Trip to Serenbe

We've done loads of fun stuff this summer, so we decided to only take a short vacation this year.  We spent the night at Serenbe and had a great time swimming, feeding the animals, and exploring the grounds.  We had a great Mexican dinner at the Blue Eyed Daisy (recent winner of Cupcake Wars!) and Emily learned to do a backflip into the family pool.  She also got a big treat the next morning after breakfast - Mr. Dan let her bottle feed the new calf!  So much fun and then only a very short ride back home.

Emily's so tidy - look how she arranged all of her things when she unpacked in her room!

Beautiful girl!

I love the funny face goats best of all.  Such crazy eyes!

That's a fake tattoo, by the way.

Got something for us?

Summer fun on a super hot day

We had a bit of a heat wave there for a couple of days and I just couldn't stand the thought of doing anything outside with the girls.  We holed up inside watching reruns of Say Yes to the Dress and reading, reading, reading.  On one particularly steamy day, I came up with the idea of tie dying, which Emily has wanted to try.  I found  new way to do it with permanent markers and rubbing alcohol which doesn't create any mess.  The shirts turned out great, although the smell of alcohol nearly turned all of our stomachs!

We also decided to try frying an egg on the sidewalk after we discovered that walking on the driveway without shoes was pretty painful.  We waited a bit late in the day for maximum effect so we didn't get the egg to fry the way we wanted.  However, we left it ouside overnight and someone decided that it was a tasty treat!  So we helped nature a bit, at any rate.  Stay cool!

World of Coke

Donald and I took the girls to the World of Coke this summer.  They had never visited there before and we had a great time checking out all the new attractions they've added.  I remember going to visit the old location when I was younger and they've really made lots of improvements.  They really enjoyed the 4D theater (except for the part where the dragonfly stung us all in the back!) and had a great time tasting different Coke products from around the world - except for the Beverly, which is just disgusting for those of you who've never tried it (see Emily's face below for more details).  We nearly didn't get to do this, as water service to the museum and other parts of Atlanta was out when we first arrived.  Thankfully, it was restored before we left because the main thing the girls wanted to do was taste all the Coke!

The girls loved him but I think he's just creepy.

Visiting the new vault where the Coke recipe is (reportedly) stored

Old fashioned soda fountain

Beverley!  She had to drink cups of regular Coke just to get the taste out of her mouth!

Happy Father's Day!

I have been blessed with a wonderful father and now have an incredible father for my daughter, so this day is truly one to celebrate.  Our families met up at the White House to celebrate after church and had a fantastic lunch that Donald cooked himself.  Before you start thinking what a terrible wife I am, he chose to do it!  We had a special treat at church because Emily contributed the special music!  She and Mimi cooked up this plan and she did a tremendous job.  I hope you enjoyed spending the day celebrating the men in your life!

Very serious - about to perform!

Serving as acolyte with Abby - this, also, is serious business.

Look at that crazy hair!  Driving with the windows down is one of summertime's greatest hits.

Happy Father's Day!

Lessons in marinating

Teaching Aunt Liz how to use her circuitry kit - she likes to get the lightbulb to light up using different items from around the house.

John and Ringo were hoping for a steak but ended up with kibble.

Check out my fancy hairdo!  We played a little beauty shop after lunch.

Aquarium Visit

Donald had a meeting to attend in Atlanta this week, so the girls and I decided to spend a little quality time at the Aquarium while he spent some quality time in the boardroom (bored room?).  Either way, we got the best end of the deal.  We had a great time visiting all the exhibits and even got to see otter feeding time, which included lots of funny tricks.  Donald finished up with his meeting just in time to pick us up at the curb and drive us home to make pizza for dinner.  Lucky guy!

First thing they wanted to visit were the touch tanks.



I love her scrunchy face in this picture!

Couldn't resist taking a picture of the typo on the piranha sign.  How sad am I?  But don't they have spellcheck somewhere?

Meet Sergeant Lucky Boots!

On Memorial Day, a tiny kitten wandered across Mimi and Papa's yard. It has now taken up what seems to be a permanent resident at their house. Meet Sergeant Lucky Boots! His name is an amalgamation of several things: apparently Abby once read a book about a girl with a kitten named Sergeant Boots and Papa calls him Lucky because he's lucky that Papa hasn't...well...relocated him. He's the laziest kitten I've ever met and seems to spend all of his time flat on his back in someone's lap. Pretty soon he has to go to the vet to get "nurtured," as Emily calls it but other than that and a runny eye, which we're doctoring with Neosporin, he seems to be growing up quite nicely!

Look out, Esther Williams!

Emily has started synchronized swimming this summer!  She is having a great time and told me this week that she can't wait until next Monday when she can go back to class.  This is a HUGE improvement over last summer, if any of you will recall!  I took her to the pool today and was simply amazed at how she flips and swims like a fish everywhere.  I only have this one picture of her entire swim group which was taken by her amazing teacher, Miss Betsie, because parents don't attend synchronized practices.  The swim show is supposed to be a big surprise for all of us.  Emily loves the idea of keeping secrets about her performance.  I think this picture of her with her swim friends is just precious.  She's the one in purple, by the way - they all become kind of anonymous in their swim caps and goggles!

Serenbe Market Day

Today we spent the morning exploring the Serenbe Farmers Market and visiting with the animals at the farm.  We came away with some delicious pepper jelly and a fantastic caricature of Emily.  Being a budding artist herself,  she was really excited about having Vincent Wolf draw her portrait.  Love the way it came out and can't wait to frame it for her room!

She has been wearing this sweater for three straight days.  It was Abby's favorite sweater and was passed down to Emily.  I think she's going to start sleeping with it soon.

He even got her sweet "beauty mark" on her chin!  She didn't love this and I had to convince her that all the glamorous ladies used to paint them on if they didn't have one.

Callaway Circus

Another favorite summertime tradition is a trip to see the FSU Circus at Callaway Gardens.  So much fun - and free, which is always great!  Aunt Liz got to go with us, which just added to the excitement factor.  The girls always enjoy seeing the performers' new acts and then trying out some moves at home.  This frightens me a bit because we had the added bonus of watching a gymnastics competition the following afternoon.  No telling what kinds of antics Emily's going to try!  May all your days be Circus days!

She loves to get pictures with her favorite performers.

Bad Papa was encouraging her to climb up on the trapeze net.

Rare full family photograph - Thanks, Auntie Yam!

Summer Reading

I took the girls to the Central Library for their first visit of the summer and to sign up for the summer reading program.  Always a favorite summertime activity!  They each came home with a bag of books and spent the afternoon tucked away on the couch reading, reading, reading.  Their setup was pretty funny and warranted a picture post.  They've always enjoyed taking the cushions off our couches and using them to make forts of some kind.  Now they can make a reading nest!  Hope you are dreaming big with summer reading!