Fun Friday in Atlanta

Since we have had some depressing days lately, Randy and I decided to surprise the kids with a quick trip to Atlanta to have some fun. We checked them out of school on Thursday and headed East to the big city. They were soooooo excited!!! (don't know if it was missing school or going on a trip that made their day!)
We checked into our hotel, did a little swimming in their indoor pool, then headed to eat. After a good night's sleep in our comfy beds, we made our way to....

the Georgia Aquarium. We have never been, so we were all a little bit excited.

We got there right in time to watch the scuba diver feed the fish in the first big tank.

My cute kids

Then we (they) petted the sting rays. I'm just not big on putting my hand into smelly water!

Me and my sweet kiddos on our way into the River exhibit.

We then found our seats for the Dolphin Show. It was awesome--almost better than the one at SeaWorld!

Next up: the Penguins

There was a tube to crawl through where the penguins actually swam all around you and

you ended up popping up in the penguin habitat. How cool!

The river otters were next on our list. They were so cute playing around.

My precious hubby and me in the big tank. Didn't Caitlin take a good picture of us?

Caitlin and Harrison on the moving sidewalk

This was the view up above us as we rode on the sidewalk.

And we saw this big guy in there too! Good thing my kids haven't seen Jaws!

Watching all the cool fish swim by. It was so calming!

Outside the Aquarium they have these dolphin statues that different businesses have painted. Caitlin thought this one was too cool.

Of course Randy and I had to have our picture made with the Atlanta Falcons dolphin. Can't go anywhere without thinking football!
After that, we walked down the hill to the...

World of Coca-Cola. We've always wanted to come here too.

There was lots of cool memorabilia in the lobby.

And a very friendly polar bear that we got to meet.

We also met a new character that Coke is introducing in its most recent campaign.

There was lots of neat stuff to see..like this Coca-Cola couch that was on American Idol.

There was also a 4-D theater where we got to wear these cool glasses!

Caitlin got her a glass of Coke from this very old soda fountain.

Harrison loved this old soda delivery truck.

And they got to hold actual Olympic torches that came through Atlanta.

Next came the taste testing. There were 64 different kinds of Coke from all around the world. Some were great, and others made you want to spit them out! It was neat to see all the different flavors that Coke comes in.

Caitlin and I were just happy to get some good, old-fashioned Coke from the United States!

All in all, we had a really fun day in Atlanta. I am so glad that we got to spend some good, quality family time together. We haven't had a chance to do that lately.

Madison Street Festival 2011

On the first Saturday in October, our small city has their annual Street Festival. This year it was on Saturday, October 1. We started our day watching Harrison play in a soccer game, then we made our way to the Street Festival for some hometown fun. There are lots of things to see and do at the Street Festival like face painting, riding the little train, browsing the craft booths, and meeting up with friends.

The first people we ran into were Darth Vader with his Stormtroopers. Harrison was beyond excited!

Next, as we were walking around looking in all the booths, we ran into Po from Kung Fu Panda.

We spent about an hour walking around and probably would have stayed longer, however a small bee changed our plans. Caitlin was waiting in line for some food when this little bitty bee decided she looked very, very sweet and stung her! Needless to say, we immediately left.

Harrison's legs were tired from all the running and kicking at his soccer game, so Daddy had to provide transportation as we were walking back to the car.
We had a good time while we were there, but we didn't get to spend as much time as we usually do there or do half the fun things we normally find to do. Oh well...thank goodness there's next year to look forward to!

Soccer Star

So....I am way, way, way behind on blogging. To catch you up a little bit, we have enjoyed watching Harrison play soccer each Saturday morning. He seems to really enjoy soccer more than T-ball. Maybe it's the non-stop action or maybe he's just better at this sport. Whatever the case, it's been fun watching him play.

Kicking off the game

Throw-in time! Daddy just can't resist adding a little coaching in there. (See his hand?)

Way to go, Harrison!

Look at that smile!

GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!

Posing with Daddy after the big win!

Scary!

On one of the most horrible, awful days last week, my entire family plus my Daddy were all in the car together. We ended up driving past this really scary haunted house that our city has during the month of October. Randy started talking about how scary that place probably is, and Harrison chimed in with, "Yeah, that place would scare the Ba-Jingles out of me!!"

Happy Birthday Mama!

I know you are having the best birthday party EVER today, but we sure miss celebrating with you!

Note to Business Owners

Dear Friendly Neighborhood Clerk,

No, I promise I am not a freak as I stand here crying in your store. It's just that the pumpkins remind me of my Mama and her October birthday. Or maybe it's the display of Danielle Steele books that I saw and reminded me of all the ones she has. Or it could be that I am just missing my Mama and need a good cry. Whatever the reason, please just ignore me because if you ask what is wrong like the sweet girl at Books-a-Million then you might get a shoulder full of tears.
Also please disregard the girl having the panic attack in the parking lot as she will soon realize that her car was not stolen, but that she is actually driving her husband's car.

Thank you and Good Day!

Dear Mama

Dear Mama,
You have been the best mother that anyone could have ever asked for. It's as if God took all the goodness in the world and poured it into you. You have taught me so much in the short amount of time that you were my mother, and I can only hope that I am at least half as good a mother to my two sweet children.

You taught me to love life and sometimes just laugh even when things are going crazy all around you because that may be the only thing that gets you through it.

You and Daddy provided a wonderful example of love having celebrated 52 years of marriage together.

You taught me family is the most important thing and to always try to support each other in everything they do.

You taught me to study hard and my dreams will come true.

But most of all, you loved me and Dana through everything we put you through as we were growing up. You showed us how to be kind, caring, and thoughtful--the very things that made you such a wonderful person. You took us to church every Sunday so that we would learn about Jesus and the Bible. Little did I know at the time that I was living with one of Jesus' beautiful angels that He put on Earth. I am so sad that my own personal angel has left me, but I know that you have found your way to the most glorious home ever.

Thank you for everything you taught me. I only wish I would have paid more attention at times!

I love you, Mama, and will miss you every day of my life!