Rifles, Skeet, & Burgers... Oh My!

That pretty much sums up our Saturday and, I have to say, it was wonderful! But don't let me get ahead of myself.

B and I started the weekend on Friday afternoon heading for the Summit, where we planned to check out our knives, which we planned to buy online with Williams-Sonoma credit. They were originally over $2,000 (yipes!), marked down to $999. The only reason we considered them was because it was a block of 22 knives that included the 8 steak knives we already had (about $400 total), so if we returned those and rebought them with the block, we'd come out way ahead on our knife set costs.

Obviously we wanted to be super sure, so I took B to try them out in the store. Turns out they don't have them in the stores anymore because they're no longer carrying Henckels. The lady looked in their inventory and said, "How much are these knives online?" We told her they were listed at $999. She replied, "We're separate from our online division and we have them listed in stores for $240." For the exact knives we wanted! Including the 8 steak knives, which we'll return now that they come with our set and get $400 of credit. This is crazy!

Long story short, do you need knives? Get thee to a Williams-Sonoma!

Off the soapbox now. We headed home, happy and heady from our first big-kids purchase and celebrated with a dinner of (leftover!) steak, shrimp, mashed potatoes and red wine. Great end to a fun week!

We got up early on Saturday and headed out of town with B's coworkers for a day "on the farm." I've been "on the lake" and "to the land," but never "on the farm." Turns out "on the farm" is country code for a kick ass day of gun shooting, four-wheeler riding, and some of the best burgers I've ever had (save B's bacon cheese burgers, right sweetie?). We shot some skeet, learned how to fire pistols, and generally had a great day of chair-sitting and chatting. Such fun. We were sooo filthy when we got home!

We got my car serviced (60K miles... ooph) then got to shopping for cars for B. Fast forward to about 8:30 and I am hungry, cranky, and dehydrated (you'd be dehydrated too if you'd spent 8 hours someplace with no bathroom!), so B made the informed, wise decision to take me to Jim N Nicks for loaded potatoes, cheese biscuits, and sweet tea. Perfect.

Sunday we got up and headed to church, then made a big brunch of eggs, bacon, and biscuits (nothing like cleaning out the fridge and pantry to lead to huge meals!) before doing a little more car shopping, apartment packing/cleaning, and laundry. We met up with my brother and his family for a fun night at a local pizza place where the kids eat free on Sunday and the arcade games are free. It's like built-in babysitters! The kids got to show B their new bedrooms, which they loved, and we all got a good dinner, which made everyone happy.

B & I got home in time to take a walk before it got too late, then make two big batches of cookies to thank his coworkers for Saturday. Anyone need cookies? We seriously have four dozen leftover. Hilarious. I LOVE my standing mixer, as it made the batter super quick to make. Huge fan!

Overall it was an awesome weekend and one of the first that B and I have had together, at home, alone, with nothing pressing we had to mark off the list. We had such a blast and I'm so cherishing these few weeks we have together in my apartment before we head up to the new (third!) home of our marriage. We're having so much fun-- I just keep getting reminded how lucky I am to have B in my life. So blessed!

A few things still got to me this weekend. Dad wanted me to get my car serviced this Spring, so finally doing it reminded me so clearly of his sweet hints, suggestions, and near bribes. I got sad again on Sunday after seeing my brother and his family. No real reason, I think they just make the memories more real, and bring the hurt back to the forefront of my mind a little. I'm thankful for it, really, as it helps me remember the little things about Dad. Oh, and throwing away the peeps he bought me for Easter. Damn sugary reminders!

Overall, great weekend, even with the little pangs of bittersweet memories.