Atlanta

Komodo Dragon- Caleb loves reading a book about komodos so this was very cool to see
Blurry picture of the panda- another highlight for the kids
Waking up from a nap- she did not sleep very well in Atlanta
Just monkeying around
That manta ray has a big mouth
Whale shark- highlight of the aquarium

Enjoying the view with my kids
Doesn't everyone jump on hotel beds in their underwear?
Chilling by the pool with Mrs. Custer
We had a fun visit with Mr. and Mrs. Custer (he was my grade school principal)
Spending the night at Nate's Uncle Peter and Aunt Cheryl's house in Kentucky
Julie Melendez and I swimming with our kids- they kept trying to drown themselves
Group shot with Grandma at the aquarium

We spent the first week of August in Atlanta. Nate had some training for work and since the company pays for the hotel and rental car we thought, "Let's take the whole family!" So we did. We did the 12 hour drive down and it actually went great. Of course, much credit goes to the DVD player. How did we do road trips growing up without one?! My Mom flew down to join us which was a huge help and good fun. Our kids get psychotically excited in hotel rooms, do other kids do that too?

On Monday I took the kids to Zoo Atlanta by myself. There were only a few times I yelled at them to stay by me or gave them the evil eye. The boys really wanted to see the panda, which was at the very back of the zoo. No matter how much I assured them we would get to the panda eventually, they kept begging me to get to the panda faster!! The panda and baby panda were cute, but there were masses of people and I didn't get any good pictures. Oh well. On Monday night Nate was back and we all went to my cousin, Renee's house. It was fun to catch up with Renee and Seth and see their beautifully decorated home. Nate and I kept saying, "this is an adult's house!" They don't have kids yet. :) The kids turned their couches into a romper room and kept asking where the toys were. Caleb then asked me, "Why don't they have kids? Who's married around here?" It was quite cute. After supper we went to Morelli's to get ice cream and got stuck in a downpour. No one really cared though because the ice cream was awesome.

On Tuesday my Mom was in town and spent the day with us. We went to the house of my college friend, Julie. She has two little girls and it was great to meet each other's kids. We took the kids to a sprayground and had a picnic lunch. That evening we went to Russ and Kay Custer's house. Russ was my grade school principal and is a good family friend. We had some yummy Fellini's pizza and swam in the pool. I am very impressed with Julia's abilities in the water when she has a life jacket on. My kids are turning into fish.

On Wednesday morning, Mom and I took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium. It is a pricey venue, but worth it. However, I don't appreciate that you can't bring food into the building and then they charge you exorbitant prices for lunch, grr. The whale shark and the dolphin show were the highlights for the kids. The kids melted down pretty fast so we booked it over to Renee's house again for some naptime. After Nate got home from work, we drove to Gloriana and T-Y's house. Gloriana is another college friend of ours. Julie's family was there as well. Gloriana made wings for dinner and my kids thought they were awesome. Definitely need to get that recipe soon!

On Thursday morning, Julie and her girls came over to the hotel to swim. Julia and Julie's daughter, Avry, both tried to drown themselves multiple times. Crazy kids. That afternoon my Mom stayed at the hotel with Julia and I took the boys to Piedmont Park pool. It is a very neat pool and the boys were having a great time- until the thunderstorm came. We had a really long walk back to the parking garage and Caleb was scared out of his mind. It wasn't raining yet, but it was thundering/lightning occasionally. I have told Caleb in the past that we shouldn't play outside during a storm. Well, he reminded me of that the whole way to the car. For dinner that night, my Mom stayed at the hotel with the kids so Nate and I could go out. What a nice Mom! We went to 5 Seasons Brewing Company with our college friends. We got a tour of the brewery which Nate found fascinating. I'm totally going to have a brewery in my basement someday, sigh. The food was tasty and we had so much fun chatting with our friends. A great way to end the week!

On Friday morning we packed up and headed for the Louisville, KY area. Nate's aunt and uncle live there and graciously hosted us for the night. The kids enjoyed watching the cow eat its supper and bringing an egg in that the hens had laid. It was nice to catch up with family that we don't see often. On Saturday morning we packed up and drove the last leg of our journey.

It is so nice to be back home! I am appreciating not sharing my bedroom with my children. We are grateful that my Mom spent the week with us too! The week would have been more stressful without her there, so thanks Mom!