Juliebean's Visit

To start: I do know I've been tagged to do 7 random things. I will do them tomorrow so that this post does not seem overwhelming.

Friday: Drove to the Summit in Birmingham (Alabama, Elka :)). It is this HUGE shopping center -- very ritzy, I might add. The Cheesecake Factory is located there. We all met up (and by all, I mean Jon, Julie, Alysha, Heath, and me) and had a lot of fun. Here are the pictures we took that night:

Then Jon, Alysha, and Heath left and Julie and I went to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. Then she and I went and waited outside until about 7:30 to watch the fireworks that the Summit was setting off to start the holiday season. Now this was particularly fun, because Julie and I chose to sit on the hill next to the parking lot in which they were setting off the fireworks. There was another group of four older people who eventually joined us. We waited and waited and waited (it seemed) and started to worry that it was going to take forever. But then I noticed the firetruck and ambulance show up, and so I told Julie that it was probably going to start soon because the "just in case" had arrived. She said, "What??" And I said, "the just in case is here." And I pointed to the firetruck and ambulance. She laughed and said, "the just in case?" And I said, "Yeah, you know, just in case someone blows their hand off." She laughed and said, "Hila, you're terrible!" The good news is that nobody blew their hand off :). Anyway, so they finally got the fireworks underway, and we were VERY close. It was loud. Julie started asking me if she thought we were too close. I said I didn't think so, because we were sitting by all the cars, and I figured they wouldn't let people park there if there was any chance of the cars being messed up. So we stuck it out and stayed there. Eventually, though, we started getting pelleted by falling fireworks debris. Hahaha. It was so funny. (Oh, and in case you're wondering, pelleted was the made-up word (made up by me) for this Juliebean/Nilla Birmingham trip... It's supposed to be pelted, but who can remember that when they are being pelleted with paper that just moments before had been on fire???). But it was so much fun. We just laughed and laughed. The group of older people at one point said, "We're probably getting hit by this stuff." And Julie and I looked over at them and we said, "You are." But oh the memories... Being pelleted...

When we got home to my apartment, Julie went into my room and she said, "It smells like strong cologne in here. What is that? Strong smells bother me ever since I've been pregnant." I pretty much knew the culprit. She called Jon to let him know we got home, so while she did that, I went and got the famous lavender air freshener, took it to her, and said, "Smell this, is this it?" She took a whiff and she was like, "YES!" So you see? It's not just me... That stuff stinks. It's way too strong. So I took it out of the room and left it in the kitchen so it wouldn't bother her, and maybe later I'll get around to giving it a proper burial - in the dumpster.

Saturday: Julie and I woke up at around 7:30. We ate some breakfast and then watched 50 First Dates and then we got ready for the day. We headed to the University so Julie could take a picture with Bear Bryant. And also walk around and see the campus.

We ate at Newk's Cafe (it was good, but over-priced, in my opinion). And then I took her down to the Black Warrior River and we took pictures there:Then we went to America's Thrift Store where we got some excellent deals. I think we got 3 pairs of slacks, 3 skirts (2 were maternity - for Julie), a pair of maternity shorts, 3 shirts, and a book for less than $15. Of course, I had a $10 off coupon, so it would have really cost us $25. But it was still a great deal. Then we went to Wal-Mart, then we went back to my apartment and I made arroz con pollo (Panamanian chicken and rice), and we ate that while we watched Police Academy. We went to sleep around midnight, and then the next morning, Jon and Alysha came and picked up Julie before I left for church.