One Last Hoorah

Our last big event of the summer is our annual trip to Atlanta with Ryan's little league team. Ryan's dad is the team sponsor, so he plans a great weekend for the players and their families. We all load into a big charter bus and head down for a couple days to catch a Braves game and visit a theme park. Last year was Six Flags, so this year we went to White Water. Talk about fun for the kids. This is one of their favorite parts of being our children. They love the water slides, sleeping in a college dorm, going to see the Braves, and eating a lot of good food. But their favorite part by far is the bus ride. Luke always sits in the back with Ryan's little leaguers. (No car seats required.) He feels like such a big boy with them and has enjoyed this part of the trip since he was 2.
Anna always sits right behind Ryan and me with a little sister of one of the players. Most of the time they color, read, giggle, and enjoy little girlhood. We were shocked at one point, however, to turn around and discover Anna and her friend enthusiastically kissing their pillows. Ryan and I looked at each other what an "Are they doing what I think they're doing?" kind of look. We're fairly certain they were pretending to kiss boys, but we're telling ourselves they were just expressing their love for their pillows. Yeah, that's it. They were really nice pillows.

We also went to a little place called Dixie Land Park. There were quite a few fun rides including one you'll see below that was honestly the most frightening ride I've ever experienced.
This is a pretty big statement because I've ridden roller coasters all over the country. I love the thrill of a good scary ride. This one, however, had to be breaking like forty two codes. You're simply strapped into these seats connected to a wicked long arm that blasts you around to unspeakable heights. You're suspended upside down over really solid looking pavement with NOTHING over your shoulders. I screamed. I screamed loud and hard. The entire time. The blood vessels in my eyes are still healing.

Sweetwater

I grew up in a small town called Sweetwater, TN, located about 2 1/2 hours southwest of where we are living now. My parents still live there and run their dairy farm with the help of one of my sisters and her husband. Ever since Anna was born, we've tried to make the drive about once every 2 to 3 months to stay for several days and visit.


This last visit was a fun one. My parents recently moved to town but still run the farm which is several miles outside of town. Being "in the city" has added a lot to our visits. During our latest visit my mom and I walked with the kids to the duck park so they could traumatize a bunch of overweight geese and ducks. We enjoyed some time at the school playground that is a couple blocks from my parents' house. We spent an afternoon at the city pool. We also had some time to just relax and be with my sister and her family.

Athens is a neighboring city where I went to high school. It is home to one of the most awesome playgrounds I've ever seen. Take a look at those slides! Shouldn't there be pools at the bottom? Shouldn't the sign read "Welcome to Athens Regional Park where your kids will enjoy zooming down really high slides, climbing a web that is two stories high, sitting on some really hot surfaces, and a field trip to the ER!"
For me, a nice part of going to this park is that I frequently discover some long lost friend from high school who has brought her children to play. It's great to reconnect after so many years. How many years has it been? Oh, it's not really been many. Did I say after "so many" years? I just meant that it seems like it's been awhile. It's really not. I'm really young, you know. Really.

In Remembrance of our only boy (not really)

Once upon a time, a baby boy was born.

The baby boy was loved and nurtured.
He laughed and danced.
He posed for silly pictures.
He experienced joys . . .
. . . and frustrations.

He was sweet. As sweet as they come . . .
. . . and silly. As silly as they come.
Oh, how his family loved him.
Then one day, one horrible sad day, the boogie man stole the boy from his loving family.
And he was never to be seen again.
Just kidding. The boogie man didn't really steal the boy.
No, it was something called Kindergarten.
And they did see him again.
Just not as often.
Oh well, at least we still have Caroline . . .
. . . till the boogie man strikes again.

The Slushie was the best part.

For Christmas this past year, Ryan's dad ("Paw Paw") decided to treat us to tickets to some area attractions. Every month, we receive another Christmas gift in the mail. The kids have loved this. Some of the tickets have been to Fun Expedition, the Gray Fossil Museum, and Barter Theatre. The latest was for Wetlands. This was a fun, hot day for us all. Anna & Luke loved the slides most of all. Anna was a little disappointed that she wasn't tall enough to ride the big slides (weird since she was tall enough last year) but she handled it pretty well. Mom & Dad's favorite part was finding a comfy, shady area to relax. The kids had fun eating a blue slushie and sharing with their baby sister. Oddly, I came away with no swimming pictures but plenty of the slushie.

Snakes in the Library

Our city library has provided our family with some great entertainment this summer. The kids' favorite was the day "Safari Greg" brought some unusual creatures. He ended the show by bringing out one of the biggest snakes I've ever seen. That's when I pulled out the camera for some shots of the kids with wide eyes and expressions of caution. Is it really OK for that thing to be in the library?