Grandma and Grandpa Dice Visit

Beyond the police drama, we had a nice time with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. They came to help out with the kids while Todd was on his mancation in NC. Grandma and Grandpa got to live through a weekend of my crazy rambunctious kids that may have put them over the edge, but we did manage to have a little fun too.

We went to the pool, to the park, out for pizza and had all kinds of laughs with the kids. The kids were sad to see them go, but excited that they will be back soon for Drew's birthday in just a few weeks.

Thanks for making the drive to help out with the kids! We really appreciate it.

It wasn't me...

If it wasn't exciting enough to have Grandma and Grandpa visit for the weekend, we got a visit from the police too. This morning, Grandpa went for his morning walk to find a wrecked car in our bushes with debris all over the driveway and street. We mine as well had a party on the driveway this morning with all the neighbors that wanted to know what happened. Grandpa and a neighbor did some investigative work figuring out a teenage boy had been drinking and driving and ditched the car. I called the police and they came to figure out. Not long after, the police let us know our drivers were around the corner. Soon, we had two teenage boys with their really made moms at the scene, and some arrested teenagers. I didn't know it was going to quite end that way. All I could think was "oh boy, 16 yrs from that that could be Drew". I am going to keep him little for as long as I can.

The kids thought it was pretty cool to have police cars at our house, and Hannah was so worried about the kids going to jail and being arrested, she hasn't stopped talking about it all day. We assured her, just be good, do the right thing, never drink and drive and all will be fine.

Pool Time

Well, summer is almost coming to an end here. School started last week in GA, and it is finally dipping into the upper 80's every once in a while rather than the 90's... I guess that is a sign for fall around here? We went to the pool this afternoon, and were the only ones there. With sports in session and kids back in school, it seems only the younger families make it to the pool these days, which is fine by us. We are so proud of Hannah and she has become fearless in the water. We can't believe how much better she is doing with her swimming since we moved in. She is jumping off the diving board, diving for things on the bottom of the pool and even "racing" with her friend Maddie at the pool. They seem to be in quite the little swimming competition with each other. And Drew, we keep floaties on him at all times. After his little incident of him jumping in the pool earlier this summer while and Mom and Dad's backs were turned, Drew does not leave our site, not does he even step foot into the pool area with out his water wings. He loves the water, I seem to call him my little tadpole. He kicks his little heart at, doesn't get far, but he kicks a lot.. and wears himself out which I am a fan of too!

Another busy weekend here as Todd attended PORK U yesterday for 12 hours. He learned how to cook BBQ southern style from GA BBQ Champions. I am expecting good things for dinner one night soon. The kids and I played, shopped, played and shopped. We are always on the go trying to fill our house and decorate a bit. Hannah asked this morning if we could have a home day with no stores? I felt pretty bad... so we did. She got to play with her toys and relax a little without being dragged all over town.

Grandma and Grandpa come next weekend to visit, we are so excited as Hannah is counting down the days. We often use Grandma and Grandpa as threats here lately.. she gets a lot of "if you want Grandma and Grandpa to come, you better clean up your toys". They seem to be worth a lot in bribery terms :)

Happy 7 Years!!

Happy 7th Anniversary to us today. Lucky #7, we made it. It has been an amazing 7 years, and a roller coaster of adventure, laughs, and tears over the most recent year of our lives. New jobs, new city, new house, new friends, new everything. There has been good with the bad, ups and downs and a lot of "what did we do?" thoughts along the way. What makes it all ok is that we have each other, and we have two of the most amazing kids you have ever met ( I am biased, but I think they are pretty wonderful). It has been fun meeting new people, learning a new city, indulging in the south and what it has to offer, but most of all, it has been fun doing to together, leaning on each other a little more, and trusting each other more and more each day that we are making the best life for our family that we can. Here's to this year, and many many more.. and heres to finally being at our rest stop in life. We can settle into a life, our family and each other. Happy Anniversary!

Weekend simplicity

I am a little late on the updates since we never seem to have a dull moment these days. Over the weekend we had a nice time, uneventful but somehow never sat down. I returned from my work trip to Vegas on Friday and was able to have some good quality cuddle time with the kids. I missed those hugs and giggles even though it was just a few days. However... I must say, I slept more in Vegas in two night than I generally do in a week at home. You know you are living it up when you go to bed in Vegas at 8:45pm.. but it felt great and was just what I needed.

Saturday we ran some errands and cooked a good ole' Paula Dean southern style meal for our friends that just moved here from MN that happen to live down the street from us. We are lucky to have met them as just moved here too and have two little girls that same ages as our kids. The kids play together great, even though I think Drew might scare them a bit with his hyper activity. We had a great time with friends and is starting to finally feel like we have a little social network here.

And finally Sunday, again we ran errands, went furniture shopping which is becoming slightly humorous as we do A LOT of furniture shopping and never seem to buy anything. But we do know what is available to us if we ever do make a decision! Hannah went to a birthday party and Drew and Dad decide to mow the lawn and spend some boy time together. And when outside... kids always seem to have popsicles. Goes with the 95 degree and 99% humidity weather.

Drew studied Daddy and walked along with his little mower trying to do the same thing as him. I remember buying this mower for Hannah at about the same age as Drew is now. Hannah was scared to death of it.. Drew... got a little worked up when Dad's motor started but didn't take him long at all to join the fun. The good news is that our lawn can be mowed in about 15 minutes, compared to 2 hours in MN. Doesn't take long to keep this place in tact :)

A visit from the Renick Family

This weekend we were lucky enough to have the Renicks stop for a visit on there way back from a vacation in NC. It was hard to get a picture of everyone, as they were all really busy. Hannah, Lauren, Gracie and of course Drew all had a great time.

They arrived on Friday and the kids played while Amanda and I snuck away to go to a few shops. Of course we don't manage to get anything for ourselves, but a few cute things for the girls. Todd and Scott did a great job of pulling dinner together on the grill for everyone.

The next day we headed to the swimming pool and had dinner round two there for lunch, more dogs and burgers, they all seem to go down well :)

The kids had a fun time in the pool! Gracie and Lauren are like little fish and Hannah is getting pretty good going off the diving board as long as her life jacket is on. And drew, he loves his floatie and kicks harder than any little guy I have ever seen. He looks like a little tadpole in the water.

In the evening, we went to none other, Fox Bros BBQ. Thank goodness we got there when we did because after 5pm it turned into a tailgate party in the parking lot with people waiting to get their hands on some good BBQ.

We had a great time with the girls, and Hannah loved having playmates for the weekend. Drew loved tormenting them and chasing them through the house. We loved spending time with Scott and Amanda and finally having a chance to turn on some lights in the gazebo and put down a few drinks with friends. It is so fun that we have seen them 4 times already since moving here! Todd and Scottie are going on mancation pretty soon, can't wait to hear the stories that come out of that!

Thanks Renicks for a great weekend!! Can't wait to see you again soon !

Sunday Brunch play date...

Today we went to Jeff and Tamar's house along with Jen and Kurt for brunch and playtime with the kids. Food was delicious, and always fun to catch up with new friends. Rebecca pictured with Hannah is in the same class as Hannah at school. And yes, they are the same ago. Rebecca is 3 months younger than Hannah. Hannah is the tallest girl in the class, Rebecca is the shortest. They make a cute little pair and always have fun together. I think their personalities are a lot alike.. which can be good and bad for playmates:)

And then there are the boys, which would had been impossible to get a picture of all of the together between the flying balls, sliding, running and tackling of each other. Above is Drew and Luke playing on the slide. Joshua who is in Drew's class and Blake who is about to go to kindergarten in a few weeks were too busy to capture in the group.

They all had a great time, all of our ears were ringing by the time we left from the laughter and screaming of the kids. And whoa... boys sure do play differently than boys. I miss those days of just have Eleanor over while Hannah and Eleanor calmly did an art project at the little table and colored. Hellloooo little boys. Each time Drew gets together with someone I just hope we don't end up at an emergency room with a broken bone :)

Woody!

I couldn't resist posting this picture. Drew's Woody's biggest fan. Most kids this age resonate with Elmo... no not Drew. He loves Woody and Buzz from Toy Story. When I saw this towel I had to get it... Drew loves putting this on after bath time and running around the house saying "woooddeee, buzzzzzzz". It is quite cute.

Lake Lanier Islands

Today we went to Lake Lanier Islands Resort about 45 minutes north of Marietta. It was probably the prettiest day we have had since moving here... 85, sunny, clear skies and light breeze. I forgot how perfect 85 can feel when 95 degrees, 95% humidity, smog alerts and high levels of mosquitos has been the weather as of late. Lake Lanier is beautiful, and just what the doctor ordered! I have been missing my Mpls lakes, missing a little serenity outside of work, traffic, and strip malls here in Atlanta. This was perfect.

We will definitely going back here, maybe stay for a weekend and make the most of it. It is a gorgeous lake and they have camping, horse back riding, golf, waterparks, beaches, restaraunts and all kinds of good things! I generally would hear this kind of description and think.. of cheesy tourist stuff. But it was full of nature, gorgeous waters, white sand, and a ton of boats on the water.. it felt like a mini vacation for the day.

Not surprising, but Drew had a great time. He loved the sand the most and what did he love second most... the wave pool! We didn't get any pictures of the kids in the wave pool, better time spent holding their hards keeping them upright rather than snapping a photo. Hannah was "jumping waves" and since Drew does everything Hannah does, he was jumping waves too. They loved it and could had spent all day in that pool. Or has Drew called it "bigg wape pooool".

And little miss Hannah had a ton of fun... building sand castles, jumping waves, swimming with fish in the lake ( she saw some minnows and said she was brave).

A perfect family day and we are looking forward to going back and bring some visitors with us... hint hint, you know who you are...

And besides all the fun in the sunshine, we are staying busy. We are excited that we are starting to make a few friends and our social life here is coming along. And funny enough, our closest friends here are all related to Target or Minneapolis. Maybe we have not branched out quite yet to the "southern folk" but we'll get to know them real soon I am sure. We love that Jen and Kurt moved here too, and we have met another couple that just moved here from Mpls, with kids the exact same ages as ours. We have met some friends through daycare too, with another Target association of a friend I used to work with through Target baby days at Graco. Small world and apparently more people than just us that wanted to get out of the cold!

We do miss our friends in Mpls dearly. Not a day goes by that I don't think about all of them, and wish they could explore Atlanta with us. It still feels a little surreal that this is permanent, and not a vacation that I can return to the life that knew for the last 13 years. I miss the familiarity of surroundings, friendships, and serenity of driving along Long Lake to work each morning, with the sun hitting the lake in that special way that make the water sparkle, it always made the drive to and from work relaxing and took a little stress away... (instead of adding stressing in 7 lanes of traffic along I75.) I miss being able to go for a run around a lake, that is also a flat running course. (Has anyone ever tried to run the hills of atlanta?... omg.. I last about half the distance and time with those hills... killer) I could go on and on about all the things I miss...but really it comes down to my friends. I miss my friends, a lot. I have learned from my move from Ohio to Minnesota, and now to Georgia, best friends don't have to be physically present, because they are always in your heart and a phone call, webcam chat or even an airplane ride away. It can make it easier, but it still hurts.

So, hugs from Atlanta to all my friends that I am missing so much. Come visit soon :)

Happy 4th of July 2011!

Happy 4th of July. We had a great weekend celebrating the 4th, surviving the heat and BBQ-ing. Andrea, Cash and Drake came to visit for the weekend. We had a ton of fun going to the pool, the marietta parade and the neighborhood parade. We decorated the kids stroller wtih streamers and balloons. Went through the neighborhood with all the kids, headed to the pool for games and food right until the thunderstorm hit. We had fun while we had time!

And we weren't celebrating, we were trying to stay cool in the pool. Drew was enjoying the water being poured over him!!

And little miss Hannah was enjoying the pool, and even went off the diving board this weekend! She refused to just a week ago, and out of no where she stood up and said "I am going off the diving board" off we went to catch her and celebrate!.. Getting braver.....

Thanks Andrea, Cash and Drake for visting, we had a nice time and appreciate you coming all the way to Atlanta!!