A Trip to the Big City (Atlanta)

After living here for a nearly year, it was time to explore outside Lagrange and take a trip north to Atlanta. In our summer reading, we have been reading a lot about transportation so I thought it would be fun to take the MARTA (Atlanta's Rapid Rail System). Each night at bedtime, we would talk endlessly about our upcoming trip. You would have thought we were embarking on the greatest adventure of our life...to have the mind of a child would be great! As the day approached I thought the boys might be disappointed once they realized what this "big trip" entailed. I think the pictures tell a thousand words, they were ecstatic from start to finish!

We started off driving to the MARTA station at College Park, just north of the airport. The boys would not even turn their heads for a picture. They just wanted to look out the windows and watch all the things we were passing.

Our first stop was the Olympic Centennial Park. This was the site of the gathering during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. There are large Olympic Rings in the middle of the park that squirt water daily. Chase loved it!

We also decided to go to the Children's museum, which was the highlight of the trip! The boys had so much fun that we decided to buy the season pass. I had to drag both kids out of there after 3 hours of playtime.

Nolan was the "volunteer" during story and music time. When asked what his name was he said "Peter Man". He has a pair of PJ's that have Peter Pan on them and Hank has confused him by calling him Peter Pan on a regular basis. I guess he really thinks that is his name...funny kid!

Inside one of the exhibits they have a huge piece of plexi-glass for the kids to paint. Since I am a little OCD I do not let activities such as these take place at my house. I am so glad that I can now use my season pass to take my kids to the Museum to paint and the mess is left behind. Chase kept looking at me and I could tell he was wondering if this activity would be okay for him to participate in!

ALL in ALL a great day!

Happy Birthday Hank!

Happy birthday to the greatest person I know! Never in all my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would marry someone as great as my husband. One of my favorite things about Hank is his ability to make any situation 100 times more fun than you ever thought it could be. Chase and Nolan always choose to spend time with him "because he is so much funner" than I will ever be! Although his "fun" side is what truly stands out, he is also the most patient, loving and sensitive person. My parents have always said that Hank is a "jewel", and I know they are referring to how he deals with a crazy person such as me!

I love you my love!

Happy 4th of July!

Our First 4th of July Spectacular turned out to be quite the success (no one caught on fire). Little did we know that in Georgia everyone puts on their own fireworks show from their own home so there is no need to leave the comforts of your driveway! We started our show a little early and after thinking that our $55 at the fireworks store in Alabama would really make all our neighbors jealous...we heard a huge BOOM! It was the neighbors behind us who had FOR REAL fireworks, like the kind that professionals use! According to Hank and Steve they must have spent $3000 just on fireworks! CRAZY what these southerners do and spend purely for fun!

Waterslides, Broken Noses & The Kill

What an exciting time to be a kid (especially in LaGrange). Legal fireworks have to be the best thing since fried okra. We had a very exciting month in June. Our front yard was transformed into a slip-n-slide mecca. Hank and Steve bought a 100ft roll of plastic from Home Depot, added some dish soap, and the slip-n-slide was open for business. Jess was sick the entire day (bummer for her) so Hank, Nolan, and Chase spent the entire day outside on the slip-n-slide. Thankfully there were no incidents or accidents. (We can't say the same thing for fathers day!)

Fathers day started out perfect. Hank was given 2 miniature sleeping bags which happened to be the perfect size for Nolan and Chase. The gift will be perfect for the upcoming camping trip at the beach. After church we grilled a 4lb fillet, had mashed potatoes, rolls, and broccoli. The steak was phenomenal and the night was outstanding. The kids were done with dinner and started playing in the other room. The adults started relaxing and suddenly a scream came from the other room. Jess and Steve jumped from their seats to see what happened. When I got to the room, Jess was holding Nolan (who was screaming and holding his nose). Jess had a panicked look on her face, and she said, "I think Nolan broke his nose!" I took him over to the chair and tilted his head back. His nose was already swollen and he had a black line right across the bridge of his nose. Jess called the doctor and he told us since Nolan was so young, the cartilage in his nose hadn't hardened enough to break, and he would probably be fine. About 5 minutes after the accident, Nolan was ready to get back to the playroom and start playing again. It was only after an hour of interrogation that we finally got the whole story of what happened. Apparently Nolan and Trent were playing a game where Nolan would stand on the bed and jump off. Trent was supposed to catch him, but instead they both collided and Nolan rammed his face into the wall. I really think Nolan will turn out to be a MMA Fighter.

It's been a long tradition with hunters (especially in the south) to drink the blood of their kill as a sign of...well who really knows? Anyway, I thought it only appropriate to show Nolan's first kill of the year. He completely slaughtered an innocent Popsicle. I think he's really taken to the southern style of fashion as well. We will be sure to update everyone after the 1st Annual Armstrong firework festival being held tonight. (hopefully the house will be standing, and NO visits to the emergency room will take place.)