Want to fight off the Winter Blues?

This past week and weekend have literally been a gift from God.  I usually start the "Winter Blues" after the holidays as I go back to work and miss my family, but this past week has been a time of sweet, quiet family fun.  Last week we didn't have a single commitment all week long.....NOT ONE!  That has to be a Dowdy record.  Each night we came home, fixed dinner as a family, and enjoyed special time together!

Fun things from this weekend I don't want to forget even though I don't have one single picture:
-On Friday I picked the kids up and went on an "adventure"!  We started off at the River's Edge playground and played awhile before we walked down the greenway to another playground.  I loved the kids pretended that the playground was a boat and screaming for me to get on quick before the giant shark gobbled me up!  I loved their endless laughing as we went "rock climbing" down to the water and I held them by their feet so they could both feel how cold the water was!  It was a spontaneous, "what should we do next" adventure that didn't even cost us one single penny!  :)
-That night we had to say goodbye to our "Unkie Mike"!  While we are SO excited he will finally get to live in the same city as Kristen and start his new ministry we are so sad to see him go!  His parents had us over for a delicious meal (I'm talking so good I lost track of how many times I "went back for seconds")!  On Sunday when we got back from church and Chris turned on the football game Sam said, "Hey Daddy, where's Mike?"  Sam knew the drill!  Mike is such a sweet and thoughtful friend and while we are super sad he is moving away we are so happy that he has found his, "happily, ever after"!  We can't wait for the wedding in April!
-On Sat. we all went to watch Sam's "game"!   They actually did a version of a scrimmage and Sam scored several goals!  That afternoon we met up with the Storck's at the field to let the kids play and (are you ready for this...cueing "Sunrise, Sunset")  Sam learned how to ride his bike, with no training wheels, completely on his own!  He can start, stop, brake, go down hills...I mean how old does my little, teeny, tiny Sam sound now!  I'm so proud of him but man when did he get so big!  That night the Tweedy's invited us over for chicken pot pie to which we responded "what time do we need to be there"!  Have you had Cam's pie?  You really should!  Charley tormented Oreo (the cat) the ENTIRE time we were there...to which we responded, "Charley no matter how much you love that cat we are dog people"!  (Did anyone else immediately think of that crazy coach from Coastal Carolina's post game interview "We need more dogs"...that one was for you Chris!).  stay focused Emily Anyways, Thank you Tweedy's for the delicious dinner, go ahead and put the vet bill in the mail!
-Sunday's worship was spot on then we met the Storcks at the paved part of the greenway to test Sam's bike riding skills!  Of course he was a rockstar!  Funniest moment by far of the walk was hooking Elli up to Sissy's scooter and letting her pull us...yes you heard right...the adults!  I almost bit it several times!  

Did anyone actually make it to the end of this post?  I really do write this little ol blog to journal our day to day happenings in hopes that some day Sam and Charley will look back and catch a glimpse of their toddler life!  So just in case my kids are actually 20 years old and reading this let me review the morale of the story:  A great way to fight off the Winter Blues is to simplify your life and enjoy your family!