Joshy's buds from basketball. They didn't win many games, but next year will be better.
Joshua and I attempted to make peanut butter. It didn't turn out great, but we learned a bunch with regard to measurement.
A sick day doing puzzles and sharing snack.
Jamie decided he wanted to take us to Atlanta to visit the world's largest aquarium. We dubbed it as a homeschool field trip/ mini family vacation. Staying downtown allowed us to park our car and walk every where. Our hotel neighbored the Georgia Aquarium. We will definitely visit Atlanta again. It paved the way for vacation spots other than the coast.
Belugas
Resting after a long day at the aquarium
Every night we spent eating out at different restaurants. After a few unpleasant experiences, we finally got smart and headed for the food court in the CNN building. Everyone could choose what they wanted for dinner and there was not the expectation of good behavior after a long day.
Happy after dinner.
One of my favorite parts of the whole vacation was sleeping with these guys. For six years there has always been a baby which makes things a bit more difficult. This was our first year where everyone was old enough to listen to their own bodies. We all wanted to snooze around the same time. And we could do it in the same bed. Waking up with all the stuffed animals.
Family photo leaving the Hilton. Getting adjusted to home after 5 days of hotel living was so hard. We had so much fun sleeping in the same beds. What a gift these lives are.
New helmet for our.....
new bikes! After dinner bike rides.Preschool Graduation for George
One of our faves. Mrs. Sutton. I cannot say enough kind things about this sweet woman. She has helped my children grow in their academics, but most importantly their faith. She is truly a blessing.
Riley turns 3!
New bedding, courtesy Damaw, for her new big girl bed.
Sometimes Damaw just knows when you need a little break. They snuggled here for a good half hour. A treat for both.
Riley's first pedi.Oh, Siesta Key
The five of us headed to Siesta Key, Fl a few weeks ago. It is always such a nice vacation. Filled with just the right amount of R&R, family visits and kid friendly activities.
Apparently Grandpa doesn't get in the water, so this photo is extra special. Grand kids will do it to ya.Beach days...
Not much surf, but the color of the gulf is breath taking.
One of a few we were fortunate to catch.
The Mote in St. Armands was so fun. There was lots of new sea life we hadn't seen in Atlanta or here in NC. A few favorites were the cuttle fish, manatees and of course the giant preserved squid. George's favorite part was sifting through and finding sharks teeth. Joshua camped out with the sting rays and Riley just took it all in.
Who wears no shoes at the aquarium???? Oh, yes, George.
By far the highlight of the Mote was the Eco-Boat Tour we took.
We actually fished on the boat. The tour guides threw a giant net over board, we all chilled out for a bit and waited to see what what we had caught. To our EXTREME delight, we caught about 5 puffer fish, one was a baby, a seahorse, lots of crabs, and couple mini jellyfish, one or two cow fish and lots of very tiny creatures that have very unique names. IT WAS FABULOUS. Being that Joshua's favorite sea animal is a sea horse, we scored huge.
Touching the sea horse. I promise he pet this little guy everywhere. He was so intrigued.
A more intimate boat ride with Bobby and Bo. Not lacking in exploring sea life though. We spotted dolphin, held and touched a sea urchin, swam way to close to a small shark, and saw lots of conch shell animals. It was wild to find big, gorgeous shells, turn them over and see a huge slimy animal inside. George is holding a tiny one here.
Lauren and Josh.
Our final sunset was a perfect close to the week. Until next year.
