{Weekend Adventure} Go Tigers!

What a FUN day! Our Tigers were set to play in the Cotton Bowl against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tonight, and we came prepared to cheer them on to victory!

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed on over to the stadium to explore and grab some lunch.

Hubby & B checked off another NFL Stadium on their list!

I was excited to see the "Sky Mirror" sculpture by Anish Kapoor, the artist behind the famous "Cloud Gate" sculpture, affectionately referred to as "The Bean", in Chicago's Millennium Park.

We grabbed lunch from the food trucks parked outside in the (Notre Dame - ooops!) fan area and headed inside as soon as the doors opened...

GOOO TIGERS!!!

Clay Walker sang the National Anthem...

We ran into several people we know...friends, family, and classmates, too, and the kids' dance moves got them on the jumbotron... 

Bless...

All in all, it was a GREAT night!

The Tigers are headed to California next for the 2019 CFP National Championship Game!!!

Not sure if we'll make it out there or not, only time will tell, but my vote is that we just keep driving WEST from here... You think I'm joking...

Everyone knows that I LOVE a good road trip, and I mean, we're already a third of the way there at this point!

Oh, if only things like work and school and army commitments didn't get in the way...darn it!

{Weekend Adventure} From Denison to Dallas

After two straight days of covering quite a lot of ground, today ended up being a bit of a much-needed down day...

We kicked off the morning with a visit to a giant sculpture of President Eisenhower's head...

One might think that this sculpture is a bit strange, but wouldn't you know, we felt right at home...

On our first summer road trip to Texas back in 2012, we visited the backyard of the studio of sculptor David Adickes and about a gazillion of his president heads, that were literally just being stored right there in the parking lot...

That parking lot is actually what drove our first family road trip all those years ago. At the time I found out about the quirky pieces of art, I knew that I HAD to get our 6 year old lover of all things presidential to that studio!

So, there you go! Today it was kind of like coming full circle back here in Texas!

Next, we visited President Eisenhower's birthplace home...

I've always seen photos of this charming little house and thought to myself, "How quaint!" Today we learned more about the actual reality of living here. Train tracks ran literally through the front yard, and our guide shared that up to 15 trains passed through each day making the home constantly covered in soot both inside and out! Now, that doesn't sound very "quaint", does it?

This was President Eisenhower's very first home, but he didn't live here very long. Most people think of him hailing from Kansas, and that's where his family moved back to when he was only 2 years old.

When we left Denison, we headed south to Dallas, Texas hoping to visit the 6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, overlooking the spot where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, but tours were sold out for the day...

Instead, we grabbed lunch at the Texas institution, Whataburger, on the way to our hotel...

and enjoyed a pretty laidback afternoon playing UNO, reading books, and watching ESPN coverage of the College Football Playoff!

We ventured out to dinner at the local dive sub shop, Dino's Subs, and EVERYONE approved...

It was delicious! Judging by the line that was about 15 people deep as we left, the deliciousness of this place is no secret!

After dinner, we capped off the night with a successful Target Run for more car snacks...

Hubby should be arriving shortly (just in time, I might add!), and we will be complete yet again...

We can't wait to cheer on our Clemson Tigers in the Cotton Bowl tomorrow!

{Weekend Adventure} Arkansas Again!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...  I feel like I was JUST saying how "Clemson seasons like this don't come along every year..."

BUT...  Here we go again, heading into our now FOURTH straight appearance in the College Football Playoff...  PHEW!

With Christmas, and its festivities behind us, the kids and I (Hubby will meet up with us later) set off diving mid-morning yesterday and made it all the way to the small town of New Albany, Mississippi before calling it a night... I had never heard of New Albany, but learned that the poet William Faulkner was actually born there!

Early this morning, we headed out for a full day of adventures...

We crossed into Tennessee near Memphis and had a bit of fun at the welcome center giving a little homage to Elvis (pretending to sing)...

before crossing the Mighty Mississippi into Arkansas!

Our first stop was the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum situated on the banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock, Arkansas. Unfortunately, it was closed due to the government shut down, but we enjoyed some time stretching our legs in the surrounding park...

 

We left Little Rock and continued on to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We last visited Hot Springs on our summer road trip back in 2012...

Boy have these babies (and the park sign, too!) changed!



{July 2012}

 {December 2018}

We enjoyed strolling along Bathhouse Row and testing out the warm water of the naturally hot springs...

before sitting down for a yummy lunch at Superior Bathhouse Brewery, a NEW restaurant (housed in an OLD bathhouse) since our last visit...

From Hot Springs, we continued trucking along to Hope, Arkansas, the birthplace of President Clinton...

Last time we came through here, we toured President Clinton's first home, but missed the memorial to the hospital where he was actually born (that no longer stands)…

It's been on my "Next Time We're in Hope, Arkansas..." list ever since...  That list can also be interpreted as my "Next Time We are Within 5-6 Hours from Hope, Arkansas..." list, as well...

So naturally, yep, you got it... Back to Hope we went!

Check! Done with Hope, Arkansas...unless another up and coming politician emerges out of there and becomes president or vice president...  Never say never I suppose!

From Hope, we continued on to TEXARKANA! This road tripping in the winter is for the birds...  No, not the cold, but the short days are making me crazy!

I had wonderful dreams of recreating one of my all time FAVORITE photos, but it was not to be...

{July 2012}

We made it to Texarkana before 6:00pm, and from my photos you would've thought it was well past our bedtimes! It seriously looks like it's 10:00 or 11:00 at night!

 {December 2018}

On to Denison, Texas to spend the night!

Love these sweet (not so) little travelers so!

{Girls Trip} - Christmas 2018 - Nutcracker Ballet at The Fox

Today the 5 of us got up early, drove down to Atlanta, and grabbed lunch at the iconic downtown spot, The Varsity, before Hubby and B headed off to a movie...

The girls and I headed to see the Nutcracker at the historic Fox Theatre not too far away from our lunch spot. We've made this a little family tradition for the past few years (2015, 2016, 2017)...

I look forward to this special time with my girls each December...

My mother came along this year, too!

After the show, we headed over to Lenox Square to ride the Pink Pig!

Until next year...