Old Pro's at Sleepovers

We are very lucky to have the McCurry's as neighbors. Skylar and Olivia have grown up together (as all of the kids have) and now are enjoying sleep overs. I'm not sure what number this is for the girls, but it is second nature to them. I think Carly, who is 7, helped ease all of our kids into this thing called sleep overs. So, thank you, Carly! It was never an issue. They play, they bath/pj, read books and fall asleep. Hmm, I like this 'big sister' thing that is shared amongst neighbors.

So close to an end

We know our summer is coming to an end. Our other parent friends had to get back to the grind almost three weeks ago, but in the words of Olivia "we are the lucky ones." I think her free spirit correlates to her attitude about attending school. Don't get me wrong, she likes school when she is in the throws of it, but not overly in to school in other terms. She would rather be outside catching frogs.

Speaking of frogs, we have a brand new (just came out of tadpole phase) in our home. Thanks to our best neighbor EVER, Jill, who fed and loved him while we were at the lake, we have a new African Water Frog. Well, we are not quite sure if it is a he or she, but we'll figure that out soon enough and name him or her. We love the nameless creature.

In other news, Olivia lost her second tooth on August 14th. Being 5 and losing teeth is keeping Olivia a busy girl. She had her Aunt Kim by her side at the lake and mommy pulled it (as I did last time). She is so proud to show everyone her missing teeth. The first lost/new tooth has already grown in completely, so no real snaggle on that one. I'm sure the top teeth will give her the full effect. Zach is quietly biding his time with the tooth fairy. This fairy has been busy at our lake house this summer. We'll have to give her our Atlanta address for future reference.With school being in for most kids (we start the day after Labor Day), we had the opportunity to enjoy the Georgia Aquarium with very few people there. It was one of the most relaxing days for me. Beautiful music, gorgeous tanks fill with fish, sharks, manta rays and oh, the Beluga whales! Olivia was chosen to feed the sting rays during feeding time (mmm, shrimp for lunch). She was so pleased and actually spoke up and raised her hand to feed them. Way to go, my little shy one. When it comes to animals, this girl is not shy. We know her weakness. Now, how do we correlate that to participating in gymnastics? Hmm. I have taken the kids on many errands this week in Atlanta. They have been troopers and I caputured a shot of them ourside Nordstrom's yesterday. Mommy needed a new phone case. Was it because Zach has taken over my iPhone and worn it out? Maybe, but the kids were great at the mall. This is someplace I rarely take them, so times were good. Of course, they sweet talked me into a little something . Olivia got necklace trinkets and Zach, a cool Swedish car from Hannah Andersen. Can you tell they are happy shoppers?

Vacation Dave

Dave took an entire, yes, ENTIRE week off work to spend with us. Of course, our vacations are mostly the lake house, so off to Lake Martin we headed. I love seeing Dave's eyes light up when he has the entire lake to himself (with no boat waves to contend with).

Oh, the fun times we created this past week. Zach decided the first day that he wanted to jump off "The Rock". That is Chimney Rock to the locals and it's high! After he and Dave swam over to the rock, Zach changed his mind and would only jump from a low rock. Who cares, he did it. Olivia decided to as well and within a minute, she jumped off our boat, swam over, climbed up and jumped! Ah, I love this 5 year old thing. I have never attempted the jump either, so this was the week. 22' drop and I did it. I'm not sure what was harder, the rock climb up in a bathing suit or actually free falling. I like both, so it was all fun.

We found a great tree swing near the Martin Dam. It's a rather high jump/fall (no photos), so this one was for adults only. Dave and I did it! Pretty exhilirating....

We boated, we worked around the house (mainly Dave this time around), spent time exploring the old gold mine at the lake and beached ourselves.

After a few hot days, I scheduled a tour for the Lake Martin Dam. I thought the kids would love this, but it turns out, Dave and I loved it. That dam is awesome! A bit of architecture, lots of history (1926 timeframe) and tons of engineering went into this dam. It produces electricty for 6 substations throughout the area (including Bremen, GA). Hmm, interesting.

The kids have become expert swimmers, divers, jumpers, you name it. They love the water this year. Olivia has also turned into a great fisherwoman. She caught several fish and the last one was a big mouth bass. She baits her own hook and takes the fish off. That a girl!

I think the evening cruises are my favorite. The pictures speak for themselves.

We topped the lake trip off with a visit to our favorite eating spot, Oskar's. One day back in Smyrna to bring Dave back into the real world (two straight weeks of travel) and the kids are I are back off again tonight. We'll miss vacation Dave/daddy :-)

Smyrna Celebration

For the first time in several years, we were actually in Smyrna to celebrate the city's birthday. We love the Smyrna summer concert series, but typically miss most of them due to our summer escapades. Music, humidity, food, kids, booze and fireworks - what's not to like?

I love our city and love the people as well, so it's nice to sit outside, with our neighbors for the musical party. The local bakery typically serves red velvet cake, but this year, it was only vanilla and chocolate. Being gluten-free, there were no complaints from me and by the looks of it, no complaints anywhere. I saw many chocolate smeared faces around!

Thanks to the McCurry's for snagging an extra table and allowing us to join them for the evening. We have always been impressed by the Smyrna fireworks. Even with budgetary constraints this year, Smyrna still found a way to impress.