Our weekend away...

Galena of course was wonderful and relaxing...I love going away with my husband but this time really seemed extra special. I honestly believe I haven't laughed that hard with him in the whole 6 years we've been together. Now, we certainly have hysterical moments but this past weekend we kind of became goofy teenagers...well, sort of :)

For starters we got the kids off, I grabbed some coffee (CJ dislikes coffee...what is wrong with him)??? Then off we went! We put in our favorite CD and just talked about everything. 2007 was a huge year for us in many ways, CJ started his own company, we had a major backyard project we needed to finish since putting in the pool, Trevor started HS, Rachel was found to have a heart murmur (whew, nothing serious) and of course Linzhi LuLu Belle joined the family and the whole China Journey ended the year. So this year as we made our drive to the lovely Galena we reflected on how much God was present in our lives then and now. We stopped at our regular stop for lunch...of all places Culvers! He got a burger, I got fish then I took over the driving and he took a nap until we started getting to the hilly areas and I kinda of freaked out. I have horrible fears of heights and where we live it's FLAT but the closer you get to Galena the more hilly it gets and with the ice on the road...well, you get the picture...CJ didn't sleep long :)

Once we got into town, we went right to the B&B to drop our bags and to our pleasant surprise the Inn keeper's were just lovely! The house was adorable and cozy, antiques everywhere, quilts hung in the right places and fresh flowers in our room, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and of course the thing we love the most a beautiful view of the quaint little town from our room. After we checked in we drove to Main Street. (We originally wanted to walk but it was 8 degrees...ouch). Anyway, we went to all the of stores we love and believe it or not, I didn't buy a thing! I am shocked at this and I know CJ was wondering if my body had been taken over!!!! However, when we stopped in the old fashioned candy store I did get a vanilla cream chocolate and it was delicious! Now, since it was terribly cold we decided to drive in to Iowa and stop and a couple of stores there and see if any good movies were playing, once we were done with that it was time for dinner so we went to "Vinny Vinucchies" I think I spelled it wrong but anyway, rumor has it our cute Italian eatery is "haunted" ... We didn't see any of the famous ghosts but saw a few spooky old photos near our table, I of course couldn't look long or else I would get spooked for the evening. Our dinner was wonderful and I was starving so I told CJ, I watched what I ate all week to pig out but of course, it was too much for me to finish... I had the Linguine with lobster, crab and shrimp in a light sauce with Tabasco...yummy! Oh, CJ had boring ravioli ;-)

As parents, we don't really do much on the weekends for us so going to a movie at our leisure was another highlight of the weekend. We saw "Vantage point" it was a good thriller, I really just wanted to popcorn! As we drove back to the B&B the temp had really dropped it was now 1 degree and getting colder, it made the evening that more romantic!!! We got to our room and snuggled in for the night. One of the rules the Inn Keeper told us was breakfast is at 8:30 am sharp! We were there on time along with two sisters having a "sister"weekend and a newly married couple. This was very interesting, we didn't know each other at all but the conversation flowed, we got to know more about each other and had a great time. The food was unbelievable, first they brought out poached eggs over crispy bacon with fresh fruit. I thought that was enough...oh no, then we are served banana split french toast with juice and coffee. I am not a breakfast eater but I couldn't stop myself, NO ONE has made me breakfast like that so I ate up! Gordon and Maureen joined us (Inn Keeper's) and the conversation went into 2 hours! It really was wonderful. After breakfast, we packed up, hit a few more shops and headed back...believe it or not, 48 hours was enough, we missed our kids and our little life. We're going back in September for our anniversary and made a reservation and the "Snoops Sister's Inn" We can't wait to see Gordon and Maureen again!

Oh, no ghost sightings at the B&B...darn! LOL

I posted some pictures, enjoy!

Blessings!

Amy

Ps... Dear Anna, sorry for the delay!!! :-)