Weekend in Atlanta

The trip to Atlanta did not start off well, at all. I do not think we could have picked a worse day to drive, even if we tried! The weather was horrible, torrential down pours, hail, thunderstorms, you name it, I think we drove through it, all the way from Cincinnati to Atlanta. We were stopped twice for accidents that shut down the interstate for an hour each. Then, when you think things could not get worse, they do, Rylan had an explosive diaper. I can not even describe it, it was everywhere and we were in the middle of no where, great combination! Luckily we stopped at a gas station that just happened to be beside a dollar store to clean up the "accident". By now, we were just laughing at what all had happened on this never ending trip! Finally after 12 hours, it usually takes 8, we arrived back in the South!

Even though, we did not start the visit on the best foot we did not let that damper the remainder of the trip. Friday we packed up the family and head down to the Georgia Aquarium. There we meet our friends visiting from Jacksonville, Paul, Tracy, Sarah and Kendall, along with our friends Dana, Ty and Alyssa. All of the kids LOVED the aquarium and enjoyed seeing each other.

While Holden visited Aunt Jen-Jen and Rylan napped, I got to indulge in some much needed retail therapy!! Oh how I miss the shopping in Atlanta!!! This was such a treat for me!

That night Kevin had a much needed Guys Night Out with all his old buddies. I know he misses them all so much!

Bright and early Saturday morning, we met the gang again at the Botanical Gardens. Before we moved, the Botanical Gardens were undergoing a huge renovation but did not finish before we left. So we were thrilled to see the new grounds. It was worth the wait, WOW! It was beautiful! They even added a kids garden which our kids loved! And here is the spot that our friends Paul and Tracy were married 7 years ago. I remember it just like yesterday, we were planning weddings at the same time. So much has changed, for the better of course.

To end our busy weekend, we all gathered again for a BBQ just like old times. I think going back this time for a visit really made us miss Georgia even more. But then again, I think we miss our friends and family the most! Can't wait to see all of them again hopefully, really soon.

Up and Running!!!

Finally after a week without my computer, we are back up and running again!!! Thank goodness! A little recap on what happened, Kevin was supposedly "researching" the upcoming football season and was infected with a virus! It is a good thing we just backed up all the pictures and files, considering, they had to completely wipe everything from the computer. Whew! I am going to try to catch up to next couple of days with pictures and our recent activities!

New Park, New Market

I decided to take the boys to a new park I had heard about, Liberty Playland Park. However, it was a little disappointing, it was really close to the highway, so the noise level was really high, it was a wooden playground and the boys both had tons of splinters, it originally had mulch but now it was more like dirt on the ground. I think my expectations were up a little high since all of the other local parks are so great but the boys had fun either way!! Except when I had to remove the splinters. After a little disappointing morning, I thought I would let the boys have a treat. We checked out Dorothy Lane Market, it is like Whole Foods but with a larger bakery and stocked with locally grown produce. As you can see Holden and Rylan did not have a hard time choosing the perfect treat!

Cincinnati Nature Center

Our adventure on Monday was to the Cincinnati Nature Center at Rowe Woods. After getting a little lost we finally made it there. The Nature Center has free admission on Monday, hence why we visited on Monday, and I read before going to ask for an explorer back pack for the kids. This was really cute, it was filled with binoculars, magnifying glass, chart of animals to find, notebook to jot down anything you see, maps, and a compass. Only issue, they only give on per family, Rylan was not too happy not to have a backpack, trust me I have noted it to myself to bring another one. There are 10 hiking trails on the property, the first one we walked was the Edge Trail or better known as Turtle Trail. We stopped for lunch and then walked Wildflower Trail, Geology Trail and fed the fish. Wow, what beautiful trails!! The boys loved exploring and searching for animals! However, we only saw a frog, a turtle, fish, and some fossils. Better luck next time. Either way it was a great way to spend a Monday morning!

I can not wait to go back and see the colors of fall, I can only imagine how beautiful it will be!

According to Holden we did not stay long enough, (almost 4 hours). He wanted to see all the trails, yes, he is my nature child. But my other young explorer was exhausted! We will be visiting the Cincinnati Nature Center again really soon, especially now that I know how to get there!

Date with Dad

At church on Sunday, Kevin asked our friend Scott if he knew of any places to go fishing without a license. Kindly, he gave Kevin a few locations. I was caught by surprise because the last time we went camping/fishing it did not end well, but who am I to say anything. When we got home, Kevin told Holden that they were going fishing. I packed some snacks and the camera, and they set off a little after 1:00. Around 3:30 I called to make sure everything was going ok and no answer. I tried again around 4:00, still no answer. Now we all know Kevin is not an avid fisherman so I was getting a little worried something happened. Finally at 5:15 they came rolling in!

Holden said he had so much fun with Daddy and told me all about him fishing. It was not until later that night I looked at the camera and this is the first picture I saw....

What?!! I ask Kevin,"Why is he not wearing a shirt?" He just laughs! Then this was the following picture....

Ok, hmm, I think I may need to set some boundaries for Date with Dad. Finally, some fish pictures....

I think you can tell that the day with dad was soooo much fun!!! Hopefully, Kevin will do more of these little surprises, because I know they mean so much.

For the love of....

GOLF! Holden has been asking for the longest time to go play golf. So over the weekend we went to Southwest Golf Ranch for a little putt-putt golf! It was a good thing we went early, there was no one there! Which was a good thing, seeing that the boys ran from hole to hole. Holden was very serious about playing and made a hole in one!!! He also made it into the water, sand, grass and other places too!! Rylan on the other hand did not quite understand the concept. Every time someone hit a ball, he would run over and throw it back. I think he is a future baseball player. After we finished all 18 holes, Holden wanted to go to the driving range, Kevin and I both decided that was probably not the best idea so we went to a local park and hit balls instead. Now that Holden has an interest in golf, I am on a search for junior clubs to help with his new found sport.