Lake Martin & Hot-Lanta!

Luke had another week off this summer (the first one was kinda ruined by the plague you can read about here), and this trip actually felt like a vacation!  We spent the first half of the week at my Dad's lake house in AL.  Lake Martin is gorgeous, and we grew up going to the lake every summer as kids! Lots and lots of wonderful memories made there, and we want to share those with our boys as well!  The second half of the week we drove over to Atlanta!  The boys and I got Luke tickets to a Braves game for his birthday/Father's day.  We decided to make a long weekend of it and took in all the sights of ATLl!  It was really a LOT of fun!  Robert & Erica came with us (because we love them and they are SO GREAT with the boys...aka, lots of help! I don't think Elijah left Erica's side the entire time!).  All in all, it was a great trip, and here are the tons of pictures to prove it...

Pre-trip, but just to show that it wont be long before Miles can have his way with Elijah!

And, while I'm thinking about just how big Miles is, I want to reflect on this kid's appetite!  Miles (aka "pork chop" has always had a love affair with food, but lately he has been RAVENOUS!).  For example, last night's dinner...about half of my pork chop, 5 strawberries, a few pieces of steamed broccoli, a half cup of yogurt, and he stilled signed "more"!  This morning, he had 2 eggs and cottage cheese with fruit.  He.Is.A.Food.Monster! 

Lovin' Uncle Robert

teething + hungry = corn on the cob! He loved it!

look at those lashes & lips!

Dad & Vicki's house has an incredible porch over the water with a perfect 

spot to relax and watch the sunset!

Elijah loves wearing shorts with pockets!

Down the steps and into the lake! These boys both love the water.  Elijah has totally mastered swimming independently with the life jacket on! 

future blackmail right here, baby!

Roasted okra...the kid ate roasted okra! It was pretty tasty, I'll say.  

Props to Pinterest on that recipe.

Ok, I do hope this video will play for you guys! Something our generation (and definitely our kids) rarely see these days...landline phones.  Both boys were enamored with the phones at my dad's and at the hotel! They played on them non-stop! Here is E singing a song about "Sara Elizabeth coming to class" (one they sing in Bible class)...pretty cute!

Got to Atlanta on Thursday and hit up the World of Coke. It was really a lot of fun.  Elijah was terrified/obsessed with the Polar Bear.  He had to know where it was at all times.  Here he is looking at him from the balcony.

the 3 amigos

Yes, we let Elijah sample all the drinks in the "tasting room" and he love it!

Miles wasn't scared at all! In fact, he seemed pretty excited.  Meanwhile, Elijah is on the verge of tears begging them not to go because the polar bear might eat them.  True story.

We ran off all of that caffeine in the lawn in front of the museum. I wish Miles' eyes had been open.

 It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon!

Luke wanted to take a tour of Turner Field so we did that Friday morning.  As much as I wasn't interested in it (at all), it turned out to be a really interesting tour!

Coke bottle-shaped adirondack chairs overlooking the city 

touring a club level section

right behind home plate.  Ok, see those green, padded chairs? They are right behind home plate on either side, and they cost $75K A SEASON!! Who has that kinda money??

Making a call from the dug out!

Hmmm...which bat??

Friday afternoon we hit up the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.  Honestly, we were a bit disappointed in the facility itself, and, sadly, we agreed it was probably due to lack of funding.  We did to a pretty interesting IMAX about polar bears that the boys enjoyed, and there was a hands-on "tree house" area hidden away upstairs that we found late in the day.  We probably could have spent the whole afternoon in that one section.  Tabby, I thought of you and took this shot! ;-)

Robert & Erica joined us in Atlanta Friday night, and we woke up bright and early to get to the Georgia Aquarium (which was a good idea because it was PACKED when we left!). In short, the aquarium was outstanding!! The boys loved it as did the adults!  Simply amazing the complexity found in each of these animals! Certainly a testament to God's handiwork!

 Waving to the workers cleaning the tank!

 In the walk-thru/conveyor belt tunnel with Erica

 Side note: Robert and I apparently have the same "hair"stages...we were both back in ponytails for this trip! :-)

Ring around the rosey!

 Just a little inspiration from West Elm (love that place!).  I'm thinking this could be cool with empty and mirrored frames!

Gooooo Braves!! Pretty great seats about 12 rows back just past 1st base!

It was a long, sweltering afternoon! We kept dousing the boys with water and we made many trips to the shade.  Unfortunately, the Braves lost, but it was still fun!

Cracking peanuts with Erica!

We wrapped up our weekend with worship services at Powers Ferry on Sunday morning followed by lunch and shopping at Ikea, then off to Birmingham.  We got in later than expected and were then delayed with dinner so we decided to just stay the night in Bham with Robert & Erica. We made it home Monday just after lunch.

While we were away, Elijah had some pretty funny conversations.....

Praying one night, Elijah said: "Dear God, thank you for daddy, and mommy and brother..."
Me: What's your brother's name?
E: ".....Pork Chop! Thank you for Pork Chop!"  (I guess it's official when you start using nicknames in your prayers!"

Elijah was facing me and sitting in my lap one evening, and he was right in my face poking my eyebrows.  He asked, "Mommy, what are these called?"
Me: They are called eyebrows
E: (looking at Luke) "Daddy, I like your big ones (eyebrows)!"  Haha...Luke and I about fell out in the floor!

And, finally, reading one night I pointed to a grasshopper and asked if he knew what it was.
E: Yeah, a popper gwas
Me: Close! It's a grass hopper.
E: Oh yeah, gwas popper!

Alright folks, thanks for enduring this marathon post! Lots to update from the past couple of weeks!  We'll be home for about a month until we take off again.  Luke takes his oral anesthesia boards in SanDiego in October.  Luckily, we are going out there as a family and renting a house with our dear friends, The Kellers, from Hershey! Can't wait to see them and meet their sweet, new baby! Prayers appreciated for both Luke and Matt as they study hard for this exam!!

Hope you all are having a great week!