Our Last Stop

Rebecca and Scott were married in May and Rebecca moved to North Carolina from Georgia.  On our way to Georgia, Rebecca mentioned to Rachel that we would be passing close to her.  We asked her if she would want to meet us for lunch on our way back home.

They chose this nice little restaurant in Durham.  We had a nice visit and then I took Rachel to visit her first Ivy League School...

 

Duke University.

 

We didn't stay long as we were on the last leg of our journey home, but it was well worth the stop.



Georgia Peeps in Florida

My sweet friend, Becky, and her family moved from Georgia to Florida just before we moved.  We were both so sad to be leaving our homes.  When we decided to go to Georgia, I knew it wouldn't be that much farther to swing by Becky's.

Hannah stayed in Georgia in order to spend more time with Libby, but Aaron, Rachel and I went to visit Becky, Chris, Matthew and Daniel.  I was so worn out from all of the activity in Georgia, but it was nice to see them.

We had coffee on her porch each morning and the kids made smores in the backyard one night.  Becky and I had some good talks about shared feelings we have experienced since we have had to move.

We went to The Alligator Farm in St. Augustine.  It was a really hot day, but we enjoyed learning about the alligators and other animals at the facility.



 

Becky and I were just being silly.

 

On the way to The Alligator Farm, we decided to take the kids out for lunch.  We took a seat on the patio and the waiter raised the umbrella for us.  When he raised it, we noticed this frog.

 

 

 

We all thought it was cool and weren't really bothered by it.  Thought crossed my mind that it would decide to jump down as soon as our food came.  We were waiting for our food when I felt something on my head.  The frog had jumped.  I had on my sunglasses since we were outside and its leg was hanging down over my eye.  It all happened really quickly.  I remember standing up and saying, "It's on me."  Becky said she thought I saw something I was really excited about by the tone in my voice.  We all had a good laugh and the frog hopped away.



 

Another day we took the kids to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.  There were some interesting displays.

 

 

Matthew really is tall!

 

One night Chris suggested we all take a walk down by the river. 

 

The area where we went is a park run by the county.  It use to be an orchard and this was the house owned by the family.  It is now part of the park.  I think it is gorgeous.  Becky and I walked around and looked in every window we could reach.

 

Chris and Becky

 

We witnessed a beautiful sunset over the river. 

 

To our disappointment the visit was over before we knew it.  I would have loved to have sat and visited some more, but it was time to head back home.





Another Host

We spent the last part of our Georgia trip with Stan, Krissy and Galen.  Just like our previous two host homes, we were spoiled and had a great time.



The first morning at their house Krissy did most of our laundry before I even made it out of bed.  That is such a huge blessing when traveling.  I had the opportunity to do laundry every place we stayed which was nice.  I probably could have packed half of what we did.

Galen did a summer camp at Picasso's Corner.  They offer group painting sessions and teach people step by step how to paint.  The only night we could make it was when they were doing an abstract.  We really enjoyed it and hope to find a similar place in Virginia.

 



 

Krissy being Krissy.  Never know what to expect, but it will be fun!

 

Krissy and I were able to meet up with Rosalyn, Molly and Carter for lunch one day.  We really did squeeze in every moment of visiting with friends that we could.



Ms. Dee

About half way through our Georgia visit, we switched host homes.  Sarah had invited us to stay with them the entire time, but I didn't want to overstay our welcome. 

Ms. Dee graciously opened her house to us.  She had a yummy Mexican dinner waiting in the crockpot for us the first night.  She was able to join us for a cookout at Mitch and Terri's house.  Most importantly she let me do Aaron's laundry he brought back from a week of Scout camping.

I'm glad we stayed with her because it gave us a chance to have a really good visit and catch up.

Her roommate, Bob, introduced the girls to air hockey.  We are trying to figure out where we can fit an air hockey table at our house!

 

Hannah is always happy when there is an animal present and Ms. Dee didn't disappoint.  Hannah was able to bond with Fenway.



This Girl Just Wants to Have Fun

Hannah is happy with any situation as long as she believes she is going to have fun.  She was able to see all of her best friends in Georgia and do some fun things.

The first full day we were in Georgia she was invited to spend the day with Bess.  Karen, Bess' mom, took them to the zoo

 

and a concert in the park in Woodstock.  They ran into their friends, James and Kayla, there.  They have all been friends since kindergarten.  They must have really enjoyed the concert because Hannah didn't make it home until after 11:00 that evening.  

I took Hannah and Kayla to Skyzone and lunch one afternoon.  Kayla also invited Hannah for a sleepover another night.

We picked Paige up one evening and went to Monkey Joes.  I told the girls they could choose where they would like to go for dinner and they both chose Golden Corral.  It is not my favorite, but these two like it.



Hannah had tons of time with sweet Libby.  Aaron, Rachel and I went to Florida for a couple days at the end of our trip and Hannah was invited to spend those few days with Libby.  They had fun and enjoyed their special time together.

Mom's Taxi Service

Rachel had her time in Georgia almost completely scheduled out before we left home.  That was a good thing.  I wanted her to have plans since I knew I would have to drop her off and pick her up and the rest of us could plan accordingly.  She hit the ground running and didn't stop until we left.  She had sleepovers at her friends' houses more than she slept at our hosts' homes.  There was time at the pool, Starbucks with Ms. Stoney, fun with the youth group and lunch dates.  Mom's Taxi Service definitely got a workout.

 

Rachel and friends at Brusters

Rachel and Montana at the park

 



 

Adrienne, Rachel, Reagan, and Montana at church



Tennessee Cousins

Sunita asked me if we would be able to get together with her family while we were visiting Georgia.  I had told Rachel to get dates on the calendar with her friends so we knew what we were doing while in Georgia and she did, so our time was limited.  I suggested that we meet in Chattanooga.  It worked out really well.  We met at the zoo and had a really nice time.

It was fun to see how much the kids had all grown.  It is hard to believe Max is starting college this fall.  Sunita and I took a long walk down memory lane.  It took the kids a while to get comfortable with each other, but I think they enjoyed their time together.

 

All the cousins minus Aaron who was at Scout camp.

Peri, Hannah, Marah, Rachel and Max

 

We thought it was silly that the zoo had an American crow on exhibit until we realized it could talk.  Then we were all amazed.  We must have stood at this one exhibit for about thirty minutes.  Ha!

 

I love that the three older kids are being so silly.

 

Going Back to GA

It has been a long year and we have missed our friends in Georgia.  The drive back to Georgia seemed to take forever.  We hit traffic in South Carolina and it didn't clear up until we got off at our exit in Marietta.  As we drove down the main road that leads to our Georgia house, I cried.  It was as if we had been away on a long vacation and had made it home. 

 

This is a picture of good ol' Georgia clay.  It is mucky and stains, but it makes me feel like I am home.



Tad, Sarah, Allison and Coleman were our first hosts.  We were so happy to arrive at their house.  We had never been overnight guests in their home before, so I wasn't sure if they would be able to put up with us, but they were excellent hosts and we couldn't have had a better visit.  They set the girls and I up in the basement and Aaron bunked with Coleman.  Tad works from home and his office is in the basement, so I was very thankful that he was willing to let us invade his space. 

The boys were actually gone to Scout camp for the majority of the time we stayed at their house.  Tad dropped them off for camp which was really nice because the girls and I wanted to attend
church.



 Sarah brought me coffee every morning and they were fine with us coming and going as we tried to keep up with a crazy schedule.  I was also able to sit with Sarah in the Media Center at her school one morning.  She set up a summer program to allow kids to come into the school library to check out books through the summer.

Sarah, Allison, Hannah and I took one day and went to the Yellow River Game Ranch.  It is kind of a cross between a petting zoo, farm and tacky tourist attraction. 

 

I love this picture of Sarah.  She was trying to get a good picture of the chipmunk because it had stuffed its little cheeks with peanuts.  I was waiting for it to run up her leg!!



We stopped by a Mexican restaurant in Marietta Square on our way back home where we had fun teasing Allison about our hunky waiter, Fernando.  Ha!

Hannah's favorite part was probably playing with their dog, Franky, and their cat, Bacon.



Celebrating the Boys

The kids and I will not be home for Aaron's 13th birthday or Father's Day, so we decided to celebrate early. 

Rachel and Hannah made this poster for PK.

Aaron made him a matching survival bracelet.

 

Rachel and Hannah gave Aaron t-shirts and Legos.

 

 



We saved the best gift for last.  PK and I gave him his own laptop!

 

I still can't believe he is going to be 13!  He has reminded me several times over the past couple of months.  He will be camping with his Boy Scout troop from Georgia on his actual birthday.  That is probably the best way he could think of celebrating his birthday.

 

After opening the gifts, we had dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant.



Another Year Down

Today was the official last day of school.  Rachel only had to attend on the days she had a final exam, so her last day was actually yesterday.  Hannah and I finished up last week.  Poor Aaron was the one who had to push through to the bitter end.  Ha!

This was supposed to be the kids' one and only year at their respective schools here, but PK and I made a last minute decision last night.  His orders are for Bethesda, MD for October.  We have searched, researched, searched and researched some more trying to find a good spot for us to live for the new orders.  We haven't had much luck.  The houses are either way out of our price range, districted for less than ideal schools, the school doesn't have a band program or the area will require an extremely long commute in the crazy traffic.  PK is willing to do a long commute and he has done that for the last several years, but I am afraid this one will be too much.  Anyway, we decided last night that PK will geo-batch and the kids and I will stay here.  I think we both feel at peace with this decision.  The kids were really relieved to hear this news. 

I think Rachel spent the past year thinking she did not want to make too many new friends that she would have to say good-bye to right away.  Next year she will be able to relax and know she will be around for a while.  Until around the end of October, Aaron seemed so broken every morning when I would drop him off at school and so defeated every afternoon when I picked him up.  He has friends he talks about at school and even though he does not like school, he looks forward to seeing his friends.  He also really likes his Scout troop here.  My heart is so happy knowing he will not have to make another move this year.  Since his first move from California to Illinois, he has had a harder time adjusting to the change than his sisters.  Hannah and I will homeschool again next year and she will be able to continue with her Girl Scout troop.

I treated the kids to their traditional last day of school ice cream. 

Tomorrow we will jump right into our summer plans with our long awaited trip to visit our friends in Georgia.

Military Kid Right of Passage

When a military kid turns ten years old he or she is eligible to have his or her own military id.  This is a big deal to the kids.  Hannah has been asking for us to take her to get hers since she turned 10.  She is going to be staying with some friends in Georgia for a couple days while the other two kids and I head to Florida.  The id also serves as an insurance card, so we made a point of taking her to get hers.



Turtle Rescue

Hannah and I arrived home from dropping the other kids off at school to find this baby snapping turtle on our front steps.  I almost stepped on it before Hannah spotted it.

 

We aren't sure how it managed to get up on the steps.  I think a possibility is that a bird dropped it.  I can't imagine it was able to climb.  The lake in our neighborhood is a half mile away.  It seems like a long distance for the turtle to have traveled without being run over by a car or eaten my predators. 

 

I know if a turtle is found it should be left alone or moved in the same direction in which it is traveling.  However, left on this step it would have found itself under someone's shoe or if it kept traveling in the same direction, it would have been in our house.  Hannah picked it up with a shovel and put it in a bucket so we could transport it back to the lake.