Bits & Pieces

Well, here we are. Back in the land of sweet tea and biscuits. We had a pretty eventful time getting here, but luckily a low key few days with family. Getting me on an airplane is no small task, but after a few splashes of Kahlua made it's way into my coffee, I was feeling pretty confident the morning of our flight. Our first leg of the trip went quite smoothly, but unfortunately our last flight had to make an emergency landing because of problems with the landing gear. Everything was fine, apparently. I, however, was responding like one of the passenger's on the plane on Lost, while everyone else was rolling their eyes and putting their headphones on to drown out my panicking sobs. (I respond this way to turbulence, so you can only imagine the emotional stability I exhibited during an actual emergency...) The swarm of fire trucks and ambulances that outlined the runway once we landed was a nice touch, too. Good thing I overpacked, because I am never getting on a plane again. Who wants to send me my things? 

We made our emergency landing in Birmingham instead of Montgomery, so we called up our good friends Joey & Christen who live near by and they took us in for the night. It actually ended up working out really well. We weren't planning on seeing them until later in the week, but Joey promptly rescued us from the airport and we got to enjoy dinner and drinks with them. They made what could have been an incredibly stressful night (as we were leaving the airport, I heard the flight attendant announce that they were going to give everyone free bus tickets to get to Montgomery..) quite wonderful. On top of it all, they took us to breakfast in the morning! They are two of the most hospitable people we know. Thanks again for redeeming our night with lemon drops and laughter! We love you guys! 

After breakfast, Matt's family picked us up and we all drove up to northern Alabama together. That day marked ten years since Matt's dad tragically passed away, so we gathered together at one of their favorite restaurants with his dad's dear friend Joe and listened to stories and memories over a huge plate of steak and potatoes. 

After visiting a few more sentimental places with the family, we drove back down to Montgomery and have enjoyed the past couple days together listening to Grandma's stories, drinking sweet tea and looking at baby pictures of Matthew! They always spoil us rotten with home cooked meals and big dinners out, so we decided it was our turn to cook for them. Matt grilled a huge rack of lamb, roasted some Mediterranean veggies and baked rolls. I whipped us up some apple dumplings for dessert and of course, the sweet tea was a flowin'. 

Today is our last day with the family before we head back up to northern Alabama to visit friends, if the weather cooperates! Oh my goodness, it is cold, I definitely didn't pack enough warm clothes. This morning as we were drinking our coffee by the fire, snow started fluttering down! So magical. It's going to make that walk back to California really, really cold. (Seriously, who is going to drive over here and get me at the end of the week?)