Downtown Atlanta, 31, and The Lorax

 We had quite an adventure in Downtown Atlanta yesterday.  When we left all we knew for sure was that we'd be eating lunch at the Varsity.  As we were driving through Buckhead, a wealthy section of Atlanta, we saw Goodwill and knew we had to make a stop there.  Joe wasn't too thrilled but warmed up to the idea when he found a Hershey's cookbook and 3 of the Series of Unfortunate Events books.  The girls looked at clothes with Aunt Cici and I'm not sure what Pop looked at.  After we were done at Goodwill we drove by the Governor's Mansion and were able to go up the driveway and get a picture.  Pretty cool. 

 We drove around the city for a while and then stopped for lunch at the legendary Varsity.  We all ate burgers, fries, onion rings, and drank frosted oranges.  Yummmm!! 

 We did some more sightseeing but due to the rain we sightsaw in the car.  Well, until we saw that the "Hot Doughnuts Now," sign was on at the original Krispy Kreme.  We went in and were disappointed to find that there weren't actually any doughnuts being made but that didn't stop us from wearing the cool hats and buying some doughnuts.  And laughing. 

 We had a great day and came home early to make buffalo chicken dip and rest up for our 31 party that evening.  My aunt is selling 31 products now (cool bags and organizing stuff) and is planning to come to FL and do a party for me and you are all invited.  Well, those of you that are local.  It was a fun night and I can't wait to get my new laptop bag!  I have a new iPhone app called "Action Movie," and I'm addicted.  If you're my friend on FB you've seen some of my videos.  You use it to make short videos where you can add missiles and bombs detonating.  I used it last night to blow my aunt up while she was doing her presentation.  I think I'll try to do a post of all of my videos.  They are hilarious. 

 The kids, Aunt Cici (my sis), and I went to the $1.99 movie today and saw The Lorax.  I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.  It was very cute and made me want to go plant fuzzy trees.  I made everyone candy bags and popcorn bags and brought baby water bottles.  Yes, I'm cheap.  They loved their candy bags though and Brayden ate two bags of the popcorn. 

We're having a relaxing evening here at home, waiting for The Middle to come on.  Our new favorite show. 

Pictures

These are all out of order...not sure why.  Oh well...enjoy!

Random Thoughts on a Monday Morning

I'm in GA this morning and enjoying some quiet time.  Grammy, Pop, and the kids have gone to climb Stone Mountain.  I don't think my still recovering leg is up for a big climb so I stayed home.  I've spent the last hour or more organizing pictures on my new computer while sort of watching Good Morning America.  I love GMA but never watch it at home.  I enjoy getting a bit of real news, weather, and then lots of interviews and stuff like that.  Today Clint Black sang a song that will most definitely make me cry every time I hear it.  It's about a dad in the military and his little girl at home.  We're having a great visit so far and staying busy as usual.  Saturday we went to the ballfield to watch Pop umpire and then went to cool off at the pool.  It isn't just any pool though...it has a Lazy River and a 2 big waterslides. Yesterday we went to church and then Cheryl went with the girls and I to do some shopping and the boys went home with Grammy to hang out and play.  Later, Cheryl and I had a GNO...we went out to dinner and then laughed at funny books in Barnes and Noble.  Later today, the rest of the family is coming over for a Memorial Day cookout.  I also plan to make everyone sit down and watch the video of "Willy Wonka."  :0)
I'm reading a great book...Catch  Me by Lisa Gardner.  I am loving her mysteries.  On the drive up I listened to The Walk and half of Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans.  They are the first two books in a 3 book series.  I love it and highly recommend it for everyone.
That's all I've got for now...stay tuned for pictures!

Willy Wonka Pics

Seven Quick Takes

1.  School year is really, truly wrapping up around here.  All we have left is finishing a few books.  Hannah has to finish Ender's Game and Grace and Joe and I have to finish Seventeenth Swap and Miracle on Maple Hill.  I'm not super into either one of them which is making it harder to get them finished.  Once we're done with those two G and J and I will have read 35 books this school year.  About 5 of them were short chapter books but the rest were full on chapter books.  Crazy.  Today is our last official school day.  Hannah has Senior Tour tomorrow and we'll be gone half the day.  I found out yesterday that we had dentist appointments today so we spent the morning there and then came home just in time for me to tutor for an hour.  Now I need to clean the kitchen and we have some errands to run and of course....I still have to read.  I am so.sick.of.reading.aloud.  An hour or more a day for an entire school year and I'm over it.  Fo rizzle.

2.  Speaking of reading...I have some good books that I can't wait to listen to on our big drive to GA on Friday.  I have The Walk by Richard Paul Evans and the second one in the series Miles to Go.  I think those should get me to and from GA.  I just started a Young Adult book by Evans called, Michael Vey Prisoner of Cell 25.  So far it's great.  I just finished reading another Richard Peck book...Here Lies the Librarian.  I've enjoyed the three books of his that I've read.  They are just feel good stories without a huge plot and are easy to pick up and put down when life gets busy.  I'll be reading more of his for sure.  Grace finished the Hunger Games trilogy and is reading it again.  :0)  I'm confident she'll move on eventually.  For now, I'm happy to see her reading and enjoying it so much.

3.  We have one more day of Senior Tour tomorrow.  This is a 7th grade and up group in theatre and they meet once a week in the spring and write their own show and then travel to local elementary schools performing.  This year's show is "I'm Healthy and I Know It," and it's really good!  They have 3 skits and then 3 parodies they wrote to popular songs the kids would know.  So far we've had great feedback.  The kids  and teachers love it.  I've been chaperoning and have gotten to see the show 9 times I think...I'm still enjoying it and plan to video tomorrow so I can share it with the world on Youtube.  :0)  After tomorrow we have a 6 week break from theatre and I'm honestly looking forward to it.  Especially after this last show and all the pressure.  Next up is "Into the Woods, Jr." Another one of our favorites.

4.  In just a few we are going to head to the library to choose some movies for our drive to GA on Friday.  I haven't stepped foot in the library since before I broke my leg...I feel weird going today but need to get it over with.  I've been going to this library at least once a week if not more for the last 15 years or so.  Consequently, I know most of the people who work there.  In fact, my first two cards after breaking my leg were from the library ladies.  I hate attention (surprise, surprise!) and I know I'm going to get lots of it when I go in there today.  I need to just do it though and quit worrying about it.  It's been so much easier to just put books on hold and then send the kids in to pick them up.  I'm going to man up and go in there today though.  I want to monitor the DVD choosing and I have to discuss what we are going to do about the fact that Grace turned in the magazines we checked out right into the Free Magazine rack.  Hope I'm not going to have to pay much for that mistake...

5.  Question...why did I make Wednesdays no chores day?  Inevitably that is the day with the most dishes.  And, they are all my responsibility.  Next time I change up the chore schedule I'll fix this glitch.

6.  When I woke up today I thought it was Tuesday and put the trash out.  Oops.  I'm losing my mind.  Thank goodness it's summer...woohoooooooo!!!!  I'm sooo ready for the slower pace of summer.  So. ready.

7.  I think I've managed to wean myself off of afternoon caffeine.  I'm sleeping much better at night.  I don't know why I ever started that anyway.  Now it's time to work on the morning caffeine addiction...

A Day Out With my Momma!