Building on the Rock: Atlanta Trip

We just got back from our last trip of the summer to visit my parents, family and friends in Atlanta!

We arrived just in time for Reagan Kate's 9th birthday party at a local aquatic center on Friday and the kids had such a great time playing with their cousins and their friends! All the kids got along so well and I was so happy that C was included in all the play! Friday night C slept awful! He was awake from 12am-4am! WHAT?!?!?!? Is he FOUR MONTHS or FOUR YEARS??

That being said, when the kids came in at 7am Saturday morning to wake me up for the breakfast that Gigi's Cafe had prepared(they were the waiter and waitress which really was very cute!!) I had a hard time rallying to go down and enjoy it! Luckily, Grandpa was on the same page as I was and went to get us coffee...stat! My parents were so kind to take the kids and entertain them while I pretty much was worthless from lack of sleep! Gigi and I did break away with just S while C took a much needed nap and went shopping for some back to school clothes for S! We also went next door to visit my friend, Jill and her little girl Brooke, whom I've known since I was five and she was four! Now, we have our own kids and are able to introduce them when we are both visiting our parents! Very special:)

Gigi's Cafe - the staff:)

Gigi's cafe - the menu!

Gigi's Cafe - the toast

Gigi's Cafe - the eggs

Me and my kids with Jill and her daughter, Brooke!

C taking a ride:)

Saturday night was much better sleep-wise and we were all much more pleasant to be around after a good night's sleep! Sunday, we went to church, grabbed a quick picnic lunch, let the kids ride ponies at nearby riding stables and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the park on the playground and sprayground. Oh were they having a good time!! When we got back to the house, Uncle Bobby was waiting in the driveway for us and we were able to visit him for a while before it was time to put two tired kids to bed:)

This little guy spent a lot of time "fixing" the bikes!

The kids with Uncle Bobby:)

Monday we spent a lot of time at Shannon's house visiting with her, Robin, Jack and Bo! The kids played so so so well together! S and Jack have always gotten along really well and at Thanksgiving last year Bo and C hit it off and continued their friendship today! I am so glad these cousins get a chance to see each other even if just a few times a year!! Very special for them! Not to mention I was able to have a mostly adult conversation with Shannon while the kids swam in the awesome new pool, jumped on the trampoline and played on the see-saw! When we got home, S wanted to do nothing more than to sit in front of the TV and veg, so that is exactly what she did:) C sat for a bit, but then got bored and decided playing with the sprinkler would be much more entertaining! He even washed the cars and the house windows with it - haha!! After dinner I escaped for a bit and just walked(by myself!! BLISS!!!) around Target and filled up at the gas station while Gigi and Grandpa put the kids to bed! It was lovely!!!

This morning, we left early with a list of things to get done before we could crawl into our own beds!! First stop was IKEA!! I had never been before and was so excited! I knew they provided childcare while I shopped, but I was unaware of exactly how it worked. Well... it didn't work out so well for us! When there is only one worker in the childcare area(as there was today!), then only 6 kids are allowed in there at once. Of course my kids would be 6 and 7 in line! So only C stayed, and S went shopping with me. Another thing I wasn't aware of, the childcare is only for 45 minutes!! WHAT!!?!? Like I can really shop the entire warehouse of IKEA in 45 minutes.. sheesh!! I was able to do the top floor with only S, and then I had both of them with me on the bottom floor. Needless to say, I was so ready to get out of there by the time we finished shopping! Next time I go, it will be sans kids!:) One nice thing that did happen while I was there was that Tuesday is apparently "kids eat free" day:) SCORE!! I had packed lunches for us, but changed my mind when I figured this out(we ended up using the packed meal for dinner so it worked out quite well!)! After we left IKEA, we made one more stop in Atlanta and then got on I-85 North to come back home! We made 3 more stops once in the Greenville area and finally made it home about 5:30pm! After unloading and getting things put away, we went over to the new house to check on progress and see Daddy before finally getting to bed! LONG DAY!!