Three Years to Celebrate

We made a rule in our house before we ever got married. It goes something like this:

We will ALWAYS celebrate our anniversary. 

We made a promise to each other over three years ago that no matter how busy our lives get or how difficult it is to get away from the kids (what kids?) that we will always take time to get away and celebrate another year of marriage. The previous anniversaries were pretty special. First we went on a cruise. And then we went to Atlanta and stayed at the Ritz Carlton. I knew several months ago that this anniversary wasn't going to be anything like those. We simply don't have the funds. But I really didn't want to break the promise either, I mean, we don't even have five kids to find a babysitter for. What's our excuse?

I started looking into some cheap cabins in the north Georgia mountains. I figured we could pull together a couple hundred dollars if we really, really tried so that we could have a nice, relaxing weekend. I was discussing our plans with the girls in my small group when one of them said that her in-laws own a lake house. Well don't you know, those people are extra generous and they let Sam and I stay for free! We were so blessed!

But wait, back up… I haven't told you about our actual anniversary. We went down to Atlanta to eat on our anniversary. This is the first year that we haven't been able to link up the getaway with the actual day, but it still turned out nice. We ate at Ruth's Chris in Buckhead. Every year for Christmas, my step-dad gets us a gift certificate to an Atlanta restaurant. It's a pretty sweet gift. We would never go to these places without that gift card, so it's a really nice treat. We had never been to Ruth's Chris before, so it was a lot of fun.

The food is, of course, delicious. And expensive. Like holy cow expensive… like really, was the cow holy? Because it sure costs enough! But still, very tasty. I'll be honest and say there were a few things I didn't love about the restaurant. Firstly, the cost. It's even more  expensive than out favorite Atlanta steakhouse, Chops, which I didn't think was possible. Secondly, the plates. The plates that the steaks are served on are 500 degrees!!! I get that this is their claim to fame, but seriously, it was like having a weapon on the table. Even knowing they are scorching hot, it's tough to reach around and not brush the plate. Sam bumped his and informed me that yes, they are hot. Can you imagine kids at the table????

Anyway, here's our spread:

top left: Calamari, bottom left: Lobster Mac & Cheese
top right: sizzling plate o' steak, middle right: pommes frites,
bottom right: chocolate mousse cheesecake

Friday morning we packed our bags, kissed Sterling and Everest goodbye, and headed to the lake house. It's a lovely place on a little lake just north of Atlanta. We spent Friday picking up some groceries, taking the paddle boats out, enjoying the hot tub, and going out to dinner! Dinner was great! We found a cute little restaurant in Canton called Downtown Kitchen. It was a great find! Apparently the teenagers think so too (or maybe their moms?) as the Canton homeschool coalition was having prom above us. Haha! So fun! We left and one of the boys was outside smoking (shame on him) in a CAMO VEST with his tux!!! Ahhh! I wish I had been brave enough to snap a picture! Anyway, I digress, the food was delicious, as you can see:

Saturday we were extra lazy. We lounged on the porch in a swing, canoed, interrupted a goose mating dance, lounged in the hot tub, watched Game of Thrones, took the paddle boat out, met a duck, cooked dinner, and watched the Final Four! Yea, the NCAA tournament is always a part of our festivities. Way back when, I made the mistake of scheduling our wedding on the Final Four (my bad, it's not a holiday on the calendar). Which means that there were TV's at my wedding reception, we spent Monday of our honeymoon ordering in pizza, and every year since we've spent either Saturday or Monday holed up inside instead of out on the town. But whatever, it's a fun tradition.

top left to right clockwise: morning porch swing, Fried Chicken,
relaxing in the hammock, our duck friend, Sweet Potato Fries,
hot tub fun, Blackened Shrimp Pasta, cheesy self-photo

So yay for us, we managed to celebrate with some style thanks to some penny pinching, gift cards, and our incredible hosts for the weekend! I'm calling anniversary #3 a success!