A Stroll down Memory Lane, Yours now!!

OK, so I am now playing this from our good friends: the Bentleys!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that we have had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! You don't need to have an account to post a response...you just need to pick anonymous and leave the comment!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about one of us, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Our "Vacation" to Atlanta

So Brian had this project to do in Atlanta through the State and a textbook company. It was at a hotel and they paid for three nights for Brian, so Carl and I tagged along. We spent time at Stone Mountain, Fernbank, and of course, the hotel pool.

Carl and I had a great time while Brian worked. Stone Mountain is so much fun. We ate our lunch on top of the mountain. Carl begged to go on the new "Sky Hike" (a ropes course where the lowest level is at least 15 ft. high, very little to hold onto, except the harness you are attached to). We spent 30 mins in line and Carl was so excited, until we got the third "section". Carl's side was just like a wooden plank balance beam with a handle, but that bar ended. He had to walk 10 ft. on a two foot wide board. He began to cry, and frankly, I was not liking it myself, so they let us go back!

We did do other fun stuff such as Putt-putt golf, going to the top of the mountain, riding the train, and of course watching the laser light show.

Victoria, Ella and Katie joined us at Fernbank. Carl loves to go there and the bubble tray is his favorite part. They were getting pretty good with the bubbles too!

We really enjoyed ourselves. It was a good break, and life got really hard the next week. And, yes, I know, this entry should have come before the last entry.

Life Can Be Like a Tropical Storm

So I decided this about six months ago when two of my friends had their babies on the exact same day. I was working for one, and the other the babysitter. It was both exhausting and exciting at the same time. They were each due a week apart. It did not happen slowly like gentle waves, but all at the same time, like a tropical storm.

And then it happened again: We were on our final "vacation" for the summer when we got work that a very old friend had taken a turn for the worst, was in the hospital and not expected to make it. Sure enough, June Calhoun passed away on Thursday, July 17th. She had been sick for a long time. She and her husband (who died last Jan.) were a huge influence in my life when I was a teenager. Then on Sunday morning, we recieved another call: A friend who had just moved to Athens with his family also died suddenly. Jeff's death has not only been hard on his family, but his friends as well. He had been having a few health problems, but was getting better (at least that is what everyone thought).

Jeff, his daughter Brittany, Brian and Carl on the 4th of July (they were watching our personal fireworks show).
But during our grief, we still had to "mini-move" the three bedrooms for new carpet. And Brian returned to work, only to find things were as ready as they should be for the new school year.
I am not complaining, just life has been crazy and hectic and it seems to all happen at once, just like a tropical storm.
The good news is: we think we have finally found renters for our home! We are excited to move, but after the carpet install, I am not looking forward to packing!!

A stroll down memory lane

OK, so it was more like a drive down memory lane, but this is one of the many places where I lived growing up. If you have known me long, you have heard of our "house in the woods". We moved there when I was about 6 years old. My brother was turning 19 and heading out on an LDS mission. My parents found an inexpensive house to rent that would give them the extra money to pay for my brother's mission. We lived out in the middle of no where on what was once the "Colbert Plantation" (a famous Savannah ghost haunt). Needless to say, it made for a very interesting childhood (we lived there for about four years).

So on our last visit to Savannah, we took a drive out past Port Wentworth to see our "house in the woods". The above picture is of the last quarter mile "drive way/road" that we had to walk every day as the bus only went on the "big" dirt road, that even 20 years later is still a dirt road. Well at least the drive-way doesn't have the huge pot holes Ruth/Victoria and I used to play in after it rained.

So here is our "house in the woods". The house is in great shape. I can honestly say I look back on this house with some really great memories. Of course one of the best things: Sarah was also born when we lived here. There were plenty of sad and scary memories (mainly associated with animals), but we did live in the swamp!! It was cool to show my family one of the homes that has a special place in our family's history.

Related to family history is the stories our brothers told us when we were young. We were gullible and trusted our older brothers. One infamous story was the alligators in the moat at Fort Pulaski. When I got older, I learned much of what my brothers told me was made up or someway for them to scare us into the "correct behavior". So of course the alligators totally made it into the "fiction" section for me. Until a visit to Fort Pulaski a few years ago. Yes they are really there!!

Brian thought I was crazy for freaking out over the alligators!

And so, the story was told to my nieces, nephew and child as we walked around the moat and admired the alligators at Fort Pulaski.

The Busy Summer

Well the exciting summer I was looking forward to has arrived and left in the form of my darling niece and nephew. Nathan and Stacy (number 3 and 4 of my eldest brother) came for three weeks in June. We (as in my mom, Brian, me, Carl, my twin sister and her two children) took them first to Savannah for three days and spent one day on Tybee Island at the beach.

We all had great fun in the sun, especially digging the holes to help secure our six umbrellas. Mostly they fell, but we still had a lot of fun. I pledged that we would stay all day at the beach on Tuesday (June 9th) til everyone was just sick of it. I got my wish. Nobody wanted to go back!!

So we then went to Fort Pulaski and Oatland Island Wildlife Preserve (note: if you ever make it to Savannah, this wildlife preserve is a nature walk with a few animals along the way. It was so hot, even the animals were hiding.) One of my mom's oldest friend and her grandson also joined us as well this day.

Ha Ha!! I tricked you. My twin sister is the one in the picture!!

Ella, Katie, Sarah with yet to be named upcoming niece, Nathan, Stacy and Carl!! All together at Fort Pulaski. It was great for Sarah also to get to spend some time with her nieces and nephews.

The next week we took Stacy and Nathan up to the mountains. We did get to meet up with my other brother, Victor and his two children, Grace and Aiden. We had quite the adventure at Kennesaw Mountain. Just as we finished lunch, it began to sprinkle. So we went into the visitor center and watched a movie about the Civil War battle fought there. then the sun came out, so we took a bus up to the top of the mountain. The rain came back but was very light. As we got out of the bus, we could see lighting, so the bus driver stayed. As we began to look around, it began to rain very hard. Yeah for the bus driver!! He took us all back down and we were drenched!! We certainly had an adventure!!

We later went to the Dahlonega Gold Mines, Amicalola Falls State Park, and tubing down the Chattahoochee River in Helen (on Brian's birthday!!).

We had planned some more wonderful things to do around Atlanta for their last week. Brian was taking a class to "certify him to teach A.P. Statistics", but alas, my body gave out on us. My colitis flared up, but we had some wonderful friends invite us for swimming one day and yeah to the free movies at Beechwood cinemas.

Carl absolutely loved sharing a room with Nathan and wanted to do everything just like Nathan!! And for the most part, Nathan was really patient and understanding with Carl. Brian and I also learned what it is like to have more than one child around. Brian and Nathan really got into the EuroCup soccer games and soccer on the Playstation. We also taught them some of our favorite card games: Five Crowns and Skip-bo.

Ah Summer, we look forward to it, it comes and then is gone. So the point, enjoy every minute, it does not last long!!