1st trip to victoria bryant

We took a trip to Victoria Bryant State Park in Royston yesterday. It is such a sweet park and now we want to plan a family camping trip there with some of our favorite families - maybe when the heat breaks a bit... We went because I promised my dad a family picnic for his birthday, then I went on vacation, then father's day rolled around and we still were waiting for the right time. It is very hard to find the right time when everyday it is 100 degrees outside. We were going to go to Watson's Mill, but they don't have many picnic tables and even fewer of them are near the water where the kids could play in water and the adults have shade which was a prerequisite of my dad. So, we settled on Victoria Bryant - after I called them to make sure we would be able to be near the water and have shade and they assured me neither would be a problem - and they were right! It is a totally sweet park with small shoals to play in and there is a swimming pool and some fishing ponds as well, but we didn't hit those - just the shoals. It was also a real treat for me to be able to go on a picnic with my folks. We see them a lot in and out of each others homes, but to go out and do something that ALL of us enjoy is often not an easy thing to do. I sure hope we do it again very soon! So, here are some pictures of our day!




They are both almost as tall as me. I figure India will pass me by winter at the rate she is growing right now.


mmmm food...


sometimes I look through our pictures and I think what an obnoxious family we are that we smile so much!









next time we are going to Watson's Mill because I found out yesterday my mom has never been there. She has lived in Athens over 40 years and has never been there. Can you believe it? We have to change that.

fathers day

We went to Jason's aunt Debbie's to celebrate Fathers Day and she has a pool. The kids spent the biggest portion of the day in the pool. I totally dropped the ball on Father's Day. Jason wanted some new pants, but I don't generally buy him clothes without him picking them out because he is so picky, so after we left Debbie's we went and bought his some pants AND a new shirt that I can't wait for him to wear! He's such a great dad. I am so thankful our kids have such a wonderful role model as a father. He's an amazing man.

day 4

Finally a picture of me I don't hate

we celebrated our 14 year wedding anniversary by going out to dinner and a VERY LONG walk on the beach.

We went to the oldest skate park in the nation, but boy was it hot.

ellijah

Rodney and Tracey invited us up to a place they go in Ellijay to go tubing down the coosawattee river. We had a great time swimming in the river, relaxing, and hanging out. We saw a lot of wildlife too. Tons of turtles as we floated down, some river otter (actually 3 and we saw them a few different times), a few blue heron, a couple of hawks, and a whole lot deer as they passed through the yard on the other side of the river... It was beautiful.

Our view down the river


She's too cool for school (for real)


Loves jumping in the water! There was a great swimming hole in the middle of the river!


Do you see an alligator?


The water was pretty cold!






getting ready to do some tubing

fathers day

A week late, but better late than never, right?

The kids and I bought Jason air chairs for his big day of celebration. We got 2 red ones that now hang on the backporch. We took the couch off the porch and it is now living on top of the ramp temorarily for fun for the boys. There are pictures of them skating on the ramp below. We gave Jason the chairs on Friday because we were going to have a busy weekend and we wanted the time to not be rushed. Unfortunately, we aren't using the chairs a whole lot right now because it is so hot outside, but when the heat breaks (and it will) we will be loving the chairs. I haven't taken any photos of the chairs yet, but I assure you there will be some soon.

On Sunday, we rode up to Duncan Creek in Dacula for Jason to get some skating in. It was HOT HOT HOT, so didn't stay long, but at least he got to go, right? I hated that it was so HOT outside. I know how much Jason and Kalib look forward to skating there. After they got done, we headed over to Jason's aunts house for Fried Chicken and time in the pool with the cousins. It was a gorgeous afternoon and the kids really had a blast playing together. I wish we saw everyone more often and time didn't pass us by so quickly... Anyhow, here are some photos from last weekend...

couch skating...






Duncan Creek


He already got a lecture for not wearing a helmet... he swears he forgot it in our rush to get out the door.







Aunt Debbies








There are lots more photos on my flickr page, feel free to click on any of the pictures to look at more... It's so hard to choose between them all!

off to the lake

I'm not working on Tuesdays except in the mornings to do what absolutely HAS to be done in order to have one full day a week with the kids. Yesterday, a group of our fellow homeschoolers took off to Lake Hartwell to relax in the sun and play in the lake. I am always amazed at how fast time goes when you are at the lake or in the sun for that matter. It seems like before you blink you've been there hours. Thankfully, the lake isn't all that far and with our large caraVAN (because we can't really carpool due to all the kids) we were there by lunch time and heading home around 5:00. I made it home about 6:30. We had such a great time! I'm always amazed at the kids abilities to not only get along the majority of the time, but also the way the older kids really help keep an eye on the younger kids without the adults having to ask. I'm also impressed by the older kids trying to mostly include the younger kids in whatever they play - they deserve some time where they just get to play on their own, but overall they are more than willing to let the younger kids join in whatever they are doing. This is such a great group of kids whom obviously really like each other. For me, the biggest perk is that I LOVE all the moms so much. Every time I'm around them I am reminded to be thankful for such amazing moms that I get to surround myself with. I really do feel so lucky!

daddy went to the pool

We were back at the pool on Sunday and this time Jason went and got in on the diving board action.



This one did turn into a dive not a belly flop