Last weekend was outstanding. It was very fun and relaxing and the only bad thing about it was having to come back home.

Friday:

Rob had a half day at work. When he got home we packed, took care of things around the house, and headed out. The drive out to my Mom's place was uneventful and didn't take too long. We only made one stop - in Stockton so that Gabriel could get something to eat and so that we could all use the bathroom.

We got to my Mom's place a little before 5pm. We unpacked and then headed right back out for dinner. We headed into town and went to Dirty Gurtz for dinner. Gabriel was well behaved and ate fairly well. He ate a good amount of his mac and cheese and ate a bunch of cheese off of some cheese fries we were all sharing.

After dinner we headed back to my Mom's place where we relaxed and watched TV until we all got tired.

Saturday:

I slept in until around 9am on Saturday. It was odd because I was up about an hour before Rob. I chilled out with my Mom and Gabriel until Rob woke up and then I hopped in the shower and got ready for the day.

Saturday was our day to head into Dubuque. We made a run to Lowe's because my Mom needed a new filter for her fridge. Even though we were just wandering around a hardware store, this was one of the high points of the weekend. Gabriel wanted my Mom to push him in the cart, which meant that Rob and I got to hold hands while wandering around the store. Neither of us could remember the last time we held hands because we always need to push Gabriel in the cart/stroller or hold his hand when we're out and about. It was nice. Rob did not get his rubber hammer and contrary to his belief - a circular saw blade is NOT a frisbee.

From there we headed to the Dubuque humane society to look at the kitties. My Mom gave them a donation and I found a super friendly kitty who really loved me named "Tiny". He was a buff/orange color - the same color as my childhood cat. He kept reaching out through the bars to touch me with his paws an would meow frantically when I left the room. I wish I could have brought him home with me, but I don't think Sydney would have appreciated it.

We then drove around a bit and made a stop at a comic book/game store. Rob got the latest D&D book (Monster Manual 2) and picked up two Ravenloft second edition books (Van Richten's Guide to the Created and Van Richten's Guide to Fiends) for me that they had in stock... new and for the price on the book! Talk about an amazing find!

From there we headed to the local mall. We went into Borders and they didn't have the DVD I was looking for in stock (Repo: The Genetic Opera). However, we did get a few things for Gabriel. We then headed out into the mall where Gabriel got to ride in the noo-noo and a spaceship. We decided we didn't want to walk around the mall because it was horribly hot in there. It was hot and humid outside and even worse in the mall because they didn't have the air conditioning on. So, we grabbed a cookie for Gabriel and then headed out.

We went to House of China for dinner. The food was excellent, as usual. On the way out I bought a jade elephant statue that they had on display for sale. It's really neat looking.

On the way back to my Mom's house, we made a Wal*Mart run. They had Vitamin Water on sale for one dollar each, so we got a bunch of those. We also bought a lot of stuff for Gabriel as well. More of the stuffed Littlest Pet Shop animals he likes so much, a Wubbzy ball, a Bakugan, and the Ben 10 action figure of Echo Echo. He was in toy heaven.

We then headed back to my Mom's place for the night and relaxed and watched some TV. When Gabriel was asleep we popped the bottle of Duval-Leroy champagne I brought with us. It was some really good stuff.

Sunday:

Sunday I slept in until around 10am. I then got ready and we headed out for a day around Galena.

On our way into town, we saw "walk an alpaca" signs. I wanted to check it out, and so we headed there. Low and behold, there's an alpaca farm we never knew about in Galena! While I didn't walk an alpaca, Gabriel did get to see one up close and personal - and pet it a lot. It was a neat experience and we'll definitely be back there again. Next time, I'm walking one.

From there we drove around the area a bit looking at cool houses and we even found a neat park to take Gabriel to down the road.

We also did a quick stop in Wal*Mart because Gabriel really wanted more Ben 10 stuff. We got him the Ultimate Omnitrix and a Chromastone action figure. Unfortunately, they didn't have the ones he really wanted in stock.

Eventually, we made our way to downtown Galena and did some wandering around. We didn't do that much though because it was hot, humid, and SUPER crowded. We did manage to get some popcorn in the popcorn store and some salsa and hot cheese in the hot sauce store.

For dinner we went to the Log Cabin where Gabriel was a bit fussy and kept asking for the action figures they didn't have in stock.

After dinner we headed back to my Mom's place, did laundry, and watched TV.

Monday:

Monday I got up at 9am, showered and got ready, and hung around the house a bit before packing. We ended up heading out of my Mom's place around 12:15pm. Gabriel did not take it well. In fact, he had a complete screaming and kicking fit for *half* of the ride home. He didn't stop until the McDonald's in Beloit when we got him some nuggets. Then he calmed down and passed out.

When we got home we quickly unpacked and then headed back out to Pick N Save for our weekly grocery store shop. Apparently grocery shopping at 5pm on Memorial Day meant that the store was practically empty. Unfortunately, so many things on the shelves were expired. That store really doesn't seem to pay attention to that sort of thing. It's a good thing I do.

While we were out, Rob made a run into Wal*Mart to see if they had any of the other Ben 10 action figures in. They only had Swampfire, so we got that one for him.

After shopping we headed back home for the night. We ordered in pizza and buffalo wings for dinner from Pizza Hut and gamed.

After gaming, I went online and found the Ben 10 action figures of SpiderMonkey, Humungousaur, JetRay, and Brainstorm through Amazon. I was also able to order the Repo DVD and soundtrack. Woot.

Today (Tuesday):

Rob's back at work and I'm slugging through all of the backlogged stuff that piled up over the weekend. I have a headache under my right eyeball, but my migraine meds seem to be keeping it at headache (and not migraine) level... for now. I hate it, it's one of those that hurts with my pulse. Blech.

I'm doing laundry (our clothes) and having fun with Gabriel. I miss being at my Mom's place and I miss my Mom. Hopefully she'll be able to come out in June so I can take my car in for its one year service.

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Healing Potion

You are caring and quiet. You know whats going on and act on what you think is right. You never leave a friend behind and would even offer to carry their stuff in case of injury. You are kind and everyone likes you.

What Kind of Magical Object Are You?