday, we cheered on the Rebels to a victory in the Cotton Bowl at the Cowboys Stadium with CB, Emily, and Larry. That night we ate a steak dinner and then had a quick visit with my cousin, Suzanne, and her kids, Worth and Grace Ann, before we collapsed from exhaustion. On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a nice, long massage at the Opryland Spa (thanks, Jeanne and Peg!), and then met the gang for a breakfast brunch for Larry. Since everyone else was leaving town after our meal, we headed to the airport and found out there was an EARLY FLIGHT HOME! It truly was a miracle because the flight was PACKED, but we managed to get seats on the plane and made it home to Helen Grace two hours earlier than expected. And man, I haven’t let go of her since! I even took off Monday afternoon so that I could spend a little more time with her. I hated the thought of getting off work on Monday night and only seeing her an hour before bedtime, so I really took advantage of our unexpected time together.

Here are some pics of our weekend getaway…

Our room at the Gaylord Opryland Texan- we love people-watching from the balcony. They still had the hotel decorated for Christmas, and it was beautifully done.This atrium had shooting stars, a moon, and a tree with beautiful hanging lanterns.,   Getting ready for the big game on Saturday morning. I loved this poinsettia tree at the hotel. Approaching “Jerry’s World”…This is the view when you first walk in the east entrance- the screen is all you can see through the glass!The screen is over 11,000 square feet. Whoa.  I was pretty proud of this action shot I caught of a successful field goal kick. If you look carefully, you can see the ball along the bottom blue row in the stands. We were on the 8th row. Pretty awesome.Uncle Rod came to find me. Poor Aunt Sharon, who had knee surgery a month ago, was stuck in her seat. She was such a trooper for even being there! John and I hiked up to the tip top of the stadium, and this was the view out of the monster sliding glass doors. There was also a really nice lounge/bar up there, and Ford had somehow managed to drive cars up onto the beams along the top section of the lounge. Really?! Would someone really buy a car at a Cowboys game?? During my favorite part of the game- halftime!Game over- whew! Ole Miss won 21-7. I have no clue how we came out on top in that ugly game?!  The boys after the game Can you tell I’m ecstatic over the win?! Larry, John, Me, Emily, and Chris after the game Uncle Rod, Aunt Sharon, Ryves, Mary Chris, Me, and John outside the stadium. It was an act of Congress to coordinate this meeting with basically no cell service in the stadium and all of us sitting in different sections! We got to visit with my cousins, Grace Ann and Worth!