Elise and her house

The following weekend, April 22nd, my niece Elise came over for a slumber party.   I had picked up a cardboard box house at Hobby Lobby that you could color.  Let's just say if you need amusement for a toddler for hours and hours, go get one!    We played in it all night and she had to sleep in it!   She also insisted "Yob" (her name for Rob) get in the house with her.   She watched her movies laying in her house all evening.   Good times!

 Getting ready to color!

 Taking a break - watching some TV

 Yob and Elise in her house

 Lazarus had to help with bath time!

Sleeping in her bed in her house!

Zac Brown Band

I have a lot of posts to catch up on!  

First, we attended the Zac Brown Band concert on April 15th in Ozark, AR.   We drove down that Friday with our friends Dale and Melanie - who were also celebrating their anniversary!   

It was supposed to be 58 degrees and 20% chance of rain - which is what I dressed for.   Instead it was in the low 40's with heavy drizzle and 30 mph winds.   The concert was outside in this huge field.   So I'm sure you can imagine how we froze to death.  My husband was kind enough to let me wear his vest and he did bring me a stocking cap.  We didn't even know if they would have the concert due to the high winds and their equipment hanging up on the stage.   Even considering the weather, they were awesome.  They sounded just as amazing if not better in person!    I cannot wait until we see them in July with Kenny Chesney - although I'm sure we'll have the extreme opposite in temperature then!

We also got to attend the dinner with them before the concert.  No pictures were allowed at that time - sorry!    It was a lot of fun - the food was fantastic.   Rob bought me their cookbook as a gift afterwards!

 Here Rob is layering with newspaper in his shirt in the hopes of staying warm.

 Happy Anniversary Dale and Melanie!

 So cold waiting for the concert to start!

 To try to keep warm, Melanie putting koozies on her toes for insulation!

We were this close to the stage!

OMG!!!!!!!

Remember when my wonderful husband surprised me with tickets on Valentine's Day to see Zac Brown  Band??   That concert is this Friday.  

Now guess what he surprised me with............................................................................we get to eat fried chicken with the band before the concert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I'm SOOOOO excited.  I'm sure they'll ask me to sing a few numbers with them during the concert.  Don't worry - I know all the words - I practice in the car to Rob all the time.

Don't worry - I'll have plenty of pictures to show off.

So who is the best husband in the world???  This guy:

(Picture from last weekend - Rob had to model for a photo shoot on recycling and fishing that I had signed him up for as a pleasant surprise)

Grandma

This is a happy and sad post at the same time.   My grandma Sweaney passed away on Monday the 28th.    We knew it was coming but you never fully prepare yourself.   I know she did not suffer and is in a better place now - visiting with family and grandpa - waiting on the rest of us to join her.  

Yesterday was her funeral.   It was great to see so many family and friends turn out to remember her.   I got to visit with cousins I haven't seen in years.   Sad that it had to be under those circumstances.  

I have so many memories with my grandma and grandpa.    We spent so much time at their house growing up.   I feel very blessed to have had my grandparents in my life as long as I did.   I'm glad Grandma was able to see me get married - something she asked me about a lot!  

Thought I'd share some great pictures of her in remembrance............

Here is Grandma with some cousins - she is in the chair

 Here is Grandma when she was 15 years old

 Here is Grandma with her two sisters - Betty and Pansy - Grandma is on the left

 Here is Grandpa and Grandma in 1952 in New Mexico

 Here is Grandpa and Grandma at Bennett Springs State Park

 4 generations - my great grandmother Nannie, Grandma, Mom and me

 Here I am with my grandparents when I was about a year old

                                      

Here I am with Grandma at my wedding in October

This one is comforting to me - it's like they are waving good-bye - see you soon!

PERU!!!

We made it!    Survived our trip and conquered Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail.  

The trip was fantastic.  My husband is the best travel partner in the world.    He'll take care of you, the details, the planning and speaks Spanish which is a huge bonus!  

The only problem we encountered was the day we were to leave.   We get to the airport for our 4:00 pm flight only to realize it had been changed to 12:30 that day and we had missed it!    Since we missed our first leg of the trip, all other flights got cancelled.    We had a great lady at the American airlines counter helping us and she was able to trade some seats with Delta and rebook our trip.  That was scary!   

We made it to Cuzco, Peru on Thursday the 3rd.   Explored some local ruins, toured the city, shopped in a little market area and acclimated to the altitude.  

Here we are arriving in the courtyard at our hotel - they served us coca tea as soon as we arrived to help us acclimate.

This was the square and view outside our hotel:

 This is us at the market getting ready to shop for goodies!

Llamas and alpacas are everywhere.   The use them for yarn for their clothing, to carry stuff and for food.   We tried the alpaca and it actually was pretty tasty.  

What are their other specialties you may ask?    Guinea pig.  That's right - the little furry animals we have as pets.    Some restaurants even allow you to pick the one you want before they cook it - alive.   Like we do lobsters.    Here are some pictures of a restaurant where you could do that.  You could even feed it the seasonings you wanted ahead of time.  I'll spare you the picture of what it looked like served at the table.   But imagine a whole pig with the apple in it's mouth........it did not taste good at all..............

We also loved people watching and observing the culture while we were there.  The little children were so cute.  I don't know how many times I told Rob to grab one and hide them in my backpack.   I swear I'd have a dozen right now if I could!

And here are a few pictures of the city - loved the architecture:

On Saturday the 5th, we were picked up by bus to travel to the beginning of the Inca Trail for our 3 night, 4 day hike.   We had breakfast along the way and met the others in our group.   14 hikers in all with 2 guides.

I can easily say the hike was one of the toughest things I've accomplished.  I'm so proud of us for pushing through and finishing. Approximately 30 miles in all and we added an extra hike up a mountain to overlook Machu Pichu when we were done.   The views were beyond incredible.  Pictures do not do it justice.    The ruins are amazing along the way.  I was awed by how advanced the Incas were for their time.   I'd love to go back in time and live with them for a while just to understand more since there is so little we know.  

Here are some pictures of the hike.   The trail was very steep and A LOT of stairs!



Orchids in the jungle




View from our tent one night



Yes - I'm climbing out of a dark, steep tunnel!



One of the large rocks at Machu Picchu

We arrived back to our hotel Tuesday night and had a few more days to explore.  We took in some museums, toured the amazing churches and saw a mummy!   We arrived back to our house on Friday the 11th.   Rested up on the weekend and now we're back at work - planning our next adventure!  

We have so many more pictures of the trip - I couldn't post them all - you'll have to come over and visit to see the rest!