Garden Party

It's that time of year again!  We Lowes spent the bulk of the last weekend laboring in our yard.  Ryan remulched beds and did some pesticide application, and Alli and I replanted all of our annuals.  We added some tomato plants to the fold, and who knows?  Maybe they will make us gardeners.  I've always been interested in an herb garden.

Happy Spring, y'all!  Here's a look at our handiwork:

Back in the Saddle

I know we didn't get to celebrate it in blogland, but I'm sure you noticed that my birthday was a few weeks ago.  Rest assured that I celebrated it to the fullest - complete with Ricks Bakery cakes, surprise dinner parties with my close friends, a visit from my bestie, a trip to Oaklawn, and the world renowned Birthday Extravaganza.  I got a lot of really wonderful presents, but by far my favorite was the completely surprise present from my parents: a riding lesson!

Alli's been riding out at Deer Creek Farm since August, and I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute.  Her trainer, along with my family and friends, has been on me since day one to get back in the saddle myself.  I loved riding growing up, but the prospect of making the leap as a grown up was daunting to say the least.  And if it weren't for my ever persistent mother, I would probably still be ground bound.  But she talked with Susan, and surprised me completely with a lesson on Freedom, a pony at the barn who looks a lot like my Hopper.

And so a week ago Sunday on a near perfect day, I got back in the saddle.  And it was absolutely amazing.  And I can't wait until I can go again.

Update:  This past weekend, I rode again and I JUMPED!!  Look for more pictures and updates soon.  Happy trails!!

Spring Break 2012 - Branson, Baby!

I really am going to start doing better on this whole blog thing.  The mister just got me a super sweet new MacBook Air, and he keeps stressing to me that it's exclusively mine.  So instead of questioning his motives (is he plotting on something bigger and better for himself??), I'm going to accept it and move on.

Anyway, this beautiful new computer which has never had a Coke spilled on it, a meal eaten over it, or been dropped from great heights, is all the motivation I need to get back on the blogwagon.  The keys don't stick, the mouse works, and it doesn't take forever to do everything.  What's stopping me?

Instead of trying to catch you up on the past few months, I'll just move forward like we never stopped.  Here's the LoweDown on our last great adventure - Branson Spring Break 2012!

At the end of Alli's Spring Break, which was last week, Ryan and I decided to take Thursday and Friday off and do a mini-vacation to Branson, MO.  Usually, our vacations are either centered around our beloved Razorbacks or our beloved ocean, but this time we decided to take a trip almost completely focused on our beloved bebe, Alli!

On the way to Branson - so excited!

We booked our stay at the Grand Country Inn, a kid-friendly hotel complex, complete with a game center, music hall, restaurant, and indoor water park.  The lodging wasn't that spectacular - our room was older, but clean - but the amenities can't be beat for a family with kids!  When we arrived, we were immediately met with the constant question "When can we go to the water park??" over and over from Alli, but we had to get ready for dinner - at the one and only Dixie Stampede.  I've only been to Branson one other time, but the only thing I wanted to when I was there was go to the Dixie Stampede.  A dinner featuring horses?  It was my childhood dream come true.  I didn't get to go then, but you'd better believe we went this time.

We couldn't take any pictures inside, but we had a great time.  If you don't know, the theme of the show is the Civil War, and the audience and cast are split into sides (North vs. South) and compete against each other.  All the while, they serve you dinner, which you have to eat with your hands - no silverware.  I cannot believe I picked the carcass of a Cornish hen.  We were on the South team, and they actually asked Ryan and I to participate in the show!  We would have had to leave Alli alone for about 10 minutes, so we declined, but Ryan pouted about it the rest of the night (until he saw that the task was riding a stick horse around the arena).  Our side won almost all of the battles, but then lost at the very end.  Alli was pretty distressed until she got her new stuffed horse to console her.

Much happier after a loss with a new pony 

Big Belgian at Dixie Stampede

After Dixie Stampede, we headed to the water park for about an hour and a half, and Alli was asleep before we could get her out of her swimsuit.  The next day (Friday) was pretty rainy, so we opted to hang close to the complex.  We went to see a show called Amazing Pets, which Alli really enjoyed, and then spent some time in the gaming center and mini-golf part of our hotel.  After that, we hit some outlets, where Alli and Ryan racked up.  You know your girl well enough to know she can't outlet shop very well for herself - digging through racks of clothes that are supposed to be rejects and really aren't that much cheaper just ain't my thing.  We went to dinner at Cantina Laredo on the Landing where the margaritas were to die for and we saw some really neat fountains.

Saturday was our last day, and our first stop was the Gone With the Wind museum that I spied on the way to the Landing the night before.  Mr. Lowe very politely toured it with me, and Alli griped the whole time.  I really needed my mom and some peace and quiet to fully enjoy it.  After that, it was off to Silver Dollar City.  The traffic was INTENSE!  We waited 2 hours in traffic just to park the car, and then we could barely navigate the crowd to get anywhere.  I got pretty cranky when we waited in line 45 minutes for a hot dog, and people kept telling us that it had never been this crowded.  I guess the beautiful Saturday after 3 days of cold rain was the culprit.  However, it ended up that we all had an awesome time, but need another day there to do everything we wanted to.  I suspect we will head back there soon - it's only an hour and a half from our front door, so making a day trip doesn't sound too terrible.

Alli rode some roller coasters, and had to keep telling her mommy to stop grabbing her.  I was so afraid our little skinny minnie would fly out!!  She rode Thunderation three times in a row and probably would have kept going if the park hadn't been closing.  We grabbed a quick dinner and headed home, getting in around 10PM and I bet everyone was knocked out by 10:05PM.  All in all, a great little weekend trip for our family, and we're definitely planning a return in the near future.

Worn out after Day 1 in Branson - She slept well!!

Weekend Reflecting

What a great weekend we Lowes had!  I don't feel like it was relaxing, but it was a lot of fun!!!  Here's the Lowedown, as it were:

• Woodland Junior High dance clinic - Saturday morning Alli had a dance clinic at Woodland Junior High with one of our favorite dancers, Sydnee!  She had a blast and learned a dance to "Baby" by Justin Bieber that she's performing on Thursday.  
• Hog basketball game - we went to the sold out Michigan game this weekend, and watched our Hogs upset the #19 team.  Alli is a basketball nut, so this was an awesome game for her.  I hope we get to go to more - it's really fun for all of us.  Especially Ryan, who loves the gatling gun-style t-shirt dispenser.

• Riding lessons - Alli rode a new pony this week, one named Dice.  He's so sweet and cute and she had a really great lesson on him.

• Beauty and the Beast 3D and Cherry Berry - After lessons, we went out with our adorable little twin 7 year old neighbors and their mom to see Beauty and the Beast 3D and get some ice cream at Cherry Berry.  It was so awesome to see the movie I saw at the age of 9 or so in the theater with Alli.

So there it is, add in church and some kitchen cabinet cleaning and organizing (I actually threw out food that expired in 2008.  No joke.), and you've got yourself a serious weekend.  Now off to watch a special epi of American Idol with my man - not Ryan, he's at the store.  You know, my man.

Resolved and Ready to Rock

It's been a while since I've blogged, my friends.  What a whirlwind year 2011 was - good and bad, and I'm ready to put it behind me and see what 2012 has in store.

One of my many resolutions for 2012 is to (yes, lose weight but also...) get back to doing the things I love in my personal life.  Including slowing down to savor special moments with my little one, taking more pictures, and blogging about it so I remember it all.  Here are a few shots of Alli at a swimming party she had today.  Yes, a swimming party in January.  She was pumped.

Another resolution Ryan and I made together was to declutter our home (and therefore our lives? We can only hope).  We're tackling one room per weekend, and this weekend just happened to be the most daunting of all - Alli's room.  YIKES!!  Our little lady has a lot of people who love her, and she's pretty convincing, so girl got toys.  It was time, post-Christmas and 7th birthday, to box up several and give away some.

On our Cotton Bowl vacation, we got a chance to go to Ikea.  Wow.  I'll save that blog for another time, but I was thrilled and overwhelmed all at once!  While there, we picked up some additional storage and a new desk for Alli.  I had been scouring Craigslist for a desk I could update, to no avail, so the quick and cheap fix of an Ikea desk seemed perfect.

The storage options were amazing.  We couldn't help but stock up on some extras there.  And the cheap frames and shelves?  Oh how I wish we had one closer!

She now has her own little artist corner.  And check out that creative, space saving solution for stuffed animals.  I think my stress level has dropped significantly.  Thanks, Ikea!!

And thanks to swimming in January as well.  Someone is worn out.

Shameless Plug: Masons

So while browsing my Facebook (and you should so friend me so I can leave you in purgatory for the requisite 7 days before I confirm you), I stumbled across a post that was VERY intriguing.

$500 to Masons?!?  Are you kidding me?!?!

For those of you non-Northwest Arkansans, it's a super chic boutique with high fashion that I constantly drool over (and on a few lucky instances and bonus checks, shop at).

Check it, seriously.  And let me know what you'd buy.  I'm totally thinking red denim and studded heels.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Football season, girlfriend!!   Did you think I'd linked you up to a Christmas post?  Aw heck naw.  You're reading a blog by a real live Southerner, so you know I'm talking about football!  Yesterday was the season opener for our Razorbacks, and the Holloway-Lowe tailgate was out in full force.  

Merry Football Season and Go Hogs, y'all!