Visiting All Our Greenies in Georgia

Yes, I'm fully aware that I haven't blogged since May 18th. All the chastising I've received has finally worn me down. I'll be working on updates, but please excuse the fact that everything is pretty much out of order. Also, be prepared for lots of pictures and lots of reading. Sometimes you've got to be careful what you wish for....haha.

Last Monday, the kids and I returned from Georgia. We spent two weeks visiting Jon's parents, brother & sister in law and their kiddos. I don't recall ever doing so much on any other single trip to Georgia. We were kept busy and out of trouble.

Faithie and Charlie arranged for our first adventure.

They have a dear friend who was gracious enough to have us out to his cabin in the mountains. There we spent the day enjoying the sun and the Coosawattee River in Ellijay, Georgia.

Erica made us some hot dogs and brought them to the river. She's such a thinker. She knew the kids would be hungry but would not want to get out of the river. The water was cool, but very refreshing in the heat. Uncle Brad initially took Anna and Ian a little ways up the river to float down in inner tubes.

Of course they loved it. While he was gone with the older two, Grandpa put Ella and Brennan in a raft that had a long rope on it.

He would let them down stream as far as the rope would allow and then pull them back up. Of course they loved that too. We tried, but Joy wasn't going for any of that kind of fun. She was content holding Grandma's hand and walking around on the rocks.

As soon as Brad, Ian and Anna got back, Ella and Brennan were ready to go. Back up the river they all headed-Brad with Ian, Anna, Ella and Brennan.

After a couple of hours on the river, the grown ups and Joy were reading to head back to the cabin. Anna, Ian, Ella and Brennan hadn't had quite enough of the river, so I offered to stay with them for a little while longer. By this point they were feeling really comfortable in the water (translates to not as much falling down and such).

Anna found a rock that she thought might have been a dinosaur tooth (not really...only kidding...just made for a cute Kodak moment.

She and Ian were also lifting up rocks to see what creepy things were living under them. Ella was picking out pretty rocks to put in her stepping stone that Miss Martha gave the kids to make.

Brennan was just enjoying the sun and then rested for a few minutes.

Everything went fine until one of the oars to the raft got lose and started floating away from us. I tried to get it, but was quickly faced with the decision...stay with the kids or chase the oar. I know what you're thinking, but I did not choose the oar...I chose the kids. Quickly I sent Anna running back to the cabin to tell Uncle Brad about the oar and he caught up with it. Needless to say, he didn't need any additional exercise that day. We had some sandwiches and visiting for awhile before heading back to Grandma's and Grandpa's house.

The kids and I will have fond memories from this trip to the Coosawattee River. Thank you Mr. Tyson, for your hospitality.

Next Stop...Six Flags Over Georgia

Next, Erica (and Brad) took over as our travel agents for a couple of our excursions. I couldn't have planned better outings for us. Erica, Brad and I took the older kids to Six Flags while Miss Joy stayed with Grandma.

Brad took Anna and Ian to ride some big kid rides, while Erica and I went around the park with Ella and Brennan.



Once we were at the "I'm about to melt" point, we headed to Skull Island, which is a small water park area of Six Flags. I do believe some of us would have stayed there until the park closed, but others were able to twist our arms enough that we ventured back out to enjoy more rides before closing time.


Brennan loved these swings. It was tough for me to capture the enjoyment on his face with it spinning so fast. He only rode it about 5 or 7 times before we moved on.


Anna, Ian and Brenna ran off to the bumper cars. Ella opted for some dippin' dots with Aunt Erica and her Crazy Uncle Brad. Shhhhhhh! Don't tell the other kids!


We wrapped up our fun day at Six Flags with spending a little time in "Toon Town". All the kids rode some kiddie rides and Ella and Brennan even got to hug on "the chicken". Notice my shy one is buried into the bird feathers, refusing to look at my camera. Although we were dead-dog tired and unbelievably sweaty and hot, the day was great fun.

Thanks Grandma, for watching Joy. Thanks to Brad, Erica & Ian for spending time with us at Six Flags and a special thanks to Erica for finding us coupons and good deals for all our play days.

On To White Water

The day after Six Flags, I had a slow start and thankfully Erica planned our trip to White Water with one day of rest in between. Erica, I am grateful for your kindness to your ol' sister in law.

Since we were at the water park, I chose to leave my camera behind. At the river I had a close call of dropping my phone into the water when I slipped on a slimy rock and busted my sandy cheeks. I am so glad that no one captured that on film. For that reason, my pictures are from the iphone. Anna and Ian were such big kids that they were off playing on their own so I never did take pictures of them.

Ella and Joy were best buds on this trip. The both seemed to love playing in the splash pad and water slide areas. I stayed there with those two while Erica went off with Anna, Ian and Brennan to ride the big green slide.




All of us were having a fabulous time and stopped to eat lunch when catastrophe hit. A little one, not ours thankfully, pooped in the splash pad area. Now, had this been one of mine and Erica's kids, we already discussed that the poop would have been picked up and gotten rid of before anyone could even say the word poop. But since it wasn't one of our kids, the life guards were on top of it so to speak. By on top of it I mean that they were in a tizzy about it, all gathered around and on their walkie talkies trying to get someone out there to clean it. They stood guard until the real guards came in. These were guys in dark blue shorts and shirts. Yes, they too were armed with walkie talkies and even cell phones. The poop was being surrounded by these tough guys as if they were guarding Fort Knox. Of course, these guys were calling for back up too. Let me also explain, that during all this time, the small piece of poop gradually turned in to a bigger, flatter blob of poop that was slowly but surely contaminating the entire section of water, which is recycled into the splash pad.



I do believe you can even see all the hoopla of the taking care of the poop behind this shady picture of Brennan helping Joy get a sip of soda.

After waiting for about 45 minutes, someone that appeared like a super hero, came and cleaned up the mess. The bad news was that since it took so long, all the water had been contaminated and the splash pad area had to be closed for the rest of the day. We packed up our stuff and were headed to another area when it started sprinkling. Erica and I decided to head on out because we didn't want to get stuck in the middle of the rain. It was a good time to get the kids home and lay them down for a nap, and we could always get our hands stamped and return later in the day. Off we went to Brad and Erica's house. Like the efficient moms that we are, Erica and I had the kids changed and laying down in about 10 minutes. Yes, there was some wailing and gnashing of teeth, but when that settled, the napping began and lasted for several hours. The older kids started waking one by one and played the wii for awhile as we waited for Joy to wake up. Joy slept on, and on, and on. Erica is such a go getter. She made an executive decision. The kids who wanted to go back to White Water and play until they closed were headed out the door in a matter of seconds. I stayed home with Sleeping Beauty, Ella and Brennan, who were too worn out still to have enough energy to return. Once Joy woke up, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandma made spaghetti and we didn't want to miss that! After we ate, I bathed the kids as we waited for the White Water Fiends came home.

The new best buds getting squeaking clean!

Another memorable and fun day was had by all.



The Zoo & My Day

Let me start by saying how lucky and blessed at my family who realizes and insists on providing me with quality "Mommy Time". Erica, with her halo all polished, took her two kiddos and my three, to the Atlanta Zoo...ALL DAY. During this time I was to go and do whatever I wanted to do. In fact, she informed me that she would not answer the door even if she was home and she commanded my mother in law to not let me back into the house before at least dinner time (although my mother in law would have let me in, right Faithie?)

What to do? What to do? I wasn't sure I could entertain myself for that long in an unfamiliar city. Surprisingly enough, I managed my time pretty well.

PEDICURE...including some bright orange polish and some pretty flowers on my toes.

FACIAL...so relaxing that I hated for it to end.

MASSAGE...since the facial had to end, I needed something for more of that relaxing feeling.

GOODWILL HUNTING...those of you who know me well know that a free day for me is not complete without a little resale shopping...or a lot for that matter.

When I finished with the massage I was feeling soooooooo good. Words fail to express how wonderful I felt. The closest thing to express it would be a natural high. Like nothing could upset me that day. As I was getting dressed, I happened upon a mirror. I looked like I'd been rung through the ringer. Not a pretty picture, but I felt so good that it didn't matter at all.
Can you believe all that took me till dinner time? How does time fly so fast when you're pampering yourself?

Thanks again to Erica for her selfless service to her ol' sister in law. It meant the world to me and then some.