Peachtree City, Georgia: Trick-or-Treating

This year we went trick-or-treating in the cutest, easiest neighborhood called Honeysuckle Ridge with our good friends, the Johnsons.  The street was flat, the front doors were close together, and the whole street was in a circle making it easy to walk the outer then inner loop for candy.  It was this parent's dream come true.  They even handed out full-size candy bars occasionally including a huge bag of Sour Patch Kids just for me.  Remind me to thank Logan later for picking that colorful, shiny bag.

Both boys were super excited, Gavin especially since he was trick-or-treating with one of his best friends Jake.  We had a bakugan, a princess, Captain America, an eskimo, and Thor walking around with us collecting candy.
 

Here are the street-walkers who periodically collected their candy tax from their children.
 

This handsome, little lion stayed in the stroller, but never seemed to mind.
 

This neighborhood knew they were the place to go, so almost all of the houses were well decorated.
 

Caught-up in the excitement of the night.
 

The scariest house on the block happened to be a family from our church.
 

A quick impromptu group shot after I asked the owner if we could snap a shot.  This house, and so many others on the street, looked like they belonged in a Pottery Barn catalog.
 

And finally the sorting and dividing begins!
 

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

UMC Preschool Halloween Carnival

Since we were living it up with a visit to Utah last year during the holiday, we missed the Halloween festivities at preschool.  Thus this year we all were super excited to attend this year-costumes and all!  Since Logan and I were volunteering as helpers, I decided I needed a costume too.  Last night Sean and I brainstormed quick costumes and he suggested a zombie nurse.  Well this morning when I showcased my zombie nurse to Gavin and Logan, they freaked out and ran away in fright.  I then decided that a zombie nurse might not be the best costume for a preschool carnival.  So off went the make-up and I gave each of the boys a hug as I pulled them out from under their beds.

There were 10 games and stations that the boys got to explore.
 

Just look at Gavin's jump shot!  Logan pinned the nose on the pumpkin perfectly the first time.
 

Smile!


Our super hero class, plus two siblings on each end.
 

A blessing of a small preschool class is that the younger siblings get to participate like they are a student as well.  We love our preschool, teachers, and the entire program.
 

Violet (a.k.a. Laney, another best friend of Gavin's), Mrs. Lloyd, and Captain America still wearing his cloth helmet.
 

 

What a great morning!

Our Halloween Heroes: Captain America and Thor

I still have plenty of pictures to post from the Miner visit, but I wanted to post Halloween in a timely manner for the grandparents and loved ones.  Gavin was pretty adamant on being Captain America this year and could not wait to play with the awesome shield.  After toying around with it a couple times, Gavin proclaimed that the shield did not come back to him like Captain America's did in the movie trailer.  We explained that mom and dad were too cheap to buy that version.  Meanwhile Logan fell in love with Thor's hammer over at a good friend's house one play date, so his costume was quickly settled upon that hammer-weilding god.    

 

 

 

 

  

 

Peachtree City and Atlanta: Soccer Game and Six Flags

Saturday morning Gavin played a great game of soccer.  The sun was shinning and he had plenty of cheerleaders on the sidelines.  Coach Dad, as Gavin calls him, was proud of the boys for they are starting to naturally pass more and turn the ball around better these days.
 

A quick stop at Kroger for Six Flags Over Georgia tickets turned into an impromptu photo session of glowing Kortney.  Don't you just want to rub your hands on her belly.  She won't mind.
 

We then headed north to Atlanta and begun our day at Six Flags.  We stayed until closing and only touched about three fourths of the park.
 

Front row joes on the family roller coaster.  There was quite a wait but Gavin and Logan loved it.  Sean and I wished we would have recorded Logan's face during the first drop of the coaster.  I looked back just in time to see Logan's face in sheer terror then pure excitement knowing he survived.
 

After a couple of rides in between, we headed for the bumper cars.  It was Chase and Gavin vs. Kortney and I.  It is really hard to take a picture in moving bumper car with a phone, but still you can see the total joy on Gavin's face.  He was having so much fun with Uncle Chase.  In fact to this day, if you ask Gavin his favorite part of the Miner's entire visit it was riding the bumper cars with Uncle Chase.
 

A couple more kiddie rides while the big boys ride Batman.
 

And we, of course, had to stop by the Miner's Cook House.  By now you think we would be tired, but there is still so much to blog about the trip.
 

Turner Field: Wild Card Game Cardinals vs. Braves

While Gavin spent Friday morning in preschool, the rest of us drove around two out of the three neighboring towns where they film 'The Walking Dead.'  It was fun seeing all the locations that come to life on the small screen.  We then walked through the quaint town of Senoia where Rutledge Wood from the American version of 'Top Gear' films occasionally.  Once home and back reunited with Gavin, Kortney and Chase made their famous ribs for a late lunch.  These ribs are so time intensive but so worth the wait.
     
With our belly's full, everyone but Grandma Jeana and the boys headed to Turner Field.  Let the record show we were there for Chipper Jones' last game and we did not participate in any trash throwing on the field.  You might have heard that Chipper retired from baseball after all 19 seasons of his career in Atlanta.  Pretty awesome stuff.  And due to the new Wild Card Game rules, the Braves had a shot at the playoffs.  The Braves ended up loosing but we still had a great time.  The classic American sport mixed with angry fans and random whole mustard bottles thrown onto the field.

 

 

 

Downtown Atlanta: World of Coke

Things are going to get really crazy here with posts from the Miner family visit.  Bare with me as I document our crazy adventures in way too many pictures.

Our first stop was the World of Coke in downtown Atlanta just a few steps from their headquarters.
 

Gavin loved the very large, iconic polar bear.  Logan did not.
 

A 4-D movie with lots of animation.
 

When at first you don't succeed, ask your brother for help.
 

Our last stop of World of Coke was the tasting room.  The moment that Gavin and Logan were waiting for the entire visit.  We tried Coke products from practically every continent with some tasting very, very good.  

Others tasted very, very bad.
 

Lots of history and lots of fun.
 

After World of Coke, we took the family to the Dekalb Farmers Market.  Imagine this huge food market of every possible edible item at reasonable prices.  We then rushed home, beating Atlanta's horrible traffic, for Gavin's soccer practice.  And yet at the end of the day, we were all beat.  
 

A Miner Party

We had the whole Miner family (even baby girl in Kortney's belly!) come visit us for a week at the beginning of October.  It was a crazy week filled with way too much fun and excitement that we are still recovering from it.  Each day was pretty packed so slowly I will recount our adventures through pictures.

The family flew in all together on a Wednesday and the boys were so excited to greet them at the airport.  The Miner's visit was the perfect carrot to dangle over the boys' heads to motivate them to clean in preparation.  They were so excited for Uncle Chase, Aunt Kortney, Grandpa Steve, and Grandma Jeana to visit.

My mother-in-law will call me tomorrow morning asking why I do not love her for posting pictures of her, and to that I will reply tough and I do.  At least I made this midnight picture of her really small so that earns me some daughter-in-law points.  Feel free to click on it though to enlarge.      

North and South Carolina: Packing and Swimming

We woke Sunday sad to pack up from our trip already.  Saturday in all its beauty was worth the trip alone, but we had more to see and do.  The boys were handy helpers but they took one last walk through the campground with Scott, Tonda, and Lily while Sean and I packed up the tent.  The drive heading home on the Blue Ridge Parkway is gorgeous and one of the reasons I love North Carolina so much.
 

We passed through about six tunnels and while they all look similar each one was equally fun.  Back home in Peachtree City, anytime we travel through the golf cart tunnels we continuous yell 'tunnel' so I bet you can guess what the boys shouted inside the car as we drove home.
 

Remember how it was rainy Friday night when we were trying to set-up the tent?  Well that rain prevented us on the drive up from taking a picture at the North Carolina state sign.  Thus we snapped a shot on the way home.
 

We then left North Carolina entered Georgia then headed to South Carolina.  Sean took us to the river where he spent a week during the summer on his 50 mile hike with the boy scouts.  He said it was a beautiful swimming spot, and he did not lie.
 

Just over the South Carolina line is this beach, park, and trailhead for the Chattooga River.  We spent a couple hours exploring the area and watching rafters try to tackle the premier whitewater river.
 

Sean and Gavin took off on a hike together while Logan and I stayed back to play in the water.  And it was while Logan and I were playing did I have a moment of extreme gratitude for my life.  Little did I know I would miscarry a week later, but that would have never stopped my gratitude.  There we were enjoying nature as a family and loving every moment of the gorgeous scenery.
 

Our drive home through Atlanta happened to be timed around dinner, so we decided to try the famous Varsity diner.  Think the world's largest drive-in with all the usual diner food.  The taste was as expected but the atmosphere won us over.  The place is an institution and known for their own vocabulary for ordering.  Sounds like another popular diner in the West, but this place is older and most larger.
 

Well that about wraps up our August camping weekend adventure.  I am sad it took me so long to finally post.  We had an awesome time creating family memories and loved spending time with the Ramseys.  Sometimes getting out in nature with loved ones is the best thing for the soul.

Cherokee, North Carolina: Camping with the Ramseys

This picture-overloaded post is a long time coming, like August long time.  

Back when I was fresh from the womb, my parents lived next door to the kindest family... and then next to them lived the Ramseys.  I'm just kidding.  The Ramseys were the nicest family around and indeed lived next door to my parents.  When you think of southern hospitality and friendliness, the Ramseys were the epitome of everything good in the South.  Fast forward almost three decades later and you would find us camping with them one weekend in Cherokee, North Carolina this past August. It was an amazing trip and we were lucky Scott and Tonda allowed us to tag along.

We had a very wet, rainy start to our camping adventure that Friday night and did not get a good look around camp before heading to bed.  When we woke in the morning, we woke to the most glorious layers of mountains.

Breakfast with a view!

These boys loved all the fresh air.

Walks around the campground occurred frequently and Logan loved walking with Lily, their dog.

A few camping activities; golfing and peeing.

I highly recommend Mile High Campground if you are ever in the area.

After lunch, we took a hike around the highest point of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Sean and I were supremely impressed how well both boys hiked that day.  It was a lovely hike.

On the drive to the trailhead, both boys were asleep when we passed the highway marker.  Then when we returned they were both eager for pictures.

Here is Scott and Logan then Sean and Gavin taking in the views.

Told you it was picture overload.  

Near our campground in the Blue Ridge Parkway part was the border line for Great Smokey Mountain National Park.  The sign had two fronts, one for each park.  

Someone should teach Gavin not to talk with his mouth full of food, but apparently that person should not be me.

Thanks to Pinterest, I came across the idea of swapping out a Reese's cup for the traditional Hershey bar in a s'more.  This small switch has changed our life forever.  You must try it immediately and you will never eat a traditional s'more again. 

Camping can be a beautiful thing.

Apparently, I was smitten with taking pictures that day for all these shots came just from Saturday.  Stay tuned for Sunday is coming right up.