It's Groundhog Day... Again...

Today is Groundhog Day... again.  Check out this amazing breakfast that Mommy made for us this morning!  Groundhog Day pancakes!

We didn't get to see the movie this year, but we did have that soundtrack in while having breakfast.  "I Got You Babe" was the song of the day!

If there was a day you'd want to do over and over again, this one was pretty amazing.  First and foremost, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, which means spring is on the way.  General Beauregard did see his shadow down south, so therefore we'll have six more weeks of winter here.  Which is backwards, of course.  But we'll see how that unfolds as time goes on.  We read that there may be a groundhog in Dahlonega that is predicting weather, which is competing with General Beau, of course.  This groundhog rivalry is something we'll want to keep an eye on.  The one in Dahlonega has an advantage though, being very close to here.

Madison has a few groundhogs in the house, including this one above, and that's all we need right now.

We got to sleep in, which is always a good way to start a day.  But after that, we were doing a bit of straightening up around the house, cleaning things here and there.  Madison did her piano, and Daddy was in the basement, fighting a seemingly insurmountable battle against all odds to get that area straightened up.  One can dream, right?

Anyway, our adventures started later in the afternoon, and they started with the Chick-Fil-A Daddy Daughter Date Night.

Madison picked the hats.  This is always a fun night, and we've been doing this for a few years now.  It's funny when the end of January comes and you're looking online for a heads up as to when registration starts - you don't want to miss this, because it does fill up.

The evening is nice.  They close the dining area and transform it to a nicer restaurant area.  There was a harpist there, and a place to take pictures, which you can see above.  A limousine driver was outside giving all dads and daughters a ride around the block.  Waiters and waitresses came to the tables, as harpist played KidPak music, but also a few tunes from "The Greatest Showman."  Madison was quite happy with that part.  She also likes the guided questions they give you, questions you can ask your father and questions your daughter can ask you.  Would you rather be able to read minds or be able to fly?  What do you want to do when you grow up?  Things like that.  It's a nice night together, and for some strange reason, it's always on the night that they do Clark Howard Night with the Gwinnett Gladiators.

So yes, as soon as we were done there, we were off to the Infinite Energy Center to watch the Gladiators!

One funny note:  They kept playing as bumper music "I Got You Babe," over and over again.  Yes, it was a reference to the movie "Groundhog Day."

We had tickets in the front row of the club level there, and they were dead center.  We could see everything so well, and there was a lot to see this time around.  The game was very close and very exciting!  Unlike last year's game, this one had the Gladiators pull ahead in the first period 2-0.  But then the Orlando Solar Bears (who had the theme song of "Bear Necessities") scored two the next period to make it 2-2.  The last period saw the Gladiators score with just five minutes to go, and all seemed to be wrapped up.  But then there was a penalty, a power play and a controversial goal by the Solar Bears and that tied it all up again, 3-3.  The last time stop and a time-out was with a little over twenty seconds to go in the game, and if it stayed a tie, there'd be overtime, and then a shoot-out.  We were all bracing for that, because who knows what'll happen there.  One thing was for sure, it would be against the odds to score in twenty seconds, right?

That's when it happened.  With three seconds in the game left, the Gladiators scored a game-winning point.  This picture above is from their website, showing the actual game wining moment.  The place erupted in an explosion of cheers!

Madison was really into this game, along with Mommy.  She says she doesn't quite know all the rules yet, and likes baseball a little better but she said she definitely enjoys going to these games.  We did too, actually.  Tonight, we had our great seats along with some popcorn and pretzels and Snicker bars for Mommy, and some water, and a new Gladiators jersey for Daddy:

It was just five dollars!  There's a sponsor on the back, but that's okay.  You can see Madison's jersey there too, now fitting her a little better than it did three years ago when we first got it.  We wore our jerseys tonight, cheering for the Gladiators who came out on top in a big way.

The drive home was easy, although a little late of course.  But everyone was happy with the day itself.