April started the same way March ended - with the Blue Angels. We had so much fun on Saturday, March 31 at the airshow, we went back on Sunday, April 1. We spent the whole day at the airport again and enjoyed the beautiful weather while watching the various planes fly. Of course, watching the Blue Angels was our favorite part of the show on both days. I heard someone say after the airshow was over that it's odd for the Blue Angels to do airshows in the same place so often, but they said they loved coming to Tuscaloosa because they always felt so welcome here. They are planning to come back in 2014 and we will be there again when they do.
April 2 was a very important day in our family. My baby, Katelyn, turned 9. I can't believe she's 9 already. It seems like it was only yesterday that I brought her home from the hospital. Since her birthday was on a Monday and we had spent the weekend at the airshow, we decided to save her big celebration for Easter weekend. After school on her birthday, we did her favorite thing - we went shopping. She is definitely my daughter. We went to Toys 'R' Us and JC Penney and let her shop for a couple of hours. Then we had dinner at Chic-Fil-A. That was what she wanted, so that was where we went. We all left with milkshakes too.
The next weekend, April 6, we headed to Scottsboro to visit our family. Katelyn decided she wanted to spend the day at the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville to celebrate her birthday and since Huntsville is only about an hour away from Scottsboro, we decided to make a weekend of it. We got there relatively early on Friday and headed to the race track to watch a little drag racing with my niece and her family. The next morning, I took Hunter, Katelyn and Breanna (my great niece) to Huntsville and we spent the whole day at the Space and Rocket Center. It was the first time I had been there since I was a teenager and it's always been one of my favorite places, so I was just like a big kid. We had fun walking around and looking at everything and, of course, riding the rides. I had fun reminiscing a little on the drive there and back and telling the kids about the places I used to go and the things I used to do when I was younger. The drive between Scottsboro and Huntsville really is beautiful. The mountains in the background against a blue sky with big fluffy clouds made a pretty picture indeed. Driving over the bridge where I used to go fishing with my dad and uncle brought a smile to my face too. When we got back to Scottsboro, we headed over to my brother's to grill out. We sat there talking and laughing until around 10:00 that night. The next morning was Easter. Of course, the Easter Bunny made an appearance overnight and the kids got way too much candy as usual. We spent the day being a little lazy until it was time for us to head back home. We stopped by the cemetery on our way out of town to visit my mom and dad. Still seems strange not going by to visit my dad in person.
The next weekend was A-Day so we spent Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium watching the Crimson Tide's spring scrimmage game. It was a beautiful day to be outside and the Tide looked pretty good I must say. I think we have another great football season to look forward to and I now officially have football fever. Only 121 days until kickoff. I can't wait!
On the 20th, I headed to Birmingham with some friends to celebrate an upcoming wedding. This bachelorette party was a much-needed girls' night out for me. We had hotel rooms in Birmingham and went out to a couple of places to have a little fun. There were about 15 of us in all, I think, and we had a great night with much laughter. I need to plan girls' nights more often. Laughter with friends (old and new) truly is good for the soul. It was also around this time that I learned a hard and valuable lesson. You can be the best possible friend to someone, but that doesn't mean they will be a good friend in return. It sucks but that's life. In the end all you can do is be the friend you would like your friends to be and hope you choose your own friends wisely. If you're lucky enough to have a true friend, don't take them for granted. Not everyone will be there when you truly need them, but your real friends will be. Those are the ones that deserve your time. Forget the other ones. They aren't worth your tears.
I wound up getting a couple of tickets to the Alabama-Vanderbilt baseball game on the 22nd. Since Hunter loves all things Crimson Tide, I asked if he would like to go. I rarely get to spend any time with just him, so I was really looking forward to this. The weather turned out to be perfect for watching a little baseball. Even though the Tide wound up losing the game, I really enjoyed getting to spend the afternoon with my favorite son. After the game, we went to Cold Stone Creamery for a little ice cream treat too. That scored me lots of "cool mom" points.
Katelyn got into some poison ivy on the 25th, so she got to spend some one-on-one time with mom that day and the next day. She had a terrible rash on her face and arms so we went to the doctor and got some steroids and cortisone cream to dry it up. She was pretty miserable on the first day, but she was a trooper. She has now informed me that she is scared of trees though. We think that's where she got into it - leaning against a tree in the front yard. Time to do a little yard work, I guess.
April 27th marked the one-year anniversary since a massive tornado tore through Tuscaloosa and so many other places in 2011. It was a day spent remembering the events of a year ago - we talked a lot at work about it and every news channel had special reports on that day. It was sad to remember all of the destruction but hopeful to see how far we've come since then. The next day I took Hunter to get his sports physical so he can play football and basketball again next year. After we got done with that, we grabbed some lunch and headed to the movie theater. I promised him if he read "The Hunger Games", I'd take him to see the movie. He read the entire book in 3 days, so I kept my promise. It was a really good movie and I think I'll read the book now too.
For those wondering, I have still been spending time in the gym. I go 4-5 days a week most weeks. I'm 12 weeks in and seeing even more of a difference. I can honestly say I look and feel better now than I have in years. I have no intention of stopping my workouts either. I have a goal and I intend to achieve it. I'm proud that I can look back and I say I did it the hard way - the right way.
April was busy for us, as usual - work, school and all the rest of the ordinary things in addition to the highlights listed here. May will be busy too I'm sure, but we wouldn't want it any other way.
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