Balloon Glow

On Friday night we went up to Robin Lake at Callaway Gardens for the annual Labor Day Weekend Hot Air Balloon Festival. We wandered through the big balloons, and crowds of people that surrounded them, and headed around the lake to the perfect grassy area jetting out into the water. There we laid a blanket and sat to eat snacks and wait for the sun to set. When it was dark the fun started. Given a signal the crowd shouted, "Five, four, three, two, one!" and each hot air balloon was given a burst of fire that lit up all the balloons. It was really fun to see. Next year maybe we'll go back on Saturday when they all take off. We love our Callaway Gardens!

Take me out to the Ball Game

A couple weeks ago our friends gave us tickets to the Atlanta Braves/ Chicago Cubs game. We got a babysitter for the little kids and took Ryan and Katie. We drove an hour and a half to Turner Field in Atlanta... an impressive field, one of the biggest ball fields in the US, build for the 1996 Summer Olympics. It was a gorgeous night and mild... perfect for a ball game.

Chris has been a Chicago Cubs fan since he was a kid. He was so excited. He, and Ryan - who naturally chose to cheer for the Cubs because he is in every way his dad - started yelling "Go CUBS!' right from the first pitch. Katie and I, up for a little rivalry, decided to cheer for our new Home Team... "GO BRAVES!" The crowd was split in half too. There were Cubs fans everywhere and the cheers were just as loud for each team.

It was a great night... The Cubs won and while the boys celebrated Katie and I decided we really didn't care who won we just had fun watching... and singing 'Take me out to the Ball Game', and eating ice cream and hot dogs, and watching the jumbo screen, and cheering, and keeping score, and staying up late.



... Katie and Ryan - loving being the big kids.

...and what's a baseball game without a $7.00 hotdog?

...Katie brought a notebook so she could keep score. She recorded every strike, every out and every run in every inning. It was so cute.

...once the pitcher hit the batter and players from both teams came running in ready to fight. Pretty exciting.

Back to School

The kids have been in school for two weeks now and everyone is happy -- including me! Ryan got the teacher he was hoping for - Mr. Smith, a young teacher fanatical about sports - and is already leading the class with 'accelerated reading' points... He took tests on three books he read over the summer and has read two and a half books since school started two weeks ago. (He is almost finished the second book of Lightning Thief, Lindsey, and loves it... thanks) Like always, Ryan finishes most of his homework on the bus everyday.

Katie got Mrs. Elliott and she is with her friend Allie again which she is thrilled about. She has a little homework every day and is doing great getting it done and being very responsible.

Emily has Mrs. Ammerman and is loving being at school with the big kids. She comes home excited to see me, since Kindergarten here is all day, but loves her class and is constantly singing new songs and talking about the gingerbread points, the calendar, what questions she answered and what she writes in her journal. I just went to the Kindergarten orientation this week and am thrilled with the program.

Looks like it's going to be a good school year. This is the one and only year that all three of them will be at Eagle Ridge. Next year Ryan is off to middle school!

One Last Vacation

The weekend before school started we decided to hit the road for one last vacation... but this time just an overnighter. When I asked the kids to grab some pjs, a bathing suit and some clothes I went upstairs to find that Emily had packed up every piece of clothing she owns. She was so proud of herself too. Well, how is she suposed to know we're only going for one day? "Only one night?" she asked.

Chris had the Friday off since he was on call the previous weekend so we woke up, packed the van, and headed South to the Florida Gulf Coast. We live only four hours away from beautiful white sand beaches and warm turquoise ocean. We'd been once before with Amy but it was February and the beaches were beautiful but windy and cold. We've been anxious to get back ever since.

We arrived too early to check in so we hit the outlets for the afternoon and then came back, and headed straight for the beach. The kids loved swimming in the ocean, digging in the sand, throwing a ball with Dad and being pushed onto shore by the waves. Lukey kept wanting to crawl right into the water. That kid has no fear. The only bad part... Ryan, Emily and Chris got stung by jelly fish. Ouch! We played until the sun set and it was almost dark. I got the kids into jammies back at the hotel while Chris made a run for PF Changs and Wendy's for the kids. We ate our late dinner on our beds while watching the opening cerimonies for the Olympics. We stayed at the Hilton Sandestin Beach and Golf Resort and got a great deal. The best part about our hotel room was that is had two queen beds, a pull out couch and BUNK BEDS... Yeah, finally a hotel room that fits our family. It was great!

We woke up early and were almost the first on the beach. Only a couple other people passed us as we walked along the water. It was warm already at 7:00am. The kids were ready with bathing suits on under their clothes but the clothes didn't last long. How can you resist those warm waves? By 8:30 we were set up by the pool and ready for a day of water. We swam, ate, read, relaxed and hit the beach again. At 5:00, tired and water logged, we loaded up and drove home. Megan fell asleep as we drove out of the hotel and slept the whole way home. What a way to end the summer! We love Sandestin!

The beach at sunset...

Early morning walk...

(It won't let me add anymore -I'll add more later!)

deja vu

We've been home from our 5 1/2 week vacation for almost four weeks now. The kids enjoyed their last two weeks of summer playing with all their toys, excited to be in their rooms, jumping on their trampoline and enjoying the community pool a few more times before it closed.

As our summer break winded down I took all the kids to Super Wal-Mart for school supplies and as I entered the store with five kids in tow, it occurred to me... I've done this here before...

When we moved to Georgia we arrived at the end of July 2007. We stayed in a hotel for two nights before we got keys to the house. So while Chris was in-processing on base I took the kids to register in school and went and bought school supplies. It's one of my first memories of being here in Columbus. Wandering through the back-to-school isles in Super Wal-Mart with my big pregnant tummy, Megan sitting in the front of the cart, Emily sitting in the back of the cart making piles and Ryan and Katie excitedly picking out supplies.

This time with Luke in the front of the cart gnawing on a pack of pencils, and Megan sitting in the back of the cart making piles, we made our way through the crowded back-to-school isles. I actually love it... the kids (and I) were so excited to pick out new pencils, crayons and folders. Ryan, Katie and Emily picked up supplies left and right and simultaneously shouted 'Do I need this?' "Hang on, we're doing crayons right now." I answered countless times. Emily's Kindergarten list was a little smaller than the other kids so she felt completely jipped. "What? Why can't I have a compass and a dictionary?" And then Megan calling from the cart... "What can I have?" while the kids find something else Lukey has slobbered on. It's ok to have complete chaos when you are back to school shopping. It's what happens every year... and I love it.

Since then everything has seemed like deja vu... the end of summer rain and thunder storms, the beautiful butterflies that fly around the bushes by Ryan's window, the thick humidity, Chris hitting the golf course after work (not as often as last August when our schedule wasn't so busy) and the kids going back to school. We have lived in Georgia for one whole year! We may not be Georgia veterans but we are beginning to feel like we've done it all before.

Beach Bums and such

If we weren't out on the boat then we were hanging out on the beach... and having a great time.

Showing off muscles.

Spencer's cute little behind (that we saw several times when he peed in the lake)

Uncle Rob and the boys playing

Emily playing in the sand.

What a cutie.

Grandma and Haylee

What a sweetheart.

Little Lukey

Beautiful girls... Lindsey, Haylee and Kayla

The kids enjoying the beach.

Spencer buried up to his neck.

Love that cute Tyler expression.

Good times...

We had so much fun at the lake with Chris' family. On the first lake day we rented a sun cruiser... a big boat that could fit all 19 of us. We tubed and let the kids ski. The second day we rented a ski boat so the adults could ski and wake board. Good times.

Happy Dad.






Ryan and Katie doing tricks.

Rob, Lindsey and Haylee enjoying the tube.

John, Nikole and Kayla taking a ride.

Chris skiing.

Lisa skiing.

Ryan skiing... he couldn't get enough.

Katie skiing.... She did so great. By the end of the two days she was skiing around like a pro!

We 'made' Emily try skiing. She was nervous but she did get up for a little bit. This is the only picture I got... with Chris helping her in the water. When she came back to the beach she was so proud... (see picture below) and glad that Daddy made her try... but didn't want to try again.


Not so good times...

These are my favorite set of pictures. Emily, Megan and Spencer were having a great time on the tube until we hit a wave and it sprayed them bad. Emily sorry that we are laughing at your expense! Double click to see the up close details.

Oh my, I'm laughing even as I type. Here is Emily trying desperately to tap her head... the signal we taught them for 'I'm done!' Poor kiddos.