Sooooooooooooo, how was YOUR weekend?

. G'morning friends, I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and managed to avoid some of the torrential downpours, staying warm and dry! We had a wonderful "three day" weekend, with Paul taking Friday off so we could play "kids" the entire time. Friday was spent at Busch Gardens... with a gorgeous day, clear skies, mid 70's with nothing but sun (uh, lots and lots, per my shoulders and nose). Since it was a work day/school day, the crowds were minimal at best. If you're being a "KID" for the day, no lines RULE!! When we arrived home that night we found a delivery on the front porch, a gorgeous fuchsia azalea plant with a multi-weaved pink bag. What a great way to end an already great day, thank you Donna Mae, love YOU bunches!! Saturday, we were up early and on the road by 6:30 heading towards Kings Dominion. We decided to stay overnight in Richmond for our Anniversary, at the Marriott near the Airport (thank you David & Natalie, we used the gift certificate Paul won at the January Winter Conference). Since Paul was supposed to be underwater during our Anniversary, all of this planning came together at the last minute. This is our 5th year anniversary [yes, we're newlyweds] but Paul's been GONE for the last three, so this was a special gift, all the way around. Saturday, we met up with JoAnn (Tigger), Holly (PinkPrincess) and Keith Barron, from the VaBoard. I'll be linking the photos at the end of this post if anyone is interested in seeing a bunch of kids disguised as grownups! JoAnn was such a TROOPER too, bless her heart, she couldn't even ride any of the rides because of her recent neck surgery, but she still paid the big bucks to get in, so she could hang out with friends. Of course, for purely selfish reasons, Im so glad she did!!! We got to spend some one-on-one time together (minus the smoke-nazis!) and she truly is just a breath of fresh air!! SO full of life, energy and happiness, it's freakn contagious! *** Disclaimer *** If JoAnn's pictures mysteriously show up and you see "Lei" holding a FOOT LONG CHILI CHEESE DOG? Um, it's a fake, she's doctored it up and that did not really happen!! I was chomping on celery or carrots and she "photo-shopped" it to LOOK like a chili-dog, honest! Saturday night was spent with Natalie (da' BOOT, er, I mean Tink!) ...and her sweetie, Alan, for dinner at The Tobacco Company! What an adorable couple they make, he's such a wonderful guy who's obviously enamored with the beauty on his arm. We never expected Natalie to make it after her accident last weekend, so we were in for a double surprise when she not only joined us, but got up on the dance floor too. I have a few photos from that night, including two of "da BOOT". We had several pictures taken while we were in the ladies room, unfortunately, most of those were a BLUR!! Which is actually kinda funny, cause the very nice lady that offered to take them told us she was a "photographer by trade" ... hmmm, might wanna consider trading in that diploma? Sunday was another early day and although it did not go as planned - it was still a lotta fun. In a nutshell? We got lost, a 30 minute drive to the Strawberry Festival ended up being 3 HOURS, never found the flippin' place - gave up, drove in the direction of VaBeach and decided to head back to Busch Gardens again. As luck would have it, just as we park our car and get ready to walk into the park the skies opened up and it started pouring. The good thing about it? The park emptied out - people are running, drenched to their cars as Paul and I fight our way into the park with our umbrellas. We actually heard a few people comment on "how stupid the peeps who were just arriving were" ....[smirk]..... well, us STUPID NEWBIES got the last laugh. Within 20 minutes of arriving, the rains stopped, the sun and blue skies came out and we OWNED that park!!!!!!!!! Lots and lots of "front seat rides" on a variety of coasters and Ive got the aches and bruises to prove it. When we got home, we found several surprises waiting on us - we rec'd a beautiful bouquet of flowers from our very good friend Carolyn (Celtic Rose) in Massachusetts (thank you Carolyn, we love YOU!). Also, Keoni spent all day Saturday and Sunday, on the outside and inside of our house. Not only yard work, he also completely washed down the entire outside of the house - then proceeded to totally clean, wash, dust, vac****crub the INSIDE of the house. How special is that?!?!? After a wonderful exhausting three days of FUN, it was really nice to come home to a totally spotless house, minus MY sweat equity!! Good lord almighty, lemme tell ya' ---- THREE DAYS at Amusement parks is rough rough rough on a 45 year old body. Every piece of me aches, a few bruises have popped up and a big ol' smile is STILL plastered on my face. Sooooooooooooo - anyone still awake out there? Sorry this is so LONG, I truly did try to cut it down but there was just so much to share! If you'd like to see some photos from the weekend, here they are! PHOTOS: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcNWjdq5cNmYU Um, and yes, I had to toss in a photo of Big Kahuna and his Daddy (Paul) .... Kahuna couldn't get close enough to him and pretty much wrapped his body around Paul's neck and ears, too cute! Hugs to all - Lei .

Glad you had a Happy Anniversary. My weekend was spent giving the hubby the cold shoulder as he Pizzed me off. Our anniversary is in 3 weeks. Hope I dont stay pizzed off that long. Sunday got to see my family that had not seen me since Christmas. They were amazed. Makes me wanna keep working on it. Still got to make myself exercise due to foot pain. See the foot dr in a few weeks. Guess all the excess weight was cushion for it and now that it is gone OUCHY!!!! Legs do look better after exercising. Just wish the thigh muscles would come out of hiding. LOL Have a great week!!!! Shannon

G'morning Shannon!! Sorry to hear the hubby set ya' off - hopefully a day or two in 'time out' (aka the dog house) will bring him back to his senses? LOL, he's got three weeks to make it, not only better, but very very special. I hope he makes good use of the time!! I can imagine the excitement, happiness and exclamations from your family when they saw you again. Heck, I just saw you in January and in comparison to the recent photos, you're melting before our eyes!! Have a wonderful week - hugs, Lei

Lei, Thank you again for including Alan and I in your celebration. As always it was a blast . Great food .. ( Loved the Brie and Honey ! ) ... So .. the bathroom pics where a blur.. I am sad .. those where some good pics ! Yes, Alan is such a sweetie .. and he had a great time .. Let's just say I payed for my dancing on Sunday .. My foot ached so bad .. I stayed in the bed most of the day .. but it was so worth it !!! He is very excited now about coming to Boogie and Splash ! I told him .. that dancing is always in order when Lei and I are together ... Again .. Congrats and much love to both you and Paul ! Natalie

So VERY TRUE, sweet friend, referencing the "dancing is always in order when we are around" ....I told Paul on the drive home, I was still amazed/surprised that you had enough gumption to even want to get OUT for dinner, I sure never expected dancing too. That being said, I also told him that you're pretty much my DANCE PARTNER IN CRIME and if there's music and a way, you will be up on the dance floor - as you obviously proved that night. Thank you so very much for being a part of our celebration - I know it was little to no notice and you still "made it happen, "broke" foot and all", and that truly meant the world to us!!! As far as the pics in the bathroom - I'll yank them out of my "delete bin" and send them over to you? NOT all were BLURRY, some were just BAD pics!!!! I took about 50 pictures, total, and narrowed it down to 20 to post. Figure if they're off centered, someone's blinking, the blur factor is in place, etc, I just delete them... it's the pefectionist in me! Let me know if you want them and I'll be happy to send them your way! Oh, and if there are any off Shutterfly that you want? Just right click on the LARGE photo and save it to your hard drive (don't save it in the smaller thumbnail version, or that's all you'll get, the small version) Love you - thanks again for being a part of our celebration, Lei

Pssssst.......Kathy and Rich?!?!? I'm just now digging through mail and trying to play catchup. Found the ANNIVERSARY card from you two and wanted to say THANK YOU!!!! Sorry, I didn't get to it before my morning post, but wanted to make sure to thank you TOO, for the warm wishes, and the laugh!!! Hugs - Lei

Lei! Sounds like you had an absolutely awesome weekend! Friends....family and all sorts of surprises waiting for you when you got home. How fabulous is that!? You are ONE BLESSED woman! I am so glad your weekend was an absolute hit for you and Paul! Congratulations on a beautiful few days! Thanks for sharing those pictures they were so nice to see you all with those beaming smiles! Everyone looked like they had SO MUCH FUN! You all look GREAT in the pics! Hugs! Shele

Good mornin'! Wow what a wonderful long weekend you guys had, full of all your favorite things (sun, wild rides, dancing, friends). Well, you guys deserve a super anniversary, after having to miss the last three. I loved the pics, everyone looked so great. Of course, my favorite is the one of Kahuna and Paul, so cute. It was brave of Tigger to go to an amusement park with a neck brace on! And then there's Nat dancing with a boot on, it's starting to look like the WLS walking wounded, LOL. What a beautiful lacy dress you're wearing at the dinner. Is it new? I don't recall seeing it before. I'll save my own weekend news update for later, not nearly as exciting as yours. Actually, I could use a little less excitement. luv ya, Carole

Hello girlfriend!!!!! We must be on a telepathy kinda level right now? I just sent out an email to ya'll about getting together for lunch this week, ater I hit send I see yours to us about your weekend (yikes!!! I'll reply more to that, off the board) and another from you to this thread! LOL, as much cross typing/posting as we've been doing, our ears should be ringing loud and clear, right about now, huh? Thanks again for your "Anniversary Post" ...wish you coulda been here when Paul and I noticed it, about the same time, it was like a chorus of "Aaaaaaw, how sweet!!!" As far as the dress, I bought it last fall, off the summer clearance rack at Dillards for FIVE BUCKS! Cool huh? Which is why you havent seen it yet, it's been waiting in my closet for the temps to get warmer! Love you bunches!! Lei

Happy Belated Anniversary !!! It looks like you two had a great weekend !! Everyone looked great in the pictures !!! Today is our " Two year Anniversary." Time sure does fly !!! My weekend was okay...eventful at least. I wrote it all in my profile. Lately just very off the wall, strange things have happened to me. I blame it all on Indian Burial ground, but don't know if there were that many Indians in the world...LOL Thanks for posting the pictures !!! Your dress was beautiful. You looked like a doll !!! ( I made a shutterfly album but still unsure how to attach it correctly to my profile...too perplexing for my mind !!!) Big Hugs, Dana