Happy Birthday to Me!

After all the activity of the previous day, I still awoke WAY too early. Luckily I was able to get back to sleep and slept in -- too late for me to make the continental breakfast. The guys made it down there (really, do you think they would miss the chow bell?) Once I was showered and dressed, we set off for Gabby's house as she had to work this morning. I made Mike drive thru McD's for some cinnamelts for me for breakfast. Yum!

We got to Gabby's in no time at all. I didn't realize just how close our hotel is when I booked it, we're only about 15 minutes at most. When we arrived, we showed ourselves into her house. Since we arrived so unexpectedly, she hadn't finished cleaning up from cookie baking and Christmas package opening so the four of us pitched in. Reed and I tackled dishes and countertops while Mike and Micah tackled trash and living room clutter. I made that executive decision that all "horse stuff" should be put in one area of the house and human things kept in the living quarters. While cleaning, I was also reminded of just how many pony tail holders that girl owns. Every time I turned around -- a pony tail holder! I also noticed that, like her father, she sleeps with bottles of water on her night stand.

Once cleaned, I gazed in her living room and noticed how cozy it is. It just makes me want to curl up on the couch with a good movie or a good book. Afterwards, we stepped outside and I got a picture of a view from her deck just outside her kitchen door. The guys and I walked down to the main barn, which is a good half mile walk. We perused the barn and I got to meet the hired hand, Joseph, that I hear so much about. While we were waiting for Gabby to 'bring in' the horses and then 'turn out' the other horses, Mike and I swept the alleys. Joseph told me, "You all shouldn't be workin' like that! You're on vacation!" It was getting kind of late and they had a few stalls to clean so we went to Bowling Green to the Subway and ate lunch and brought them back sandwiches.

As you can see, Reed was quite fascinated with the Kubota. He now thinks he needs one of those (in camoflage) instead of a new lawnmower! Maybe Gabby can give him a ride before we leave.

Once Gabby finished her sandwich and showered, we decided to go to a movie. So we hit the road for Richmond. Honestly, if I lived here I would never go anywhere! The traffic is unbelievable! Three lanes of bumper to bumper, hardly moving traffice all the way to Richmond. We were originally going to try to see War Horse, but we would have had to wait an hour so we went to The Muppets. It was cute, kind of a corny story, but that's the muppet's charm. The movie got out and the guys were hungry (again) so we headed back towards our hotel and since I am the "birthday girl" it was my pick. I picked Applebees since I only wanted an appetizer for my supper (and an alcoholic beverage!). Looking back, I probably should have gotten the meal "to go". My husband ratted on me and I was serenaded to by the wonderful servers of the establishment! Once done there we headed back to the hotel and my wonderful daughter gave me a foot rub for my birthday while we (Mike, Gabby and I) watched "27 Dresses". Now for a good night's sleep! Maybe I can wake up in time for breakfast tomorrow!