Helen, Georgia

Grandma Fife was such a blessing to have around. My yard was in serious need of help and she took it upon herself to help beautify it. She mowed, weeded, sprayed for bees, planted flowers, and swept the carport and driveway. She also babysat for me so that I could go visiting teaching and go to doctors appointments. She did it all! Most of all she gave great moral support after Morgan left. Thank you so much. I truly have the greatest mother-in-law.

After working all week, we decided to head up to Helen, GA to sight see. On the way up we stopped in Cleveland, GA to pan for gems.

Grandma was hoping to strike it rich! We did find some rubies and other jewels that I can't remember the names of right now and of course fool's gold.
Then we headed up to Anna Ruby Falls and had a picnic lunch. The hike up to the falls was just about a half a mile. We had to take a few breaks for the kids and to also enjoy the beautiful forest and creek around us.

Anna Ruby Falls is unique because there are two separate falls.

Next was the actual town of Helen. It is similar to Leavenworth, WA and is set in the Bavarian theme. We visited some of the shops but Hansel and Gretel's candy shop was our favorite!

We took a horse drawn carriage ride around the town.

The ride was much sweeter with our chocolates!

After the ride, the driver gave the children carrots to feed our horse, Cadillac Jack. The children were a little hesitant but Grandma helped them!

I love Miriam's experience of feeding Cadillac Jack...this photo seems to capture how afraid she really was!

The children were well behaved and we stopped for a southern dinner at Cracker Barrel. Once we got home the kids went to bed so easily! I think we really wore them out! I can't wait to go back to the Falls with Morgan in the autumn when the leaves are changing. Georgia is really a beautiful state!

Stone Mountain

Grandma Fife came to visit us on April 22nd all the way from WA. She stayed until May 1st and we had a lot of fun with her...not to mention how she saved my sanity! We were so happy to see her! Morgan ended up having a long weekend break and decided to drive the 12 hours down to Georgia to spend the weekend with us. Since we are only 15 minutes from Stone Mountain, we thought that this would be the ideal place to take Grandma.

Can you name the 3 men carved in the stone?

One of the coolest things about Stone Mountain is the Sky Hike. Morgan and Shelley went on the version for adults:

Miriam and Luke went on a much smaller scale for children.

There is even a zip line for kids and Luke went on it 5-6 times. He impressed me with his bravery and loved every minute of the course! We will definitely be back there this summer!

We also got to "Ride the Ducks." Since all children were required to wear a life vest, here is Eve trying her best to comply with the rules.

The tear is not from wearing the life jacket...

Once in the water, each of the kids got to "drive" the boat. They thought they were really something!

What would the ride be without the quackers to blow on throughout the ride! Eve just sucked on hers like a pacifier!

Finally we took the Sky Ride to the top of Stone Mountain.

Downtown Atlanta can be seen in the distance.

Other than Luke vomiting in the Sky Ride line when we first got to the park, we ended up having a fantastically fun day. It was good to have everyone together and for us to be out and enjoying the beautiful warm Georgia weather.

Eve's First Solids

On Wednesday, April 21st, Eve tried her first solid foods...rice cereal. She seemed pretty excited at first to sit in the high chair and have a spoon to play with. However after a few initial bites, she decided that rice cereal was not her favorite food! I love her expressions in these photos! Since then, she has tried bananas and sweet potatoes with corn. None of those have been her favorites either. I think the only thing she hasn't spit back out was the ice-cream I gave her. She really liked that! Perhaps we will stay away from the sweets from now on until she takes a liking to other foods...

Our Week in Review

This was my first week on my own without Morgan. I tried to plan activities each day with the children to keep us all busy and entertained.

While Luke is in pre-K each day, Miriam, Eve and I play school, grocery shop, clean, cook and nap. I especially like the napping part! This is us girls in our denim outfits.

Eve likes to entertain us with her giggling and squeals.
We LOVE our home...especially the yard. Georgia is quite warm now and we like playing in the sprinklers when Luke gets home from school.

Miriam is a great helper. She enjoys helping me cook and work in the garden.

Saturday we went to Zoo Atlanta. We had a few wrong turns that led us through scary Atlanta, but we finally found it! Luke enjoyed petting the goats in the petting zoo area...Miriam not so much. She was terrified to be in the pen with the animals.

Miriam did enjoy seeing the animals that couldn't get too close to us.

Miriam is hugging the gorilla statue and Luke is picking its nose. Gotta love how different they are!

They loved having their pictures made in these cutouts.

Now on to another week....

We can't wait to see Grandma Fife this week and spend time with her!

Happy 30th Birthday Morgan

Birthdays often cause me to contemplate my own life experiences and the lessons I have learned. I miss Morgan terribly right now as he is in Baltimore continuing on the path to becoming a doctor. So I am just thinking of him and all that he has accomplished these past 30 years.

In the past 10 years that I have known him, I am always in awe at his capacity to learn and master difficult things. He never gives up even when he feels overwhelmed. He wants to provide well for his family even if that means sacrificing comfort now for rewards later. How I admire him.

I am sure that he was like any other boy growing up. All of his sisters have told me of how he would dress them from head to toe just to be able to shoot rubber bands at them. He must have been quite trying at times! ;)

And yet, he grew to be an incredible man. A man who is faithful, honorable, and loving. How grateful I am to be a part of his life and to have a family with him.

Happy Birthday Honey. You are the best daddy, husband and friend. We miss you!