Outdoor Weekend Adventure

*Warning: This post is long. Summer vacation is coming to an end. So for one last hoorah before I have to return to school this Thursday, we decided to go camping with Paul, Kelli, and the kids, and Mom and Dad. I've never been camping like this before, so this was a new experience for me. (Although I had a really good time, I will always love the comfort of my own bed, my own toilet, and my own shower more.) Here are some pictures from our trip to Unicoi State Park in Georgia. But I have to explain the first 2 pictures so you'll understand why I'm posting them: Paul and Kelli take the kids all the time and do camping adventures and explore new places. Paul is quite the adventurer. He loves to go off the beaten path to see where roads lead and see different sights. There is no such thing as a straight drive to the destination. You can always count on many stops. So, our first stop was in Fair Play, near where Paul grew up. He took us to the cemetery where his grandparents are buried. After leaving the cemetery we wound thru all kinds of roads and crossed a lake for a hydroelectric power plant...Lake Burton. According to Paul's GPS, he found a street that circled the whole lake, so we decided to take the small road to see this lake. Now, before I continue, you need to imagine what we looked like...a large older model of a Chevy Suburban loaded down with 7 people, a bike rack on the tail, and pulling a pop-up camper; then following that Suburban was a big Toyota truck loaded down with everything in the bed, and also pulling another pop-up camper. It was like a train - kind of resembled the Clampants? As we go down the small road, it becomes a one lane gravel road with a steep cliff on one side. Jason had a bad feeling about it, but we followed anyway. The one lane road ended and there was no where to go. Thankfully, there was a house at the very end, so we were VERY fortunate that Jason could barely turn our train around and pull back down where Paul and Kelli's Suburban got stuck. They had to pull into someone's driveway, unhook everything, turn the car around, and then hook everything back up again before we could make our way out. Everyone thought it was funny, except me of course, because that's not what I call fun. When we got back down to the main road, we noticed the sign said "Dead End" but we didn't know it at the beginning because the whole sign had been turned the opposite direction. You really had to be there to experience the full effect, but this is the best I can explain it.

The rest of the trip was great. Once we got settled in and the campers set up, we were able to relax.

The Breakfast Man

We went to Brasstown Bald - the highest point in Georgia. This picture was taken at the bottom of the mountain. I forgot my camera in the truck, so I didn't get any pictures at the very top. I could have kicked myself for that.

Gavin's enjoying his ice cream push-up after we got back off the mountain.

We also went to a place called Anna Ruby Falls. The men decided to be brave and hike the 5 mile trail to the falls. It only took them 2 hours. The women drove to the top to meet them when they were finished.

I thought this picture was cool. Even though we drove to the top, we still had to park and walk about 1/2 mile to actually reach the water falls. This tree was on the trail. It's growing out of the rock.

After we got back from Anna Ruby Falls, we cleaned up and rode into Helen, GA to visit the shops.

2 cool guys

Some other lovely highlights from our trip: Kelli was stung by a yellow jacket, an animal ate thru our bags of bread while we were out sight seeing, Gavin fell out of a buggie at a nearby Walmart, I slammed my ankle in the door of the shuttle bus that took us to the top of a mountain and I said a bad word in front of the other guests on the bus when it happened, and a deer walked up near to our campsite...about 20-30 feet away. What else? Ohh, so many more things.

But like I said, I really enjoyed the trip, but there is NOTHING better than the blessing and comfort of my own home. Home sweet home.

Shipwreck Cove

We had the best morning this morning. My friend Kelly and I took our kids to Shipwreck Cove to play in the water. I've heard the hooplah about it all summer, but hadn't gone...until today. It was sooo much fun, (except for 3 daycare centers being there), and perfect for Gavin. The water was the perfect depth for him to splash around in, but still be safe. And to give some props to Kelly...I love how she schedules her activities with the kids. When she first told me that we would meet at the park at 9:45 am, I thought she was crazy. Waterpark @ 9:45? But it was perfect. The kids were worn out in 2 hours (plenty of time for me as well), ate lunch, and came home for a nap! Perfect timing! She's also told me that they do their outside play first thing in the morning and get it out of the way before it gets too hot. Too smart, Kelly. I have so much more to learn about managing playtime. Anyway, here are some pictures from our super fun morning. Thanks Kel - I had a great time.

Lake Lure

Kelli and I took the kids to Lake Lure to play on the "beach". I wish we had gone there earlier in the summer. It was perfect for Gavin. He was able to play in the sand and dirt, which of course he loved more than anything else there, and he was able to get out into the water without being knocked down by any waves. After we played in the lake for a while, we went over to the water park area where the kids played under the water fountains. We were only there for 3 hours, but that was plenty of time to wear the kids out so that they'd take a LONG nap.

Yes, I'm letting my child drink a soda. Shame on me.

Happy Birthday, Jason

Jason turned 28 yesterday (yeah, he's a young pup). He gets 3 birthday celebrations. First, we celebrated with his Mom, and his sister and her family at Olive Garden on Sunday evening.

Amy, Jeff, Parker, and Harrison

Jason with his Mom and Amy

Then, we celebrated last night with his Dad and Robin. I cooked Jason a special birthday dinner: stuffed pasta, salad, and garlic bread. I set the table and everything! We used cloth napkins and I even pulled out my goblets! We did it up right. (Considering we usually just eat out of paper plates and use an assortment of mismatched plastic cups)

Jason and his Dad

Gavin is helping Jason eat his cake.

Then, on Thursday evening, we'll celebrate his birthday with my family at 5 Guys Burgers on Pelham Road. I LOVE that place. (I picked it for him.) He's pretty lucky to have a week-long birthday celelbration, huh?

I was only gone for 20 minutes...

I went for a walk around the block last night, and came back home to this craziness:

Yes, it's a diaper - but at least it was a clean one. I have to give credit for this to the daddy.

Tonight, after dinner, the clouds were just amazing. I thought this was so pretty and couldn't help but take a picture. It was so much better in person. It was really cool how the sun's rays came thru the break in the clouds - this picture just doesn't do it justice.

Happy Sunday evening. Hope you have a great start to your week.

Bad Hair Day

...and I thought I had bad hair days!

(I know, Mom, you don't like it.)

Back from a blogging hiatus

For those of you who were actually reading my blog for a while noticed that I haven't updated since Christmas time. I had to stop blogging because I found that it was beginning to consume my time and thoughts. I ended up spending more time on the computer than with my family - it became an obsession almost. A sermon at church was what got my attention - it was about where our priorities lie. What did I put in front of Christ? And before my own family? It was definitely the sermon for me...so that's why I stopped. So, to get back on track, I've posted a few pictures to show you what's been happening this summer.

Gavin loves to eat tomatoes off of dad's tomato plants.

Dad built Gavin a sandbox this summer. He loves to roll around in it and play.

We went to the beach with some friends at the end of June. Gavin loved the sand, of course, but wasn't too crazy about the ocean waves. He did like standing at the edge of the water and splashing in it, though.