More Georgia Adventures

One of the traditions of our summer trip to Georgia is to go to Stone Mountain Laser Show! Usually I'm working, so I don't get to go on this trip, but this year I was excited to be able to take part in this fun event this year!

We could not have asked for better weather. It was cool and clear. Perfect. 

We got there early so the kids and Scott played some football on the lawn.

No personality. None at all.

Serving up Stone Mountain!

Scott had to head back to St. Louis to go back to work, but the kids and I stayed the rest of the week. One of the days was a Ladies Day! We fulfilled one of my long time dreams, which was to go to the Margaret Mitchell House. I love Gone with the Wind and have read it many many times. The "house" didn't disappoint! It's actually just an apartment where Margaret and her husband lived when she was writing Gone with the Wind. I found it all very interesting!

It was definitely worth the trip and I was so thankful to get to spend the day with two of my very favorite ladies! It was a nice break to get to spend the week in Georgia talking and catching up with them. Good for my soul.

I was lucky enough to get to take Lila & Levi to Catch Air one day! The big boys went with Aunt Amanda and Mimi to the arcade while the littles jumped their hearts out.

They stopped for a minute to pump some iron...

and ride the stationary bike.

I was so thankful to get to spend some one on one time with these special kiddos.

 Mwah! Love him.

Farewell to Turner Field

In mid-July, we made the trip down to Georgia to hang out with Mimi, Paka, and the Odoms!! Since this is the last season for Turner Field (where the Braves play), we decided to make a farewell game. 

The big boys...

And the little ones, who aren't so little anymore.

 The Boyle 4.

Lots of farewell photos being taken:)

Sweet cousins!

We stayed until the very end, and Lila decided a rally cap was in order. It worked! The Braves won 1-0.

Goodbye Turner Field!

Summer "School" & Around the Neighborhood

I decided that the kids and I would make time during our summer days to stay fresh on school stuff. When I got the idea, I thought they would fight me tooth and nail. 

But. 

They did not. 

In fact, one day I wasn't feeling well and suggested that we skip that day and they were all like, "NOOOOOOOOOOO, we have to do school today!!" Lila even asked if I would home school them. To which I said NOOOOOOOOOO way. 

One day they wanted to get started before I had finished cleaning up lunch, so Nate sat next to Lila and helped her with directions. In a summer that was filled with sibling bickering, it was a bright spot.

We are getting used to our new surroundings. Even though we were in the area of our new house quite frequently, we weren't often riding bikes or walking around. They both love this fountain on the edge of the green space that is basically right out our front door.

It has a great sidewalk all the way around it, so perfect for bike riding!

Catching Up

Wanna know a good way to get your friends and family to check on you??? 

Don't update your blog for over a month. 

Done. 

Thank you to all the fine peoples that checked on us! 

Sigh. It's been a crazy summer. That's about all I can say. I'm going to try to catch this baby up in the next few days. 

Way back at the end of June, Mimi & Paka came to visit our new house! It seems so long ago now, and there have been many furniture / decorations changes since then. But don't you love this Canoes sign that the Pooleys gave us?? I absolutely love it and it has found it's way to the 3rd Floor Lounge (Nate's name) which has turned into the Canoe room. I am so excited to have a room to decorate this way!

Chowing down on some fried chicken from Gus's! We are so excited to be literally across the street from Gus's Fried Chicken!

Playing games with Mimi & Paka...this couch is now at my parents house and the rug is in the Lounge. Just when I think we haven't made any progress, these pictures remind me that we have!

On July 4th we went to the ballgame. It rained. It was cool. It was hot. It was humid. A little bit of everything during this game, but we had fun anyway!

More to come about the rest of our summer. Hard to believe the kids are back in school now!!

Birthday Travels

Thane turned 4 this year! Crazy how time flies. The kids and I went down south for his birthday party. When I looked back as we were about to pull out of the driveway, this is what I saw. We apparently have to take everything but the kitchen sink with us on a one night trip! 

Hamil & Sarah set up this giant slip-n-slide. It was a HUGE hit with the kids!

And some of the adults...my Dad had to show them how it was done. They loved it.

Opening presents...I loved this picture because it caught Lila looking on. I have many memories and have seen many pictures of me looking on at events on this very lawn. Love it.

Blowing out 4 candles! We are thankful we got to celebrate with Thane! Our sweet nephew Levi also turned 4 the same week of June. Looking forward to seeing him soon! They are both growing up way too fast.

The next morning, Nate & I were riding on the golf cart. I put this collage on Instagram and captioned it "Wide Open Spaces." I love living in the city, it's where I'm supposed to be right now, but I'll always be a country girl at heart.

First Swim Meet

The first swim meet of the summer was a success! Lila was equal parts nervous and excited. I thought she looked so cute in her suit and cap! 

Nate was not as excited as I was that it was the first swim meet of the summer. But he was mainly mad that I made him stand in the sun to take this picture. Have I mentioned he is super sensitive to the heat??? Lord, have mercy.

Both of the kids did so well. Only one of them let me take their picture. Lila won 3 out of 4 races and Nate won all 4 of his. To say we were proud of their accomplishments was an understatement.

Lila's little buddies. A & T make going to swim team extra fun!

We take our friend C to swim team every morning. Here are the 3 Amigos...

Swim team has been our saving grace this summer. It has given us a purpose in the mornings and anchored our days when they were hard to anchor. We will miss it!

Weekend with the Pooleys

Settling in to our new house has proven to be a time sink, but we are getting there! It feels a little more like we aren't living in someone else's house every day. 

The weekend after we moved in, the Pooleys came for a visit! We were so excited to see them and welcome them to our new home. After hanging out on Friday evening, we decided to go to the City Museum on Saturday morning. It turned out to be super fun! I had not been in years and the kids all had a wonderful time. 

There were so many things to swing on and climb on.

This rope swing was Lila's very favorite activity.

All of the kids ran up and down these ramps over and over again. They were both a little sore on Sunday!

Honestly. Where did those babies go???? Seems like yesterday they were both born in Nashville.

Shame on me for not getting a picture, but there is a Ferris Wheel on the roof of the museum. Lila and Scott were the only ones to ride it, being the daredevils they are...I was very proud of her!

The ball pit was one of our last stops. It would give me claustrophobia but the kids enjoyed it.

On Sunday, we headed to the baseball game! Nate's body language is telling you how hot it was on that day. It was HOT hot.

But it was Father's Day, so we persevered. The two Dads.

The Cardinals did not win, even though we suffered through 9 innings of straight up heat wave. But fun was had, especially in going to get over 100 cups of ice before the game was over.

We were so thankful the Pooleys came to visit us! It had been a physically and emotionally exhausting week in house activities and we were so glad to get to relax with our dearest friends at the end of it. Even if we were all a little off our rockers:) They loved on us anyway. A for sure sign of a wonderful friendship!