Sweet Summer

I know I was going to post more about our trip...but maybe later.

There are so many thing about summer that I love, but one of my favorite things, is just the slower pace (well most of the time). We do get pretty busy, but this last week or so has just been so nice and laid back. We've been doing lots of family stuff, going to baseball games, riding bikes - you get the idea. Not this past Saturday but the one before, we met up with friends and took the boys fishing. Here are a few pictures I took. It was a fun time and a great way to pass a lazy Saturday.

Enjoying a quiet breakfast by the lake

Fishing with Daddy

This past weekend was also really nice. Saturday I started off the day with a nice run, then later that morning some of our really good friends came over for the morning/afternoon. Angie and I took off for the farmers market while the guys stayed at the house with the kiddos. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it last summer, but we have such a great farmers market here on Saturday mornings. I stocked up on all my veggies for the week, Ang got her stuff, then we were off to the grocery store to pick up some meat for lunch, then home to start fixin' some lunch. The hubs grilled and Angie and I worked on the rest, then we all ate some really good eats! Chicken kabobs, brats, veggie pizza, grilled eggplant, baked beans - YUMMY!

After lunch we did a little quite time, and then we left to go look for me a new bike. I've been trying to decide for a LONG time about getting one. I wanted to make sure I REALLY wanted it for me and that I would ride it, because it is a bit on the pricey side. So we went to the bike store and I test rode a few, and fell in love with this one. Forgive the pictures, they were in my garage after I got back from my first ride, so I just wanted to get the pics taken.

Close up of some of the detail - leave it to me to get a "girl-ish" sporty bike

And here is a picture I made the hubs take of me after I got back. I had already taken the helmet off but you get the idea.

So, there you have it, my new "ride". I've been out on it twice now, and just love it. I would have gone again last night, but I needed a rest after running and biking both Saturday and Sunday. I am hoping the rain holds off tonight so I can go for a spin after dinner.

Anyway, so that was my big news. Sunday was low key - church, lunch, and a quick trip to the mall to use up some gymbucks at gymboree for some new school clothes for the boys (well really just big kid because little one isn't in school yet).

So far this week has been nice - although it is only Tuesday. This morning the boys and I hit the gym for a while, then it was off to the park for a picnic lunch and play time - just the three of us. Now they are doing naps/quiet time, I'm doing laundry, and I've got a pot roast in the oven cooking along with all my fresh farmers market veggies...all in all it's been a great day!! Well, that's about it for me. I hear the wash is on the spin cycle, so I'm going to switch loads and then maybe read a bit. OH - I just finished the book "Eat, Pray, Love" and was slightly disappointed. I had heard great things, but it just didn't do much for me. The point was good, but just SLOW and hard to get through. So, I just thought I'd throw that out there. It was a book for book club, and now I'm onto Fahrenheit 451 (which I think I was supposed to read in high school and never did) so maybe it will be more interesting.

The big 2.0!!!

Hello everyone...sorry, I didn't mean to take so long to post another "while we were gone" post, but I was behind on a lot of things around here that needed to be taken care of before I could get back to posting. You know all those fun things like getting the laundry done, unpacking, catching up on emails/phone calls...you get the idea.

So, on of the BIGGEST things that happened while we were in GA was my little "baby" turned TWO!!! I can't believe it's been 2 years, that just seems crazy. We had a little get together for him with family. My in-laws came as well as my Brother-in-law and his wife, my sister was there, and my parents of course (we were at their house). The little one was of course showered with gifts, and big kid got a few new things as well!

The Birthday Boy

Time for presents

Thomas Cake (he LOVES trains). It's from Publix complete with my FAVORITE butter cream icing...sooooo good!!

Playing with some of the new toys with his big brother

All the family

It was a great day, and like I said, great to see family!! And, we also got some great news while we were all together...I'm going to be an AUNTIE. Yup, my Brother-in-law and his wife are pregnant, and not just that but they are having TWINS!! I am very happy for them, it's very exciting. These will be my first nieces or nephews. She's about 17 weeks along, so soon we will get to find out if they are boys or girls...or one of each.

So, there you go...another highlight from our trip. I'll try to be back again with another post. We did so much that I shouldn't have any trouble coming up with posts for awhile.

For now though, I must run and get to folding the last of the laundry. Then the boys and I are heading off to the gym. It's raining here today, so I think we will just spend the morning there so that they can run around and have fun. Hope you all had a great weekend!!

My favorite things...

Well, we made it home!! The trip back was long, but uneventful, which is good when it comes to 17 hours of driving with two kiddos and a whole lot of stuff in tow. The kids were troopers and made the trip like pros. We had such a nice visit, I didn't want to come back home, but now that I am here, I'm glad to be back. Today I've got lots of unpacking to do, laundry, cleaning, all that fun stuff, but that is going to wait until the boys do quiet time. In a little bit we're going to head over to the gym so the boys can play and I can work off some of the extra "baggage" I brought home from all the good food I ate!

Which brings me to my first post about our trip...all my favorite things to eat in Atlanta...there are SO many. The hubs and I made a list of some of our top choices and I think we hit all of them. One of our most favorites is The Vortex downtown. They have these AMAZING hamburgers!! I rarely treat myself to hamburgers, but every now and again I figure you've just got to have one, and if you're going to eat them, this is the place to do it.

There are no kids allowed in the restaurant, probably something to do with their "decor", so we made a lunch date out of it and met my sister, Justin and Marc (friends from college) down there. Here are a few pictures I took while we were there.

Me and my lil' sis

My wonderful burger - it had teriyaki, cheese, and pineapple...YUM

Jessie taking her first bite of the "Elvis Burger" - peanut butter, fried bananas and bacon - I tried a bite and it's actually really good...if you like peanut butter that is!

Yes, it was delicious. Some of the other treats we got while we were down there was Publix Subs, Pappa Deaux, and the hubs and I went on a date night to another favorite place, the Sundial. You can check it out HERE. Here are a few pictures I took from our date night. The restaurant is 72 stories up and rotates so you see all of Atlanta - and they have AMAZING food! Check out the menu on the website. I wish I would have taken a picture of my dinner but I was just enjoying my night out!!

The hubby and I at the bar before dinner

View of Centennial Park/CNN Center/GA Dome from 72 stories above

Atlanta at night

We had a great night out. It was nice to get to go out on dates and such. We don't do that a whole lot here because sitters get so expensive, so we took full advantage of the grandparents that were all but kicking us out the door! And while we did do a lot of eating, we also were good about keeping up with our running. One of my other favorite "dates" was our morning run together. We never get to do that, but while we were gone, we went for a run almost every day, it was fabulous - but I'll get to more later.

For now I need to run and get us moving so I can get to my treading class at the gym. I'll be back soon with more highlights from our trip! Hope everyone is having a good week so far...oh and leave me comments...I'm feeling a bit lonely in the comment sections!! Hehe.

It's been good...

All good things must come to an end... We've had a great time here in GA/SC and I can't believe that I am actually saying this...but I don't really want to leave. It's been so nice seeing family and catching up with friends!! But the hubs has to return to work and I suppose 2 weeks is long enough for vaccation. I'll have lots of posts here soon to share some of the highlights from the trip. We did SO much stuff. Everything from the pool to the lake to the aquarium - I even got to run in the Atlanta Peachtree Road Race so I'll post a fun race report from that as well!

Okay...time to pack up the computer...hope everyone out there is well!