Georgia Aquarium

I highly recommend the Georgia Aquarium! Lots to see and do. Next time we will probably get a "Atlanta City Pass" and see more than just the aquarium and stay more than one day. This was the first road trip we've taken with both the boys somewhere other than the beach house. We kept telling Luke we were going to Atlanta to spend the night and then we would go to the aquarium. When we checked in at the hotel, he asked the desk clerk if she was "Atlanta"!

Easter 2009

This was the first year I think Luke understood about the Easter bunny and the first year that Jesse was able to join in the fun. I've included some of the highlights in the following slideshow. Luke had his first pixie stick and didn't understand why we couldn't eat candy all day long. He really didn't want ham??!! What, were we kidding, ham? instead of candy? The boys were really cute in their matching outfits but Jesse's didn't last long on him because he crashed before lunch and was only wearing a onesie for the egg hunt. Luke did not want to cooperate with posed picture taking anyway - who was I to blame him? Neither was I!

Cruisin' 2009

Every year the wonderful people at Big #1 Motorsports (namely, my in-laws) send outstanding employees on a cruise. Well, outstanding employees and certain daughters-in-law... :) Johnny felt he needed to spend the time at work so I got to take my cousin, Anne. Thanks to some quick work by her husband and his parents, she was able to arrange child care to come with! We had a great time - relaxing by the pool, playing cards, listening to my iPod - being carefree! The food was great and the company was entertaining. I got to know Anne a little better and enjoyed time "with the girls". It was a great trip. Now, can I get Johnny to let me go without him next year???

Jesse loves playing with trains!

Jesse has really caught on with the "Thomas trains". I think it took off when we went to the Thomas train exhibit in Calera a couple of weeks ago. I had to pry his fingers from the trains when it was time to leave. Now he plays with them all the time and is mesmerized by the TV show. If I set up the track, he will move at least a three car train all the way around the table, through all the tunnels and over the bridge.

And if there's some part he can't get to, well, that doesn't stop him! He just climbs right up onto the table!

Five Syllable Words!

I know he's mine but I can't help but say it: What a smart boy!

Our Day Out with Thomas

Thomas was at the Heart of Dixie Railroad museum this last weekend. I was afraid we weren't going to get to go because of the weather and then next weekend, I'm going to be out of town. I decided to brave it and we went early in the morning because the sun was peeking out. When we got there, it was beautiful. Not too hot, not rainy, not humid. Just a little bit breezy and it was just right as Goldilocks says. The boys loved playing in the tent with all the trains on train tables with cool stuff: suspension bridges, draw bridges, different stations and engines. Jesse is really small in stature but he REALLY looked small in comparison to all the other 3-5 year olds. Parents were asking me how old he was and were surprised to find out that he was only 15 months old. Luke was timid at first but eventually found a table and had a good time. The food was good and reasonable. The train table tent was free to play in. The moon bounce was free and there was free entertainment - a man with a guitar singing "I've been working on the railroad" and other fun kiddy songs. Of course, their sole purpose in everything being free is so that you will hit the Gift Shop - that's where they "getcha"! I won't divulge what I spent but it was more than the amount of cash I had brought with me and 'whew!' lucky for me (or was it them?), they took my Mastercard! In my rush to get out the door, I forgot my camera so I ended up paying way too much for the photo shop on location to take this really un-cute picture of my boys. But it commemorates that we were there and, despite the fussy faces, we had a great time!

My Husband

My husband loves his boys. He's still sort of a kid himself so they have lots in common. Luke begs him to play with him all the time. My husband has such a great imagination - he can come up with fun games to play, names for all of Luke's toy dinosaurs and ways to make the boys calm down when they're upset. I'm so glad spring and summer are on their way because the boys' favorite thing to do with their Daddy is play outside. Luke is learning to swing by himself with Daddy's help and my husband writes words of encouragement with chalk on the playset next to the swing for when he's not home. Jesse runs to greet his Daddy at the door when he comes home at night and Jesse's daddy can always make Jesse smile or laugh. My husband is such a great Daddy - I hope he knows how much I love him for that!