Atlantian Adventures

We stayed with my sister Teri and her husband Eric in their beautiful house in Atlanta for a few days and had so much fun! They are awesome hosts. Teri made some pretty awesome breakfast burritos on the fly one morning, that featured cream cheese, so yeah they were tasty. Eric loves to plant and grow his own spices, and even makes his own soap. So we got specialty soap in our bath which was cool. Anybody who stays at our house is lucky to get sheets put on the couch for them, haha. (I'm mostly being sarcastic there.)

Here's Aunt Teri fawning over Conner. Why is she fawning? It may have something to do with the fact that she is preggers, and awaiting a baby boy in January!

Regretfully, there aren't any pictures of Eric. I assure you he exists, and my excuse is that he was working much of the time. Let this picture be a representation of him, as it's a picture of the adirondack chairs he built. Yeah, apparently he builds furniture from scratch too. Sometimes this couple is annoyingly perfect.

 Here I'm trying to capture the cuteness of Conner in overalls. I took a dozen pictures and he refused to cooperate, either looking down or stone-eyed staring. He's so funny.

One of the coolest parts of our trip was our visit to Stone Mountain. What a cool place! It's great for families as it features ropes-type climbing courses, train rides, trams up to the top of the mountain, laser light shows, Civil War era history, and of course, food! Here's a shot of its famed mountain side, which shows a carving of the South's Civil War generals.

 The coolest part about Stone Mountain was the Mile High Hike. It was a multi-level climbing course, with the first level about 20 feet off the ground, and progressing up to a third level. Jon and Jack did it together, accomplishing the first 2 levels! They loved it and the pictures do not disappoint.

Jason was under the height requirement to do the Mile High Hike, but luckily for him, they had a younger audience intended similar hike just adjacent to the Mile High one.

He had a blast traversing the wires!! I love how he could just barely stretch his limbs far enough to accomplish this wired task-

He did this course about 5 times, again and again, with sheer enthusiasm in his eyes.

 Teri and I took Jack and Jason on the train ride around the base of the mountain. Jon pushed an exhausted Conner around in the stroller so he could catch a nap.

Conner holding his daddy's hand. Enough said.

Excuse the next set of pictures which are blurry. They were taken on the phone, which has seen better days. Here we are taking the tram up to the top of the mountain. Jon and I took Jack and Jason, while Teri stayed behind with sleeping Conner.

 Jon is completely fine with heights, does not faze him one bit. I, on the other hand, get a little uneasy about it.

 My mom would absolutely cringe at this picture. Those two blurry yellow blobs are Jack and Jason at the fence, erected somewhat close to the edge of the mountain to keep little boys from falling to their deaths.

 Jack and Jason used their "sharp claws" to scale the mountainside. They are copying one of the characters in a video game Jon plays that also uses sharp claws to climb things.

 In addition to Stone Mountain, Teri took us to see a waterfall near an old mining company. The mining company was closed down and burnt to the ground by the North during the Civil War. But it has since become a local spot for weddings and receptions, go figure!

What is my boys' obsession with hanging on fences that separate them from life and death? Seriously, even the baby is trying to climb out of the carrier for a better look!

Family pictures!

 The boys are no longer receptive to family picture taking!

Another cool stop in Atlanta was Overlook Park, which is just awesome. We don't have anything like it here in Texas. It is a beautiful, unique playground on turf, next to trails that go by the nearby river/lake where you can go tubing. Along the trails, overlooking the river, are swinging benches provided for onlookers. It was all very picturesque and perfect for family walks.

 I'm not sure what to call this, other than a giant spider web for kids to climb.

 Jack and Jason in the web

 There's my baby Conner's smile-

We had such a great time in Atlanta. It's a beautiful part of the country with the mountains, rivers, and trees. We loved crashing at Teri and Eric's house, playing the Wii, going for walks, and swimming at the neighborhood pool.

This concluded our family summer vacation in 2014, with us then making the 12 hour drive home. It was a fantastic week and I'm so glad we did it!

Visiting parks in Gulfport, MS and Montgomery, AL

While in Gulfport, we found a fun local park where the boys enjoyed playing.

Conner trying to balance on the discs

 Jack Attack

 Jason climbing (or caught in?) the web

 That climbing wall was pretty high and much more difficult than Jack imagined it to be, but he did it!

After our stay in Gulfport for a few days, we headed towards Atlanta to visit my sister Teri and her hubby Eric. Mid way thru the drive to Atlanta, we stopped in Montgomery to play and eat lunch. We were fortunate enough to happen upon a great park, with pebble pathways, ponds, bridges, ducks, and turtles. It was the perfect break from our car ride!

View of the park

 I just love the pictures of the boys pressing up against the fence to see the ducks!

Oh my gosh- Conner baby, you are so cute.

After our stop, it was only a few more hours to go to get to Aunt Teri's house!

Infinity's edge

I've always wanted to swim in an infinity pool, having been impressed with how they look in pictures. And I got my chance in Gulfport. It was beautiful, with the infinity edge overlooking the beach. The boys sure loved hanging out at the edge too, fascinated with the waterfall on the other side.

 Jack goofin' off on his back

Conner loves the pool, always happy to float around

 We got to practice his kicking skills on this trip; I'd tell him to "kick, kick, kick!" and he'd do it.

Jason has been apprehensive towards the pool this summer, preferring to stay on dry ground or clinging with a death grip to the nearest adult while in the water. Luckily, this pool had zero entry and a large shallow end so he had plenty of space to splash and play without freaking out.

 I believe I already mentioned my boys' curiosity with the infinity edge? Here's Conner trying in his umpteenth attempt to go over the edge.

 I appreciate the irony of the sign with Jason below it

The difference between a firstborn boy and a thirdborn boy-

The difference between my 1st son and my 3rd son:

                                        My 1st son, as an older baby, played with his baby toys.

                                        My 3rd son, as a now 14 month old, picks up random toys and
                   pretends they're some sort of weapon, while making the accompanying sound effects.

The benefit of having older brothers.

Summer fun at the beach

We just returned home after a week away, visiting the beaches of Mississippi, and family in Georgia. The boys had a great time enjoying our little adventure, despite the long hours in the car spent traveling.

We spent a few days in Gulfport, MS, a beach town next to Biloxi. The boys loved being on the beach, digging in the sand, splashing in the water, and chasing bubbles around.

Conner digging around

 Jack was an attentive architect, carefully crafting his castle with his dad.

 And then like any true boy, he reveled in destroying the castle upon its completion

 And like any good brother, Jason was right there to aide in the castle's destruction

 I love this shot of Jack catching the bubbles!

 Jason needed a little convincing to get in the water. He insisted we not go to the ocean, and go to the pool instead. (Because sharks and whales live in the ocean.) He also thought the surf at first were sharks swimming around, haha. After a few minutes though, he forgot his fears and enjoyed "swimming" in the water. ("swimming" refers to his crawling through the water, which he proudly described as swimming)

More stories will follow about our vacation fun!