First Day of School

Here we go again! Let the learning continue… (not that it ever stops around here. Ha.)

Tellus Science Museum

The kids and I finally got the chance to use our Tellus membership again. Favorite exhibits: pendulum, rocks and minerals, and a solar house, plus (not pictured) model trains and a planetarium.

Hair Salon

Now accepting appointments.

Camp Westminster

Another great summer at Camp Westminster!

Meg and Nella with a friend.

 

Luke and Caleb: first timers at last.

 

Kate, Ilsa, and Sarah ready for a fun week.

 

Nate with good buddies Ben, Perry, Ian, John and Micah.

Rock Ranch

We spent a beautiful day at Rock Ranch, a 1500-acre cattle ranch owned by the Chick-fil-A family. For a small entry fee you can enjoy the pastoral grounds and many fun, simple outdoor activities: giant slide, bounce pillow, paddle boats, train, go carts, petting zoo, and more. We also visited their farm stand for fresh strawberry ice cream and brought home some delicious steaks. A good time was had by all. (Except Meg who was having a good time at Pappy & Memas that week.)

Grampy, Grammy, and Grampy Dear come for 4th of July

We were so glad to welcome Grampy Dear (Erik’s grandfather) for a visit over 4th of July weekend. Grammy and Grampy also came so that we could all attend a family wedding in Chattanooga. Here’s some of the fun we had in Atlanta.

Showing Grampy Dear our church home of 16 years, where Erik is now on staff

 

Lots of games with Caleb
(Eek, not sure what’s going on here, but our walls are not that color!) 

 

Botanical Garden

 

Fourth of July Parade (Erik skipped the parade to run the Peachtree.)

 

Hooray, I finally remembered to take a picture of grandparents and grandkids!

 

History lesson: Grampy Dear shares some of his WWII experiences

 

Cookout

 

Fireworks

 

And Erik’s dad and grandfather got to participate in the engine project: installation.

 

Erik’s cousin got married on the overlook at Covenant. It was lovely and I enjoyed showing the kids my alma mater.

Alabama Field Trips

In June, the kids and I took a quick weekend jaunt to Birmingham.

First up: a tour of the Golden Flake potato chip factory. It was very interesting to see the assembly line, and we had no problem gobbling up several bags of dill pickle chips!

 

Overnight stay and some tandem bike rides with Pappy and Mema. Then off to Tuscumbia…

 

…via Cullman, and a visit with the Siegenthaler cousins. Oops, forgot to take their picture, but did photograph some of their cute new kittens. “Can’t we take one with us???”

 

Another hour on the road, then a little picnic supper on the lawn outside Ivy Green, home of Helen Keller.

 

And finally, the outdoor drama “The Miracle Worker,” reenacting the amazing story of Annie Sullivan and her work with Helen. In the snapshot below, you can see the actual pump where the famed “w-a-t-e-r” hand-spelling episode occurred.

A fun getaway—and it counted as a school day, too!

Family Supper at Mary Mac’s

Thanks to Lynn Sanchelli’s invitation to attend the International Christian Retail Show with her artwork, we had another fun visit with the Prices this summer: lots of Phase 10, an afternoon at the Atlanta History Center, scenic driving tour of the city, and dinner with “local flavor.”

Little Tea Party

You’re invited…if you’re less than 3 inches tall.

Early Summer Fun

You get a lot of bang for your buck with one bag of water balloons.

 

King Snake?

This guy slithered up along the front walk just as our friends were arriving for dinner. We haven’t seen many snakes around here since we first moved in. We I killed three in the first several months. None was very big. I bludgeoned one to death with my weed bucket (the only implement at hand). I trapped one on the deck by stepping on it (I had on shoes) while one of the kids ran in for a pair of scissors. (I’ll leave the rest to your imagination, but will just mention it was a very tiny snake trying to slither back down between the planks. I assumed it was heading home to its much larger mother and many siblings, and I wanted to send them a message.) I don’t remember how I finished off the third one, but maybe that’s just as well. Supposedly, this species eats other snakes, so that’s a step in the right direction. The boys had hours of fun monitoring that hole and hypothesizing what small rodents might slip into it only to meet their doom.

And, Here’s George

Kate’s first pet.

He is a cute little guy.

Kate Turns Eight!

Good Morning precious Kate!

 

Gerbil supplies…(Gerbil to be picked out later.)

 

Getting ready for an Art Party:

 

Friends. (I guess Ilsa thought this was the funny face picture.)

 

Let the creativity begin.

 

Kate singing to herself.

 

The girls made their own favors. Clever, huh?

 

Family supper at Mary Macs’ downtown.

Birthday blessings, Kate. You are a joy!