details, details, 'n more details!

Here it is!

Thursday, Nov. 1 - A pleasant day for driving. Stopped at Chickfila for lunch. Have I mentioned how good their lemonade is?! Also the carrot, pineapple, raisin salad! Mel and Danl think it looks disgusting, but they didn't taste it! Arrived in Jonesboro and spent a relaxing evening at the hotel. (see "Away to AR" post)

Friday, Nov. 2 - SLEPT IN! Finally scraggled around and got dressed to go to Cracker Barrel for brunch. I devoured 3 pancakes with Montmorency (which our waitress kept pronouncing as "Montgomery") cherry topping and whipped cream, bacon, and a fried egg along with cups of coffee! Mel had the pecan pancakes, and Danl ate biscuits 'n gravy and a hash brown. All tanked up, we headed to Sears next. Picked out and purchased a stainless steel gas grill for Alex and his bride. Dropped Danl back off at the hotel so Mel and I could girl shop. ;) Jonesboro is a great place for shopping and eating! Couldn't think of a store or restaurant it didn't have! First we browsed Trees 'N Trends; Mel bought the most awesome orange glass fish! Goodwill was next; which netted nothing. Turtle Creek Mall was our next stop. Got Danl some brown leather, casual shoes on clearance for $15 and me two pair of flip-flops for $.35 each! Didn't end up going to see Alex and Ashton's house since we found out it was 40 miles away from Jonesboro. 80 miles round trip! We'll go see them once they are living there one day! Spruced ourselves up for the supper and proceeded to get lost getting there which was mostly my fault since I had been driving when we got there the night before and "thought" I remembered how to get back out on the road we had come in on. But, I DIDN'T and we ended up on dirt roads before finally making it to the First Baptist Church in Truman. Supper was soup and cinnamon rolls, really delish! Visited with lots of friends and fam we hadn't seen in awhile. Ashton was wearing a navy dress with embroidered flower/vines. Alex was maybe 10-15 pounds thinner I thought! They appeared to be pretty relaxed. After supper, a quartet sang, Kelvin Wenger read a poem, and the youth had three songs. We soon headed back to the Hilton.

Saturday, Nov. 3 - Wedding Day! Danl looked so handsome in his new, dark turquoise shirt! We got the church on time without getting lost. I think there was around 350 people there, not sure. The choir sounded really good, Greg Schneider was the leader. Ashton was a beautiful bride! Her dress was simple and elegant; a soft, shimmery mint green with lots of loops and buttons all the way down the front. She had loops and buttons on the belt too. I didn't see her shoes, but Mom said she thought they were shiny with narrow high heels. She's pretty short; or maybe she just looks that way standing by Alex!! They make a good looking couple! Her younger sister was a pretty maid of honor, wearing a beautiful black dress. Since Anthony is tall too, the wedding procession looked pretty balanced out! :)Mike preached an interesting wedding sermon. Lunch was Alex-style - definitely not skimpy! Huge portions of smoked Boston butt, gourmet potatoes, a roll, fruit salad, and pickles covered our plates. For dessert, it was cherry or blueberry cream cheese frosted white cake. I think the mints were even homemade! Two small pale green hearts were on each black napkin. Cute! The flowers on the tables had a large white gerber daisy and greenery with black rocks in the vase. For some reason, I didn't take in the bouquet on the brides table! I know! I know! I failed miserably! I also missed the silverware chest and Bible. Mom said she had beautiful Oneida silverware. Danl wasn't in the mood to hang around while they opened gifts; they didn't seem to be in any kind of rush! Just enjoying it all and taking their time. :) We sacked out for awhile; then went out for sushi at Hiro Japanese Grill. It was super!

Sunday, Nov. 4 - Packed up and checked out by 8:30. Struck out for the mountains of Guntersville. Drove through some beautiful country on Hwy 72. Dad had jumbo bacon-wrapped shrimp and steaks coming off the grill when we arrived! Yummo! Their beautiful, new house is almost done, just a few things here and there that need completing. Finished the day with coffee and pecan pie.

Monday, Nov. 5 - I woke up not feeling the best; clogged sinuses etc. My last zyrtec had sadly rolled down the sink drain at the hotel. :( MomDenise and Erica had a cleaning job in the morning. When they got back, we went to town. Ate at Bubba-Rita's for lunch (it's like Moe's) then while Erica got fingerprinted, I shopped Fant's. Didn't buy anything!!! Fun to look around though! It's an amazing, old-fashioned general store! Everything from camo and frying pans, to home-decor, luggage, gifts, and clothing! Next, we tried to shop in Bakers on Main, but it didn't work out so well since it was closed. "Sorry people! Your sign wasn't very noticeable!" Took some McD's by to the teachers. So great to see my friend Tawanna who is teaching there this year. Back on the farm, Dad cooked up a delightful hibachi supper of fried rice, steak, shrimp, chicken, and scallops! I would be the size of the farm if we always ate like that!

Tuesday, Nov. 6 - Home Sweet Home!