It's no secret our family spends a lot of time on the road. A lot. Thankfully, our children have grown up doing such and are really great travelers. I don't know what we would've done had we been the victims of a car seat hatin' baby! Last Tuesday, we loaded up for one last trip of the summertime. The purpose of our trip was two-fold. I wrote earlier about closing on our house, yay! We also went to see my family. The hope was that we would see everyone, T, the Hollands, and Mama. Sadly, my grandfather's sister, Lois, passed away, so we did not get to see Mama on this trip. I have a feeling Story and I will be making a trip in the near future to south GA to check on Mama.
Tilly all bundled up in my jacket. I guess she was cold, ha! On our way to Georgia, we stopped to meet a sweet friend in Birmingham for lunch, Lisa and her precious boy, Ford. Lisa worked camp with David and me in Mobile in 2005, and we have kept in touch with her over the years. It was so great to see her and hug her neck and meet her sweet boy! He's got some baby blues that will make you swoon! Once we got into Georgia, we were hoping to see my two college roommates. One visit was successful, as we were able to see Wendy and her four boys. What a treat! After leaving her house, we attempted to surprise Mary Katherine, but it didn't quite work out. It sure was fun to try!
This is blurry, but I wanted to show the big ole smile on her face. In keeping with the tradition of the girls in my family, T bought Summer her very first American Girl doll for her 6th birthday, and we went to pick it up while we were in Atlanta. She was beyond excited.
We were staying in Athens, where my mom and Hart live, so Wednesday morning we loaded back up in the car to head to this place! Summer was so excited! I wasn't sure how it would go over with the others not getting anything, but they were amazing and didn't fret or pout, they were all just very excited for Summer.
Summer chose Saige as her American Girl of choice. Saige is the new doll for the year, and we have loved learning all about her. Saige loves to ride horses, which is so apropos! On the way to our closing, we stopped at the Redbox to rent a couple of movies for on the way home, and they happened to have the AG movie all about Saige, so fun!
Summer with Saige. Thank you, T, for such a wonderful and special present.
When we got to ATL, we always love to hit up some of our favorite hole-in-the-wall eats, and there are lots. We ate at this place for lunch. Hamburgers are divine, served on grilled french bread, oh my yum!
When we got back to Athens, this is how we spent the next two days. So great. I didn't anticipate getting to spend so much time in the sun by the pool, and it was glorious. Can you spot my blue toes at the bottom of the picture? My sister and her girls drove over to spend the day with us, and the children had the most fun at the pool.
Something about swimming and being in the sun just makes you famished. I love how Story is right in in the middle. She thinks she is as big as they are! After a few hours at the pool, we changed to go eat supper.
After supper, we hit up this place to treat the children. Then, Noelle and her crew had to head back home. Haleigh left the next day for a drama camp with her church. We weren't ready to turn in for the night just yet, so we headed over to my version of the Holy Land, ha!
One of the highlights of this trip for me was walking the children around the campus of the University of Georgia. Now that they are bigger and will remember more, it was so much fun to show them places I had classes and spent time studying and playing. Maybe, just maybe one of them will attend this amazing campus! I know some of the best years of my life were spent here.
The first night, we just did a drive by of The Arch. We got out the second night and took our picture there.
Introducing my little loves to one of my very first loves, Sanford Stadium!
Wednesday night, Carter, Story and I had a sleepover at T's house. They thought this was so much fun. Carter slept on the pull-out couch, and Story and I slept in the guest bedroom. She's quite the little snugglebug, and it was so sweet to watch her sleep for a little bit.
Thursday morning, Hart took David to play golf at The University of Georgia golf course, so fun! Meanwhile, T held court as she passed out the school supplies she bought for the children. We were so thankful for her help because there are so many supplies that each of the children needs. They had a lot of fun organizing them. Now, I have the fun job of individually labeling each item. Yes, every individual crayon! So fun, ha! After getting organized we headed over to have lunch at CFA and let the children play on the playground. Then, we went back to the pool for the day.
Once again, we headed back over to campus after supper to show the children some more of my favorite spots.
We took our picture in front of The Arches. Story was over it, as you can see. There's an old tale about The Arches stating that unless one has officially graduated from The University of Georgia that you should not walk underneath them. Story did, and I flipped out a little, which made Summer freak out and ask a million questions, ha! How do you explain to your 3,4,6 & 7 year olds about an old legend stating that whoever walks under the arches without graduating will be infertile?!? You don't! So, I just played it off! I was a little unnerved though, ha!
I think one of the things I love so much about my school is the rich, rich history.
We took the children to ring the chapel bell, and they all loved it! David and I even took a turn. Traditionally after the dawgs win at home, people line up to ring the bell, signaling a victory!
And then, we had to climb into the fountain with our clothes on cause that's what you do.
Golden hour. So beautiful.
After obnoxiously ringing the bell and getting soaked in the fountain, we headed downtown for a famous local treat. Milkshakes from The Grill.
The Grill is located right across from campus and has been serving old fashioned milkshakes since the early 1980s. They are to die for. We shared chocolate and strawberry shakes til our bellies could contain no more, and then we called it a night. This time, Summer, Tilly and I had a sleepover at T's house. Summer and Tilly started out on the pull out couch, and then I moved Tilly into the bed with me. After the girls went to bed, my sweet friend, Mary Elizabeth, dropped by to see me before heading home to ATL. Better known as Emmie, she and I taught together at The Heiskell School for several years, and it was such a treat to see her and catch up.
This is how I found Summer the next morning, completely buried in the covers. After waking early, we said gooodbye to T, Hart and the Classic City and headed to Austell to see our old house and get ready for closing. Thankfully, all of that went off without a hitch. You can tell so many were praying for that moment. We are so thankful to close that chapter.
And we couldn't leave town without seeing this precious couple. We met Mr. Frank and Mrs. Shirley or Frankly and Shirley, as Story calls them for lunch at Red Lobster. It was so great to see them and spend time together. They hold a very special place in our hearts.
Carter took this picture for us, not too shabby.
And just like that our time in Georgia was over, and we headed home to Mississippi. I wish that over the summertime we had logged all of our mileage because we sure traveled a lot. David will leave today for Dallas for a conference, but the children and I are done with our travel until the holidays. What a fun summertime it has been full of adventure and time spent together! Before we know it, we will be dropping the big 3 off at elementary school and Story off at preschool. I think we are ready!
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