Our Summer (So Far)

We have been having SO much fun this summer!  Unfortunately, I haven't taken any pictures.  :(  My plan was to do at least one "fun" thing each week.  Sometimes I feel like I get so caught up in things I have to do because we are out of school and I have extra time, that I just forget to make time for the fun stuff.  Not this summer, though!  So far, we have went camping, to Fernbank, swimming, swimming and more swimming.  Next week is VBS, then it's off to Panama City for the 4th of July week.  Hoping the oil stays away, but if not, there is a fabulous pool at the resort. I spent A LOT of time researching resorts to find the one that would offer us many other things to do in case the beach was unavailable.  I hope that's not the case though.  That whole situation saddens me.  We had reservations to camp on Santa Rosa Island, but unfortunately the oil has already touched the beaches there.  Anyway, we are staying at Edgewater Beach Resort which is where we will be in October for one of Brynn's meets.  We thought it would be nice to check it out before then too.

                                         picture courtesy of 4 panama city beach condo

I have no idea what we will be doing when we get back, but it will soon be time to order curriculum for next year and Brynn's meet season will be starting.  Parker is going to be playing soccer again, so that will start soon as well.  So many things to look forward to!

Fernbank Museum

Thursday Nana and I decided to take the kids to the Fernbank Museum.  Greg and I bought a membership in January and haven't used it in a while.  They have a new Gecko exhibit that the kids thought was super cool.  So did I.  Who knew there we so many different types of Geckos?  Very neat.  If you have never been here, it truly it an exceptional place. So many things to see and learn about and really keeps the kids attention. Plus, it's inside, and when it's 900 degrees outside like it is here in Georgia, that's a good thing.

  Seeing how much bigger a dinosaur footprint is than their hands.  Much, is the answer. 
























In front of the Stegosaurus.  Parker brought "Stomp"  on this field trip.  Appropriate, I thought.

We watched the Imax movie "Bugs" before we left.  Very cool. And educational.  Love that! 

We had a really great day and will have to go back very soon.  It always seems like we don't have time to do quite everything there.  Next time we will have to take a trip to the Planetarium also.  It has been a while since we took them there.

I hope we can make time to go on many more trips this summer.  Sometimes it feels like we have to many other things to do, but maybe we can use one day each week to do something different.

By the way, Brynn isn't crying, the sun is in her eyes.  :)

We're Back!

We had so much fun on our camping trip this past weekend!  It was a little wet, but having the camper helped out tremendously.  Not so much on laundry though.  Friday evening we just ate some hamburgers and hot dogs and relaxed after setting up.  Saturday we decided we would go to the Laser Show but went with the reserved seating since it was going to be CRAZY packed that night.  Well worth the money and no chairs to carry. 

Sunday we went for a drive to feed the ducks at the covered bridge.  It is such a special place for us since that's where Greg asked me to marry him.  We try to visit each time we go.  We hiked through the trails that were there  all along the lake. The kids really enjoyed that.  I think they investigated every hole on every tree and every rock they came across.  So cute! We stopped at the Mill and the kids played in the water for quite a while.  I normally would have had them in bathing suits, but it was a spur of the moment idea. Those are always the best.  :)

Parker thinking this is pretty cool.

Brynn getting completely pummeled by the waterfall.  She loved it!

All done and ready to go.  They had a fantastic time.  We are going to have to make time to do this often during the summer. 

We packed up to come home Monday, but made some amazing memories over the weekend.  I can't wait to go again!

Packing Up

We are getting everything ready to head out for a Memorial Day mini vacation.  Everyone is going on this trip, including my mom. Today we are working on getting the camper packed up, food prepped and clothes washed.  It's always so busy the day before a trip even if you are just going down the road a bit like we are.  I try to plan ahead and make sure we have everything taken care of, but there is always last minute stuff that has been forgotten. For the record, we are headed here:

That's Stone Mountain.  A beautiful picture I found somewhere on the web.  I have always lived close enough to go here everyday if I wanted to, so it is surprising to me that people plan actual vacations to visit it.  Greg and I were just talking about how we almost take it for granted.  I wish we didn't since it truly is a beautiful place with lots to do.  We do purchase an annual pass every year so we can take the kids and let them do all the activities they have to offer.  Plus we get all kinds of discounts by being Mountain Members. It really does pay for itself. 

Anyway, I guess I need to stop procrastinating and finish getting everything together so I don't have to do it all at midnight.  Right now my house looks like this

Again, not my picture, or my house....But I would prefer my house to look like this before we leave

Completely doable, no?  When I get back I will post how I pack and make sure I remember everything before a trip. I love me some organization! Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

I'm Back! (Again) and A Romantic Weekend In The Woods

I decided I am going to try to keep up with this blog again.  I have started a new homeschool blog and have put most of my posts over there, but I think I will try to keep general/family posts here and school related posts there.  Hopefully it will work out and I won't neglect either one.  :)  So, last weekend, my sweet hubby and I took off with our new camper and no kids to Stone Mountain for a much needed weekend alone. Greg had taken the whole week off to use up some vacation, but we didn't head out until Thursday.  Now, by his own admission, my darling husband was a bit on edge in the beginning of the week (or as he put it, "shouty and stabby") so I wasn't real sure I wanted to be cooped up in a camper with him for four days if you know what I mean.  Well, it turns out that the time away was just what we needed.  We were both a little stressed me with the end of school stuff, him with work stuff, but in the end being together always helps us focus on what is truly important.  Unfortunately we both realized as soon as we got there that we had forgotten the camera.  We had so much fun relaxing, feeding squirrels and ducks, walking around the campground, taking short naps during the day, cooking together, playing games.  Just quality time being together.  I honestly think it was better than staying in a hotel for a weekend. Now, I am a luxury girl through and through, but when you are camping there are no distractions like TV, we didn't answer cell phones and  didn't use computers.  Hopefully we will get a chance to do that again sometime.  I love having time to completely focus on my sweet hubby.