MARTY, ALLISON & ZACHARY

Extreme Makeover - Bedroom Edition

2010-08-19T21:43:00.003-04:00

Marty and I have been saving for nearly three years to have a decorator help us with designing our master bedroom. This room has turned into the armpit of the house. The bedskirt was even torn for goodness sakes. We hated everything about out bedroom except for the pieces of cherry furniture. Everything else was in desperate need of a makeover. FINALLY, we had saved up enough money and asked a friend up the street to help us with the makeover.

All we can say is, "Wow." We love our bedroom. Our requirements included: we wanted a room that was peaceful, not too stuffy and somewhere we wanted to retreat to in the cold winter months when the den was too chilly. Beyond that, we allowed her to take full rein. Here's the final product:

Scenic City Half Marathon

2010-08-19T21:24:00.003-04:00

In February, I took it upon myself to attempt a second half marathon. I met the coolest friend, Rachel, from Bristol. We ran over 11 of the 13 miles together. I am not sure if I would have had near as much fun had I been alone for the entire 13 miles. Chattanooga hosted the race. The city is beautiful - especially on foot. We even ran across two pedestrian bridges near the end of the race. Besides being FREEZING cold, this was a very fun race. This now counts as state #3 on my bucket list of running a race in all 50 states. I've got a long way to go!

Uncle Russell

2010-03-18T18:56:00.002-04:00

The oldest of my two younger brothers graduated from college this past December. For several years, he has worked for the Geek Squad at Best Buy. He was SO looking forward to getting a "real" job once he graduated college. Well, he found one. In Madison, Wisconsin. And, of all times to move, he picks mid-February. Not exactly the warmest time of the year. The day before he left, we got most of the siblings together for lunch and a few pictures. Pictured are: Ellie, Bobby (Grandma), Jackie, Allison, Zachary and Russell.

Russell's been gone for about a month. We miss him terribly, but are very excited about the opportunity he's seized with this job. Hopefully, in a few years, he'll be back in the South.

Ringling Brothers

2010-03-18T12:17:00.005-04:00

The morning after our snow adventures, we went to the circus. This was part of Zachary's Christmas presents. He was able to take any friend he wanted with him. Again, he picked McKinney. We arrived in time to go on the floor before the show began. The boys got to see lots of animals up close and also got to interact with some of the clowns and other performers.

Watching the elephant paint the picture held their interest the longest. I don't think either boy blinked the entire time. What great memories I have from my childhood going to the circus with my family every year. It is very special that we are able to make these memories with Zachary as well. I'm sure he'll remember this day for a long time.

Snow!!

2010-03-18T11:56:00.003-04:00

We had our second big snow of the year the night before we went to the circus. McKinney spent the night with us since he was going to the circus with Zachary. The spend the night party began with about 4 inches of snow on the ground. The boys were drawn to the snow like magnets. They made snow angels, ate the snow and rode the sled down the side yard. Also, in an unusual display of seasonal fun, I went outside and played as well. Usually, I hide from anything having to do with the cold, so this was quite the unusual event at our household.

Here are Zachary and McKinney eating their snow.

Taking turns on the sled.

Sharing the sled. The fun was quickly wearing off for McKinney, but I think Zachary would have stayed out there all evening.

One last push down the hill before heading indoors.

Pookie even took part in the festivities. She took the longest to thaw out. Snow sticks to her like glue, so we got to snuggle together by the fire for a bit when we went back inside.

Happy Birthday Marty

2010-03-18T11:37:00.003-04:00

For Marty's birthday in February, we went to Provino's for our traditional birthday dinner. This year, it included Zachary. Usually, just Marty and I go out, but this year, Z wanted to join us. He ate McDonalds and about a dozen Provino's rolls. Guess you can't eat any better than that at 6 years old.
While waiting for Marty to get home from work, Zachary decided to decorate the house in balloons. We stopped at 10 because I was out of breath, but the decorating was left up to him. I am sure the neighbors were thinking we just had added a boy and a girl to our family by the looks of the front door, but we quickly moved them inside when Marty got home.

Again, not breaking tradition, Marty got a Cookie Company cake for his birthday. He could eat one of those every month and not feel guilty at all.

Stuck!

2010-03-18T11:21:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, Zachary decided to get stuck in his toybox. I found him like this and the scene was too funny to not get pictures...

Chattanooga

2010-02-12T22:23:00.004-05:00

For Christmas, Zachary was given a gift of two days in Chattanooga and he could bring any friend he wanted with him. He chose McKinney. We went during the week after Christmas. The boys had a blast.

We spend day 1 visiting the Tennessee Aquarium. The boys enjoyed every second of the Aquarium.

They loved running around on the grounds outside the building.

They loved pretending they were being attacked by sharks.

They LOVED petting the Sting Rays - even though McKinney's face doesn't look that way in this picture.

And most of all, they enjoyed every new fish that they discovered. We didn't go more than a minute or two without hearing "Hey! Look at this one!" coming out of one of their mouths. They found themselves racing to be the first to see the next beautiful creature.

On day 2, we went to the Creative Discovery Museum in downtown Chattanooga. This was the ultimate indoor playground. 100% interactive yet educational at the same time. Surprisingly, the boys took about 5 minutes to enjoy a few books in a quiet spot they found. It didn't last long, though.

They quickly discovered that they could move the sand around just right and suddenly they are archaeologists discovering dinosaur bones. As quickly as they became archaeologists, they just as quickly became monkees. They spend nearly an hour playing in the huge indoor playground. There were three levels and it was very easy to lose them if you didn't pay attention. For a while, we had to separate and plant ourselves at the two doors of the room so the boys couldn't escape to another part of the building without us knowing.Once the playground grew boring, they moved into the musical wing of the building. Xylophones, kettle drums, and whatever this is in the picture never knew what was coming. They couldn't make the noises fast enough.In the end, we spent almost 5 hours in the Children's Museum. They may have enjoyed that more than the Aquarium.

What an amazing trip that neither boy will forget for a long time. Marty and I were thrilled that we were gone for 36 hours and Zachary and McKinney didn't fight once. We all had a great time and are very thankful for the opportunity to take quick trips like this as a family several times a year.

Christmas with Granny, Papa and the Crazy Cousins

2010-01-08T09:45:00.004-05:00

When we get together with Marty's family, it is always a fun and chaotic event. This year, we did gifts the day after Christmas with his family. The kids were all very excited. It was as if it was Christmas morning all over again. We don't have pictures of everyone, but these pictures should be able to give you a little glimpse at the fun evening we had together.

Christmas with Grandpa

2010-01-01T18:15:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Zachary hanging with Aunt Jackie waiting for his turn to play the Wii.

Aunt April, Mimi, Uncle Casey, Uncle Dalton, Caleb, Zachary and Savannah. Almost the whole gang. Still playing the Wii.

Uncle Dalton found some tough competition in the 5 and 6 year olds. Notice the hickey he got for his Christmas present.

The newness of the Wii hasn't worn off yet. Zachary and Savannah played until after midnight. If only their energy could be bottled up. We could power an entire town. We had a great Christmas visiting with this side of the family. Amazing that Christmas was at Grandpa's house, but we have no pictures of Grandpa hanging with the family. We'll try harder to include everyone next time.

Christmas Brunch

2010-01-01T16:07:00.002-05:00

Christmas morning, we had about 17 people over to the house for our annual Christmas Brunch. It is sort of a hodge podge of folks, a little family and a little friends, but everyone is welcome and everyone has a great time. The only rule is "No Gifts." We started that rule the first year so there would be no competition of gifts among the grandparents. All of the gifts are opened on a separate occasion. We had lots of delicious foods on the menu this year that included: monkey bread, homemade biscuits, breakfast casserole, homemade grape jelly, sausage balls, a fruit platter, an edible arrangement, grits, hashbrowns, several coffee assortments, pumpkin bread, banana bread, chocolate chip muffins, strawberry muffins and I'm sure I'm missing something else. It was wonderfully delicious. Everyone arrived around 10:00 and the last person left a little after 3:00.

Christmas Morning

2010-01-01T15:45:00.002-05:00

For months, Zachary has been asking for a Nintendo DS. For months, we've told him, "no." For months, we've been the meanest parents on the planet. Little did Zachary know that for Christmas he would be getting a Wii. He was so excited. These pictures don't even begin to describe the sheer joy he felt on Christmas morning when he opened this box. For a week now, all he has done is play all of his different games. We decided that we'd let him play as much as he wants over his break from school and limits would come into play when school started back.

The day after Christmas, Zachary woke up in tears. He was so mad that he hurt his arm at Grandpa's house on Christmas night. Finally, we had to tell him that his muscles were sore from playing the Wii all day. Then, suddenly, the muscles didn't hurt anymore. He said if he kept playing that he wouldn't hurt anymore. Guess he was right. He hasn't complained since. Maybe he knows better. Wonder where he gets his bullheadedness from???

Pink Pig

2010-01-01T15:17:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, we participated in the Elkins/Staples family tradition of going to ride the Pink Pig. This is our 4th (I think) year of taking the kids to Lenox Mall to ride this Atlanta tradition. The ride is a little cheesy and you can visit last year's blog post to get all of the details, but the kids look forward to this evening every Christmas. Andrew, Morgan and Zachary love that they are now big enough to ride the ride without sharing a seat with their parents.

After the ride, we always head over to The Varisty for a delicious dinner of hotdogs, burgers, onion rings and fries - or as Morgan calls them, fry-fries. It never ceases to amaze us how much food those kids can consume when we go there to eat. I fear when they are teenagers.

Tooth Fairy

2010-01-01T14:36:00.003-05:00

(I'm not too sure how to rotate a picture, so you get to turn your head sideways to read the note the Tooth Fairy left a few weeks ago.)

On December 6, Zachary finally lost his first tooth. He's been eagerly waiting for months to lose this first tooth. Too bad it took wrestling with Daddy for the tooth to finally come out. They were playing with a punching bag over at Grandma's house when Zachary got a little too close when it was Daddy's turn to punch the bag. The bag bounced off his face and the tooth was the casualty.

He was very excited to see what the Tooth Fairy would leave. She left him $3.00 which he promptly went to Target to spend. The excitement in our little boy's eyes spending his money was hopefully enough for him to keep wiggling the three other loose teeth that remain. Dr. Kwon will be very proud when we go for our next visit.

Kindergarten Choir Performance

2009-11-25T12:06:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, Zachary had his Christmas Children's Choir performance. This huge group on stage is only the Kindergarten Choir. I know of churches that are smaller than this! They have been working hard all fall on their songs and it really showed in their performances.

One of the songs they sang was about the Fruits of the Spirit. (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control) It was very appropriate that Zachary was the Fruit of Gentleness. He has such a gentle heart!

The children also sang a tearjerker song just for the parents. It was called, "You Knit Me in my Mother's Womb." They showed a slideshow on the screens of each child's baby picture as the children sang. I hardly remember this little baby. It seems like so long ago. Long gone are the days of jet black hair and olive skin. Now, we have a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed, fair skinned boy. I still wouldn't trade him for anything!

Wheeling, West Virginia

2009-11-25T11:39:00.005-05:00

For the last 8 or 9 years, I has been quite the Collin Raye fan. Every time he comes to Atlanta, I have found a way to see him in concert. Fan club? yep! Own all his cds? yep! Tshirts? yep! I even went so far as to name my son after him! Zachary Collin Elkins. Total groupie.

It has been about 4 years since I've had the chance to see him in concert. Mainly because he isn't traveling as much and doesn't come to the southeast all that much either. So, I searched for a concert venue that worked for our schedule and found a way to make a road trip out of it. The problem is that we are perhaps the busiest family I know. It is hard to find a free weekend when you have family, baseball, and football to work around. Lucky for me, I found a concert in Wheeling, WV on a weekend that we had absolutely nothing planned. Perfect road trip!

I drove 22 hours out of our 38 hour trip and put over 1350 miles on the car. It was so worth it. We got to sit second row, center. Awesome!

Zooma!

2009-11-25T11:25:00.004-05:00

About 4 months ago, Allison and a few of her friends decided it would be fun to run a half marathon on November 8. It was a lot of hard work to train for, but totally worth it. All 5 of us had a great time and we are currently trying to make plans for a road trip for the next one!

From left to right: Kelly Strunk, Angela Lawson, Jennie Persinger, Kim Cox and Allison. We are all stills smiles - you can tell it was before the race! Little did we know what we had to look forward to.Our dear friend Robin joined our husbands to be part of our cheerleader squad for the morning. Here we are in a pre-race prayer. This is about the 4 mile point. Coming down the hill to the finish line. The back of the shirt reads: "Dear God, please let there be someone behind me to read this."

Luckily, there were a few folks back there. The shirt was quite the conversation piece throughout the morning.

Halloween Weekend

2009-11-25T11:02:00.004-05:00

We are way behind on the blog posts, so here goes a quick marathon of the last month or so...
For Halloween, Zachary chose to be Spider Man. He was so excited about his costume that he still wears it around the house six weeks later. Here are a few pictures of him playing in the living room with Pookie.During the 5 minute photo shoot in the living room, I only got webbed once. Miracle, huh?

Over the Halloween weekend, Zachary got to spend the weekend with his Grandma and go to the Fall Festival at church to get lots of good candy. While he was with his Grandma, Marty and Allison went to Nashville for the weekend to see the GT/Vanderbilt game. Here are a few highlights of the touristy things we also did over the weekend:
Touring the Jack Daniels plant was a little out of the way, but a very interesting tour. That took about two hours. Well worth it!

We had to get a picture of the stadium. Amazing that the stadium is situated right in the middle of town and traffice getting out of the game was easier than leaving the mall on a Saturday afternoon.

The Ryman Auditorium. A beautiful building in the middle of historic Nashville.

This is the inside of the Opryland Hotel. We wandered through the gardens of the hotel for a few hours. Got lots of gardening ideas. Unfortunately, we are not full time gardeners, so they will probably remain ideas.

The Parthenon is almost across the street from the football stadium. This is a replica of the real Parthenon and is a big tourist attraction in town. Not really worth the price of admission, but we can now say we've been there and done that.

Just Another Day at the Rock Quarry

2009-10-10T21:32:00.003-04:00

LaFarge Rock Quarry had an open house this afternoon and we were able to carve out a little time to stop in. They had tours of the quarry and the kids could climb up onto and inside some of the huge tractors and excavators they use daily. Some of the tires on the tractors were almost 7 feet in diameter. They were HUGE!These tanks fill up a dump truck with 10 tons of gravel in less than 10 seconds.

Some of the conveyors the rock travels along as it gets crushed into smaller and smaller pieces.

This is the hole where the rock is retrieved. The pond was probably 500 or so feet below where we were standing. We were standing on the lookout deck when we took this picture. During the week, you can stop by the deck and watch the quarry in action with the tractors and dump trucks traveling up and down the roads with loads of rock. They look so tiny when they are at the bottom of the hole. They make Zachary's matchbox cars look small. Then when you see them up close like we did today, it puts the enormity of the hole into perspective.

It's Baseball Time! Go Red Sox!

2009-10-05T22:35:00.003-04:00

This is Zachary's 5th season playing t-ball. He is now one of the oldest kids on the team, so he thinks he is big man. Here is a few pictures from tonight's game.Zachary is playing second base this season.He hit a triple in tonight's game. The team lost the game, but they are currently 3-1 on the season. We are very proud of these boys.

Saturday (Part 3)

2009-10-05T22:16:00.002-04:00

Last, but certainly not least, we made a stop at Bert's Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville. This is the 5th or 6th time we've gone to this farm over the years. Our family loves making this trek and the fall colors are absolutely beautiful.

The day did not end there. When we left Bert's, we headed to Oakwood to Smokehouse BBQ for a delicious pork plate dinner. What a long and exhausing day. We wouldn't have had it any other way. We spent nearly 13 hours playing together on Saturday before we collapsed on the couch at bedtime. Such fun!

Saturday (Part 2)

2009-10-05T21:29:00.004-04:00

After the race Saturday morning, we went to visit with Allison's sister, Liz, and take advantage of her shower to clean up before the rest of our day's adventures began. Here is the one picture of Allison and Liz we were able to get before we headed out the door.

From there, we headed up to the North Georgia Mountains and had a picnic lunch at Amicalola Falls State Park. After lunch, we began our hike. Zachary led the entire hike. It was a beautiful day. You couldn't have asked for better weather. Here's a few pics of our climb.It's nice to see the falls pouring this much water. Last time we make this climb, the falls weren't near as impressive.
The view from the top.Zachary was still going strong after our climb. We climbed the trail plus 600 steps to reach the top of the falls and back down. When we got to the end, Zachary was more than ready for our next stop, Burt's Pumpkin Farm.

Dinosaurs

2009-10-05T16:44:00.003-04:00

This post is slightly out of order, but wanted to post a few pics of the trip Zachary took with Allison's Mom to go see Dinosaurs at the Gwinnett Arena a week or so ago. They had a great time and Zachary has talked about it over and over since their evening together. All of these dinosaurs are being driven or walked by someone inside them and are being controlled by remote control within as well. The T-Rex is over 50 feet long! The pictures don't even begin to do it justice, however, Zachary highly recommends you make every attempt to see this show next time it comes to town.

Ted's Montana Grill Bison Stampede 5k

2009-10-05T16:21:00.003-04:00

We had a very busy day this past Saturday. The day began with Marty and Allison heading to Atlanta to run a 5k. The course ran from near the Georgia Dome and Olympic Park through some shady streets of Atlanta and through Georgia State University's campus before heading back to the start/finish line. It was tough. When we arrived at the registration tables to get our race numbers, the volunteers handed each of us a hat to wear during the race. We managed to get one for Zachary as well.

Too funny! We look just like bison, don't we?

The race atmosphere was tons of fun with almost 1,000 folks wearing their bison hats. I'm sure we got lots of strange looks as we ran through downtown.

Afterwards, we scored an excellent loot bag with lots of goodies. Here's a picture of all the freebies we snagged.

The bags included race shirts, bison caps, a cd, lara bars, straws, $10 gift certs to Ted's, about 8 aluminum bottles of Sprite, lots of water/Powerade, fruit, an extra tshirt, an extra cap and we also got to eat some Key Lime Pie and had a few Ted's bison sliders to complete the morning. Chuck Strunk would be so jealous!

Free Chikin!

2009-09-07T22:16:00.003-04:00

Chick-Fil-A is by far our family's favorite fast food restaurant. We could probably eat there every day and not get tired of their food. Today, we managed to head to two locations and have free lunch and free dinner if we wore our favorite team's logo.

First stop, Flowery Branch Chick-Fil-A. Marty and Zachary wore their Georgia Tech shirts and Allison wore a University of Georgia shirt. For dinner, Allison had a wardrobe change and wore a Georgia Tech shirt. Zachary was ready to be quite the comedian.

Labor Day Pool Party

2009-09-07T21:48:00.004-04:00

Sunday afternoon, we went over to the Croziers' house along with the Persingers and Segraves. The kids, there were 8 total, played for several hours in the pool before we retired into the house for the evening. Here's a few pictures of the kids in the pool.McKinney, Zachary and Rebekah playing in the hot tub. McKinney and Zachary were scuba diving superheroes for much of their pool time.Zachary boldly goes into the deep part of the pool. We would have never seen this last summer.Valerie and Lauren in the foreground listen to Rebekah along with Zachary and McKinney.Rebekah showing off her paddling skills.Andrea was not afraid at all. We had to chase her down to make sure she had on her floatie.Even Otto the Wonder Dog got in on the action. He swam for much of the afternoon as well. Rumor is that his parents were able to get some good pictures as well. We may have to check their blog later this week for some additional pics.

Zachary's Birthday Party

2009-08-29T20:35:00.006-04:00

We have been so busy lately that we have not had time to blog Zachary's party from a few weeks ago. So, as promised, here's the highlights. Sorry, no slide show. You can just scroll through the pictures.

Zachary's party was held at a Gwinnett Braves game. Before the game, we had cake and ice cream in the parking lot and let the kids run around tearing up all of the pinestraw and landscaping for a while. Just before we got fussed at by park employees for playing in the landscaping, we ventured over to the game. Everyone had a ball (pun intended)!

As you'll see further down in the pictures, the green icing wasn't the best idea. Zachary, two of his cousins, Tristen and Camryn, along with his buddy Bryson are in this picture - and Mommy of course.McKinney, Bryson, Tristen, Zachary, Camryn and Andrew. The only time they were all still at the same time the entire evening.

Mark and Andrew enjoying their cupcakes.

Rebekah spent the evening reading two books. She was a little bummed that she didn't have any girl friends there to play with, but she still said that Zachary always has the "coolest parties."Morgan love her cupcake the most!Zachary's face had these green spots for two or three days after the party. That was some kind of food coloring!

Robbie, Marty and Mark visiting before the crowds arrived.Granny (Marty's Mom), Grandma (Allison's Mom) and Heather tailgating.

This is the middle of the mass chaos that was present time. Zachary loved all of his gifts. Especially the Star Wars and Transformers items.

This is the most precious picture ever of Eli Bear.

Grandpa (Allison's Dad) and Caleb spending some time together.

As we walked into the game, the stadium was giving out free phone books. Not exactly sure how it happened, but our group ended up with 3 or 4 of them. About the third inning or so, Zachary and Eli were spotted scanning the yellow pages. They checked out the phone books for the longest time before they realized that anyone had seen them. It was too funny!

Andrew, Zachary and Alyssa enjoying the game. Alyssa is the only one looking at the field, though.

We had a great time at the ballgame. Zachary has taken such an interest in baseball this last year that having a baseball party was really a "no brainer." He loved having all of his friends and family in one place. Every one of the kids left the ballgame all sugared up, but every one of them slept really good when they got home as well. What a fun night!

Happy Birthday Z-Man!

2009-08-15T23:38:00.003-04:00

This week, Zachary turned 6 years old! He has been counting down for months to his sixth birthday. These pictures are a few we took while he was opening his gifts from Mommy and Daddy. Our next post will show his birthday party with friends. The excitement on his face is classic. By far, the favorite gift we gave him was his scooter. He has been driving us crazy wanting to go outside and ride. Today, he was finally able to go outside for about two hours. He probably would have stayed for two more hours if we had let him.

First Day of Kindergarten

2009-08-07T22:02:00.003-04:00

Today was a BIG day at our house. Zachary began Kindergarten. He woke up extra early this morning so he wouldn't be late. These pictures are from before we left the house. His hair was still wet from his shower because he couldn't wait to get out the door! It was dry by the time he got to school.

Zachary and I made a deal last night that if I walked him into school, I got to take the camera and take a couple of quick pictures in his classroom. This shot was taken during the half of a second he stood still for me. I did not get the picture of him rolling his eyes right after the picture was taken. haha
Next thing I knew, he was sitting in his chair ready to start his day. He had long forgotten about me. His teacher just laughed. She was amazed at how quickly I got out of the classroom. I think I was the first mom back into the parking lot headed back to my car. Zachary and I were both very ready for him to start school.
The best part of the day, according to Zachary, was the bus ride home. He was so concerned about all the homework he'd be having but said as long as he got to ride the bus, the homework wouldn't be so bad. We just laughed at his reasoning. I guess at 5 years old, the bus can be a pretty cool thing. Plus, I don't think he realizes just how little homework he'll have this year.

Wow! What a big boy. We are so proud of you and were thrilled to hear how much fun you had on your first day of school. We hope every day is this much fun.

Picture Time at the Beach

2009-07-27T22:42:00.004-04:00

On our way home from dinner tonight we stopped in at the lighthouse in Ponce Inlet to take a few family pictures. Zachary was in a silly mood and kept begging us to take his picture. Here's a few pictures from our evening.

Way Cool Afternoon

2009-07-21T22:17:00.003-04:00

What is the coolest thing in the world for a five year old? Of course, playing trucks and cars. It is even more cool when they come to life. Today, Zachary's best bud, Crappy, took him to visit with one of her friends that works at an Atlanta Fire Station.

He got the royal treatment. He got the full tour of the fire station and then got to explore the inside and outside of the truck. This was one of the really long trucks that also has a driver in the rear. Zachary got to climb inside the truck and talk to one of the firemen in the front of the truck through the headphones. It was SO exciting. After the tour, they got out the hoses and played. Zachary even got to spray the hose. What an awesome way to spend an afternoon. We got to hear all about it from the time he got home at 4:00 until he went to bed tonight.

Locks of Love

2009-06-27T23:05:00.005-04:00

Today was the day Allison has been eagerly waiting for over the last few months. This morning, she donated 10" of hair to Locks of Love. This is a non-profit group that makes wigs for children with illnesses resulting in hair loss. Her mother took several pictures of the process.Who would've thought this much hair to come off one person???

What do you think?

Vacation Bible School

2009-06-27T22:40:00.003-04:00

This past week, Zachary went to Vacation Bible School at Marty's parents' church. He had a great time. Marty's brother's 4 kids also were able to come this year as well, so the Elkins family was well represented this year. Here's a few pictures of their performances and the cookout afterwards:

This picture shows the boys (Zachary is in the pink and white stripes, Camryn is in the navy shirt and Tristen is right beside Zachary hidden behind the director's head.) The boys were all in the same class this year. It was difficult to get a good picture of any of the kids from this angle.

Heather and Alyssa are on the front row on either side of the director's head. They were in the older grammar school group.

After the service, the cookout commenced in the church's backyard. There was a moonwalk and a hay ride for the kids as well. We had a difficult time getting Zachary out of the moonwalk.

Pigeon Forge Weekend

2009-06-18T16:20:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, we went with Marty's parents up to Pigeon Forge for a short getaway. We had a really nice time. Here's a few pictures from our trip.

Zachary spent much of Saturday making goofy faces for the camera. This one was right after lunch at the Mill House Restaurant.

Marty snuck in this pictures of his parents, Zachary and I down under the bridge at the Mill House. Marty's dad was teaching Zachary how to skip rocks. Zachary was more interested in filling the creek back up with all of the rocks on dry land.

Zachary and Marty got in the pool for a bit on Saturday evening. They spent most of the time wrestling in the water, but Zachary did work up the nerve to try out the waterslide. He only rode it once. He said it was too fast for him. Maybe by the end of summer his swimming skills will be strong enough that he'll be willing to give a slide another chance.

For Zachary, the highlight of the trip was going for his first go cart ride. That boy spent the entire ride grinning from ear to ear. The cart was a two seater with a fake steering wheel in the kid's seat, so he thought he was steering the entire time. I had just as much fun watching them ride as I think they had actually riding. Go carts are for sure going to happen again when we go to the beach in July. Lastly, this was just a nice picture that Marty took of Zachary. He is such a sweet kid and is so much fun.

We had a blast together this weekend. We need to plan more weekend getaways where we can just focus on being family and making memories.

Hawaii (Day 9 & 10)

2009-05-26T18:38:00.004-04:00

Day 9 was spent heading back to Honolulu. We left the ship at 9:45 that morning and had the pleasure of hanging out at the airport until our 3:30 flight. Then we had our 9 1/2 hour flight back home. We landed in Atlanta at 5:35 Sunday morning (day 10). Whew. What an exhausting trip. This was a sightseeing trip, not a lazy vacation by any means. We had the honor of seeing some sights that we will probably never see again. We'll leave you with some pictures of our ship and of our plane. Both were impressive.

Hawaii (Day 7 & 8)

2009-05-26T18:15:00.004-04:00

Day 7 and 8 were spent in Kauai. We spent much of day 7 visiting Waimea Canyon. This was another scenic drive. The colors of the rock and landscape were amazing. The views from the canyon:

We also went to a landmark called "Spouting Horn". This was a beach area that had some lava rock along the shoreline. There was a hole in the rocks, so when waves would roll in, the water was forced up the hole and it looked like a small geiser. It would blow up 20-30 feet and make a whale sound.

Kilauea Lighthouse was another stop on our journey. This lighthouse is no longer being used, but was still a beautiful landmark.

Hawaii (Day 6)

2009-05-26T17:59:00.004-04:00

Day six was spent in the town of Kona. This is a very agricultural area. We went to visit a coffee plantation and learned all about how coffee is grown and harvested. Here's a few pics from our tour.

After the coffee tour, the rest of our day was spent relaxing at the beach (Hapuna Beach Park) - the only time we stepped foot on beach the entire week. This beach was at a resort area, so there was white fluffy sand. If you see any white sand in Hawaii, it is pumped in. The typical sand is dark and textured like coarse sea salt. Check out the farmers tan on Marty!

Hawaii (Day 5)

2009-05-26T17:21:00.005-04:00

Day 5 was spent in Hilo. We spent the day visiting Volcano National Park. This place was incredible. Never in our lives would we ever guess that we would get to see a live volcano. Much of the park was closed because the volcanic gasses were at higher than safe levels. These are some pics from the top of the volcano:

We were able to go to the bottom of the volcano, where the lava runs into the ocean. We were able to get about 2 miles from the lava, but were able to get some neat pictures of the lava field at the ocean.
This was a 200-250 foot drop straight drop down to the ocean. No handrails. The view was breathtaking.
That evening, after dark, the ship took us by the lava flow to get a better view. It was really amazing seeing the red glow across the ocean. This picture is exactly what we saw. The pictures aren't blurry. It was the glow of the red lava reflecting up through the steam the heat was creating when it hit water. Wow.

But, before we got back on the boat, we found a neat little street that was right on the water. This street was about 1/2 mile long and was line on both sides with Banyon trees. These trees are way cool. Every tree on this street was planted by someone famous. These three were planted by Amelia Earhart, Franklin Roosevelt and Babe Ruth.

Hawaii (Day 3 & 4)

2009-05-26T16:26:00.005-04:00

Our first stop on our cruise was to Maui. We spent two days there. The first day, we spent the entire day driving along the coast on the famous road to Hana. This road has over 600 turns and over 25 one lane bridges. The road is only about 30 miles long, so you can imagine that it would make you very carsick if you drove too fast. We made the round trip drive in about 8 hours. We made lots of stops along the way to admire the incredible scenery. These pictures do not even begin to do it justice. These are a few pics along the drive:

(Don't these cows have it made?)

The next day, we drove up the coast to the nort end of the island. We had to check out the Hard Rock Cafe. Again, no surfing. We did find some people doing some snorkeling in a beautiful cove. Turns out that cove (Kapalua Beach) is the #1 beach in America. This beach lives up to it's reputation. It was beautiful there. We were probably 150 feet above these people in the water. This coral was beautiful. We didn't get a picture of the beach for some reason.
We also went to visit the Iao Needle. Legend states that some Hawaiian gods lived on top of this point and people would come here to worship their gods. This place was very interesting. The drive in and the drive out of the park were dry as can be. While we were there it rained the entire time. This jungle area gets over 400" of rain per year. The plants were beautiful.

We ended our day visiting Haleakala National Park. This place was incredible. We drove to an elevation of 10,023 feet above sea level. We drove through the clouds and came out above them. After seeing the jungle if the Iao Needle, we were suddenly in desolation. At that altitude, nothing could grow. It was 30 degrees cooler than at sea level. In the valley of these mountains, there were 6 small volcanoes we looked out across.

Click on the pictures. The small images don't even begin to serve it justice.

Hawaii

2009-05-26T15:36:00.005-04:00

This year is our 10th anniversary, so we decided to celebrate by traveling halfway around the world for a whirlwind tour of Hawaii. We took a 7 day cruise island hopping around the major hotspots of one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

We flew into Honolulu on Friday, May 8. We had Friday afternoon and most of the day Saturday to explore Oahu. Here's a couple pics of Honolulu.

This is a view of the residential area of Honolulu.

ProBowl Stadium.
The view from our hotel room of Diamond Head Crater.

Saturday morning, we began the day running a 5k at an area park. The race was advertised as a Banana Chase, so we weren't quite sure what to expect. What a hoot to find that we were actually chasing Bananas. These two pics were taken after the race:

These are some of the Bananas we chased.The two of us after the race was over.

After going back to the hotel to clean up and check out, we went on a search for North Shore Beach to see some awesome surfing and over to tour the Dole Plantation.

We quickly learned, as you can see in these pictures, that there is no surfing in May. The winter months bring the incredible waves that make the beaches in Hawaii so famous. The summer months bring out the snorkeling. The crystal clear water was beautiful, though.

The Dole Plantation tour was fun. We learned lots about how pineapple is grown and harvested. The pineapple ice cream at the end of the tour was the best part, though.

After touring the plantation, we had to get to the ship. Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit Diamond Head Crater or Pearl Harbour. We simply ran out of time. Our next post will begin our cruise.

More Fun At The Ballpark

2009-04-28T20:06:00.005-04:00

Our life is at it's craziest in the spring and fall of each year. We wouldn't have it any other way. Here are some more pics of our home away from home these days...

Easter Egg Fun

2009-04-28T19:48:00.002-04:00

The weekend before Easter, Zachary went over to his best bud's house to color Easter Eggs. No one was allowed in the room except him and Crappy. They spent an hour or so making sure they had the exact eggs they had envisioned in their minds. The two of them had a blast. Zachary was very disappointed when we had to explain to him that we weren't going to eat the eggs on Easter. Not after they had been out of the fridge for a day or so.

In case you've never heard the story, Crappy gets her name from ol' Zachary himself. When he was much younger and learning to talk, he could never pronounce her name, Cathy. All he could say was "Cappy." Well, several folks with quite the sense of humor took that ball and ran with it. Since then, Crappy was born. The name has stuck. There are folks from Buckhead to West Virginia calling her Crappy all thanks to Zachary. What a hoot!

Over the years the two of them have become inseperable. Tonight, when Zachary got home from school, he didn't run over to give me a big hug and kiss. Instead, he asked if Crappy was coming over for dinner. When I told him not tonight, a tantrum quickly followed. It took me telling him that we could call her later to calm him down. She is a great friend to all three of us. We love ol' Crappy.

**As an aside, Blogspot's editing stuff isn't working - AGAIN. In my preview, there are three distinct paragraphs, not one big blob of writing. Sorry you can't read it more clearly.**

Day at the Park

2009-04-06T21:49:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, we went to Little Mulberry Park for a few hours to play in the sun. Zachary and Marty hit the trails testing Marty's new bike. He scored his bike at a yard sale for $5. A Deal!! Zachary is loving having a bike partner now. He has said that this is his "favorite place on earth." After their bike ride, Zachary settled down for a few pictures with Mom.

NEW CAMERA!!!

2009-04-06T21:32:00.004-04:00

For months, we have been hunting for a new camera. Finally, after lots of price shopping and deal hunting, we found the one we've been waiting for. Here's a few pictures of Zachary trying out the new lenses...

Fun Time

2009-04-06T21:17:00.002-04:00

After all of the rain we've had the last couple weeks, Marty and Zachary went out in the back yard to assess the damages. We are planning on getting some sod this spring in what has turned into a mudhole. While they were out checking out the yard, they also decided to ham it up a little for the camera.

Love Notes

2009-04-06T21:08:00.002-04:00

Two weeks ago, Zachary had his spring choir performance at church. This year's theme was Love Notes. It was all about God's love notes to us and our love notes back to Him. Zachary is learning so much about praising God this year. He even sang some of his favorite songs. He is really easy to find in this picture. He is the blonde with the red shirt and blue jeans. Haha! Actually he is on the middle row below the far right balloons.
We weren't able to get a very good picture. This is the best our camera was able to get.
Maybe next time...

It's That Time Of Year Again...

2009-04-06T20:52:00.002-04:00

Baseball season is in full swing at our house these days. Zachary is on the Boston Red Sox this season. This is his third season with about seven of the same teammates. He has made some really great friendships in these boys. It will be very exciting this fall when they are all in school together. Zachary has managed to hit off the pitch every game so far this season. He has come so far since last season. The rules of baseball are starting to sink in, so he is enjoying this season so much more than the two previous seasons.
Last week, he got the game ball! He hit off the pitch twice during that game and got a double both times. He has slept with the ball every night since. We are looking forward to a great rest of the season!

The ONLY way to enjoy snow!

2009-03-01T17:32:00.003-05:00

The last two are so fuzzy because of the steam coming from the water.

Random Question

2009-02-23T17:16:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, Zachary asks the most random questions in the most random situations. We were riding home from the mall the other day and out of the back seat comes this question: "Mommy, why are frogs the only animals with no tails?"

After about 5 minutes of supressed laughter, I still had no idea how to answer the question. I knew that as tadpoles frogs do have tails, but didn't want to get into a lengthy discussion with a 5 year old on the life cycle of a frog. Since then, I cannot for the life of me come up with a good answer for that question.

If you have a brilliant answer that would make sense to Zachary, please leave it in the comments below. It would be a life saver.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-16T18:00:00.003-05:00

Despite the look of total excitement on his face, Zachary was tickled pink that both of his parents were able to attend his school's Sweetheart Breakfast this year. Unfortunately he didn't want his picture made. As soon as the camera disappeared his smile returned.

This is the best picture we could get from the breakfast. What a hoot!

Run the Reagan

2009-02-15T21:31:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Marty and Allison ran the 5k in the Run the Reagan race. We ran with a great group of friends: Lee & Kim Cox, Holt (almost) & Jennie Persinger and Dawn Jarvis. Looks like we have formed a new running club. All are welcome! We are all looking forward to running many more races together in the future. None of us cared anything about winning, just about having a good time. Thanks guys! See you at the next finish line.

Happy Birthday Marty-Moose

2009-02-10T20:06:00.003-05:00

Marty is 33 today. Happy Birthday. We didn't have 33 candles in the house, but we did make a special trip to the Great American Cookie Company for the annual cookie cake. Some traditions are too good to give up.

Hope your day is special! We love you - Allison and Zachary

A Day at the Park

2009-02-07T20:30:00.003-05:00

We finally had some beautiful weather today after lots of freezing weather lately. 67 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. In February!! That's why we love the south. We took FULL advantage. This afternoon we went to Duncan Creek Park to check out the playground. Zachary had a blast! A few pictures from our day...

Choose Life!

2009-01-22T20:45:00.006-05:00

Today, Zachary and I went to the Georgia State Capitol to attend the Together for Life Memorial and Silent Walk with the Crozier family and the Henderson family. This event is held every year on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. This year marked the 36th anniversary. The Memorial Service is a respectful appeal to our lawmakers to pass protective pro-life legislation and the peaceful and reverent one mile walk is such a powerful witness to our commemoration of the Sanctity of Life. Over 5,000 people attended this year's event.

I was so proud of Zachary today. He had the chance to help make an impact in the lives of the unborn. At the same time, he got a very good education on what abortion is and why it is wrong. We had some very good discussion time today. He was excited to tell his teacher tomorrow why he got to miss school today.

I love that every member of our family can take a stance on an issue as important as this and that as a young child he can begin to make a difference for the future.

If you are interested in learning more about this cause, you can visit: www.supportpersonhood.com or www.grtl.org.

A Most Important Day

2009-01-20T20:29:00.003-05:00

In our nation's history, there are many days, years and even decades that we are not proud of. Our nation began with a small group of folks seeking freedom to express their faith without fear of persecution. It quickly became the land of opportunity. Not long after that, slavery came to define our country and nearly split it in half. The slaves were freed, but were never seen as equal. Over the last 40 years that inequality has evaporated. Today was a day that our nation thought would not happen for several more decades to come. We elected to the highest position in our land, a black man to lead us for the next four years.

While our family did not vote for him (not because of his color, but rather for his political positions), we will pray for him and his administration. We recognize the importance of this day and what it means to our nation.

We hope his administration is able to live up to the promise of "Change We Can Believe In." We pray that the change is honoring to the God he stood before today with his hand on His Word and is honoring to our great nation.

World of Wheels

2009-01-20T20:21:00.004-05:00

Over the weekend, Allison's Dad entered his '55 Chevrolet BelAir into the World of Wheels. For those of you that don't know, it is perhaps one of the biggest car shows in the southeast this time of year. There were over 400 cars entered this year. He won best in his class. Congratulations!
Not exactly sure why the photos are so small. Probably operator error. Sorry.

Georgia Aquarium

2009-01-20T19:28:00.004-05:00

For the last month or so, we have been borrowing a camera from a friend of Marty's. She is an awesome professional photographer (you can check out her work at snapshotzphotography.net) and has given us lots of great advice about cameras. We both know we want a new one, but are not exactly sure of what to buy. She has highly recommended the Cannon XOS camera and the Nikon D40 for their dependability and ease of use. We were borrowing her D40.

Her are some of the wonderful photos taken with this camera at the aquarium. We never realized how different the camera is from what we were used to until we saw these photos.

Hopefully after our other bills are paid with our tax returns, we will have enough money to be able to buy one for ourselves.

What beauty. God makes some of the most amazingly beautiful creatures. Hopefully, we'll have more pictures in the next few months from our new camera. (hint, hint, Marty)

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T21:40:00.002-05:00

Wishing everyone a safe, fun and happy New Year!
Hope your year is filled with countless blessings.

Now that Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years are over, there are no more holidays that are "supposed" to be cold. Good. Bring on Spring!! We're ready for it!

Pink Pig 2008

2008-12-14T21:10:00.008-05:00

Our family has an annual tradition with the Staples family. Every December, we plan an evening to take the kids to ride the Pink Pig and eat a fancy dinner at the Varsity. This year was our fourth year making this trip.

The Pink Pig is a ride that has been around since our parents were children. Years ago, you climbed into this pig and rode around on the rooftop of the Rich's building downtown and then the ride would take you into the store and you would ride around the ceiling of the store looking down over the toy department. This ride is a Christmas only event.

Now, things have changed a little bit and you ride on a train under a huge tent on the top of the parking deck at Lenox Mall right outside the Macy's entrance. The ride is sized so adults can ride as well. The proceeds of the ride go to a local children's hospital, so you are helping others while having fun at the same time.

We were able to take lots of good pictures of the kids. We're including more than a usual post because April's camera was on the outs Friday evening, so some of these are for her as well. Oh, and yes Mark, you've been blogged.

Thanks for a great evening out. We love this tradition and we love our friendship with you guys. It has been a blast watching our kids enjoy these special evenings over the years. Looking forward to many more...

Buford Christmas Parade

2008-12-06T21:16:00.004-05:00

This afternoon, after Zachary's gingerbread construction project (see below), we went to the annual Buford Christmas Parade. Buford is a town that is quickly becoming known for their parades. This was the third parade this year that we have been able to attend. Every one is fun and we always come home with tons of candy. Today was no exception.

The parade began with the Buford Marshal blowing his siren to signal the beginning of the parade and ended with Santa's grand entrance. We took pictures of some of our favorite entries today. Here's a few.

A Future Construction Worker's Dream Come True

2008-12-06T20:59:00.003-05:00

For several years, Zachary has made no secret of his desire to become a construction worker when he grows up. Anything and everything having to do with construction amazes him. He will sit at any jobsite and be perfectly entertained for hours. He sits in the living room and "builds" hottubs, houses, barns and other things on a nightly basis. Every toy becomes some sort of a tool. The microphone on his piano was a screwdriver just yesterday.

So...

Today was a dream come true for him. His best adult bud, Crappy, invited him to go with her to go build a gingerbread house. They left bright and early this morning to head up to Habersham County to visit with some of her friends and build their first house. Never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined that he would have had this much fun. The house made it back in one piece and is proudly displayed on our kitchen table. His first real construction project.

We think the house looks awesome. Here are a few pictures from their morning together. Thanks, Crappy, for showing Zachary such a great time.

Friendship Cookie

2008-12-06T20:52:00.002-05:00

A week or so ago, Zachary brought home from Sunday School this bag with a cookie enclosed. Their lesson in church was about friends and giving to others. Each child got to choose a friend to give their cookie to. Zachary chose his buddy Andrew. Unfortunately the cookie didn't survive long enough to give to Andrew, but the thought and intent was there. We'll get you a Frosted Orange at the Varsity this week instead. Deal?

A Good Hedge Wrecking! 45-42

2008-11-30T15:51:00.002-05:00

Next Year's Costume???

2008-11-05T18:16:00.004-05:00

The other evening, Zachary was trying on a new pair of pajamas that his Granny purchased for him. In the process of trying on the pjs he decided that he was like a fireman since he could step into the outfit like a fireman steps into his suit.

One thing led to another and next thing we knew, he was wearing his "fire boots", "fire gloves" and fire helmet. The gloves and boots are about four sizes too big for him. He may be able to wear them when he is 8 or 9. Not too sure why the zipper was halfway down. Guess he is a sexy fireman.

We were totally fine with the whole getup until we had to walk the dog. Yes, Zachary had to go out with us. The neighbors were hysterical. We all laughed for the rest of the evening. It was too funny.

Had we known that a costume would be so easy to put together, we would have never gone the pirate route.

Maybe next year...

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:26:00.003-04:00

Tonight, we went to our church's annual Fall Festival.

We love this ministry opportunity that our church provides. It gives our church a chance to reach out to folks who otherwise may not ever enter the doors of any church. Over the years, we have invited several friends and family that are unchurched. This is a great way to reach unchurched friends. All of the kids (and the adults if they wish) get to dress up in their costumes and play tons of fun games out on the ballfields in exchange for candy. It is lots of fun!

This year, Zachary decided to be a pirate. He was way too cute. Below are a few pictures of him in costume and a couple of him playing some of the games. The weather was beautiful. Not a cloud in sight. You can see Allison in the last picture in a long sleeve tshirt. Can't complain at all.

Baseball's Over - for now

2008-10-29T19:31:00.005-04:00

Last night was Zachary's final game of the fall season. He has grown to really enjoy playing baseball and is beginning to understand the ins and outs of the game. We have all made some great friends this season that we cannot wait to see until next season.

Zachary has had Coach John as his head coach for both seasons he has played. Coach John is great with the kids and loves challenging the boys to be their best.

Last night, Zachary finally got the game ball. He was SO excited. He was so excited, in fact, that he slept with the ball last night and took it to school today. They are now inseperable.

Thanks, Coach John, for for a great season!

Zachary's First GT Football Game

2008-10-25T21:54:00.008-04:00

Today, we had an extra ticket to the Georgia Tech football game, so we siezed the opportunity to take Zachary to his first game. He was SO excited. All he could talk about for the last three days was everything he thought he knew about how college football works. We got to hear just how many people were going to be at the game, how close we were going to park, what Buzz would be doing during the game, and so on.

We got to the game early enough to eat The Varsity. From there, we spent about an hour taking advantage of some of the activities around the stadium before the game begins. Zachary got to shoot basketballs, practice his fast ball and throw some footballs. We also had a blast people watching.

Thirty minutes before game time, the band always plays a series of fight songs just outside the entrance to the stadium. Of course, we had front row seats for that. From there, Zachary forgot totally about the football game. He was much more interested in the band. He has decided that he is going to be Drum Major one day.

Here are a few pictures from the day. Also, here's a video of how Zachary acted every time the band played a song. He had everyone around us in stitches. It was too funny. We don't think he has any idea who won the game. (It wasn't Tech.)

Our Next 5k...

2008-10-22T20:58:00.001-04:00

We have registered for the Jingle Jog. Have you?

Let us know - we'd love to get a group together!

WILL THIS EVER END????

2008-09-27T23:48:00.002-04:00

Happy Fall Y'all!

2008-09-27T23:13:00.003-04:00

This afternoon, we went to Washington Farms in Watkinsville to pick out our pumpkins for the porch. It was our first time not going to Burt's Farm in Dawsonville, so we weren't sure what to expect.
While at the farm, we got to see and do lots of fun things. We got to pet goats, rabbits, a donkey, and two pigs. We also got to race rubber duckies by pumping water with old timey water pumps. They had bikes that you could race around the track and the boys had a fierce competition. Zachary won. We also got our taste of local traditions such as pumpkin launching and corn shooting.

There was a hayride that we rode, but Allison and Zachary also had the pleasure of riding in the Cow Train. The picture is deceiving. The cow is much smaller than we make it look. It was most uncomfortable as we bounced around the pasture behind the John Deere that pulled the train of cows along. Zachary said it was "so awesome!"

Perhaps the most interesting thing we go to see was pig racing. Interesting doesn't even begin to describe this...

We did end up finding five pumpkins to take home. It was dark by the time we got home, so no pictures of the final decorations. Perhaps in a couple days, we can post those. It was a great afternoon. Lots of memories were made. We'll be back in the spring to pick some strawberries.

Grandpa's '55

2008-09-27T21:46:00.005-04:00

This morning, we stopped by a car show at Buford High School that Allison's Dad entered with his '55 Chevrolet. Zachary loved getting to see all of the old cars on display. It is not often that we get to see the car out from under the cover in the garage, so this was a real treat.

A candid shot of Marty and Grandpa.

We were very excited to hear that Grandpa won a trophy for his car. Congratulations!

Glad he doesn't look like Spicoli

2008-09-15T20:26:00.004-04:00

Melanie, this one's for you...

2008-09-13T22:59:00.001-04:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Go Wolves!

2008-09-07T11:54:00.005-04:00

On Friday night, we took Zachary to his first football game. We went with the Crozier Crew to see the Buford Wolves play the North Hall Trojans. All four kids had a blast and the parents quickly realized how old we are all getting. When the game was over (after Buford toppled the Trojans 45-14) Zachary got to go out on the field and run wild with every other child within the 30518 zip code. That was the highlight of the evening. He can't wait to go back to next week's game. Amazing - the kid hasn't even started Kindergarten yet, but we get the feeling we have at least 13 more years of Buford football games to attend. Just like the rest of town. Guess there is still some Small Town America left in Suburban Atlanta. What a fun evening!

Zachary's First Sleepover

2008-08-31T12:48:00.006-04:00

Zachary had his first sleepover on Friday night. One of his best buds, Bryson, came over for the evening and most of the day Saturday. We waited until Thursday to give him the exciting news. Once he found out, though, that is all we heard about until he came over on Friday. Here's a photo of their excitement when we first picked Bryson up.

On Friday night, they boys could not contain their excitement. It was after 8:30 that we got to the house, so we let them play for about an hour then they headed to bed. Zachary was nice enough to let Bryson sleep in his new bed tent while Zachary slept on the air mattress. It was a nice treat for both boys. Saturday morning, Bryson said that he wanted a tent for his bed at his house.

Speaking of Saturday morning... We were up at 6:58am. Bryson made sure that we didn't waste any part of our day. Even the early part. Here's a picture of the playroom at 7:10.

Here's a picture of the playroom at 7:15.

The boys played for much of the morning with all of Zachary's toys. And yes, we mean all of them. Every toy got touched at least once.After a few hours of playing, we all got dressed and went out to start our day. We wanted Zachary's first sleepover to be extra special. We went to Bogan Park for about two hours. The boys played on the playground and rode the swings until they were starving for lunch. From Bogan Park, we went to McDonalds for a delicious lunch. As adults, McDonalds is not our first choice for lunch, but at five and four years old, it is at the top of the list of choices. After the boys cleaned their plates, they spent close to an hour playing on the playground. It was great - and air conditioned.

From the park, we decided to make sure that Bryson got a taste of just how redneck we really are. We all trucked over to Marty's parents' house to play in their huge yard for a while. Within 15 minutes, the boys had found the riding lawn mowers. Marty's parents are probably the only people in Gwinnett County with three riding lawn mowers. Two of them got put to good use. Bryson had never ridden a lawn mower before, so it took him a minute to get used to the idea. Then, here's the face we saw for the next half hour.

He was so focused on driving. It was too funny. The boys got to take turns riding each of the mowers. Here's a picture of Bryson on the other mower with Marty.When they got used to the idea of driving the mowers, they began chasing each other. Not sure who was the more excited one of the two. They laughed and giggled for the longest time. Of course, a couple of pictures to go with that as well.Zachary hated to see Bryson have to go home. He cried two or three times last night wanting him to come back. The only way to get him to agree to go to bed last night was to let him sleep on the air mattress one more night. He was worn out, though. He slept until almost 9:30 this morning. 13 hours of sleep. Wow. Needless to say, we didn't make it to church.

It was such a special day that Zachary will not soon forget. Now that we've been broken in on sleepovers, we're ready for the next one.

What's the Good Word?

2008-08-26T14:03:00.001-04:00

Only Two More Days...

Birthday Party Highlights

2008-08-21T21:43:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the delay. It has been one of those weeks. Here's some of the best moments from Zachary's party over the weekend as promised. He is so ready for his next party so all of his buddies can come over and play again. Not so sure we will wait a full year to have friends over. We are so glad he had a great day.

Zachary took a few minutes to wear the basketball net. He and McKinney seemed to take turns wearing it. The kids had a huge beach ball fight with Cathy and I think the kids won. She was worn out at the end of the battle. BUT everyone involved laughed and laughed. Fun!

The cake took several kids to blow out. Sam's must have sent a trick candle home with us. Eli, McKinney, Zachary, David, Ian and Andrew huffed and huffed. Finally they blew the candle out.

Zachary has been asking for a new backpack. Grandma got him the bag that he picked out so he was very excited to finally receive it. On Monday, he marched right into school and immediately bragged to Ms. Janet that he got the perfect backpack. We were afraid that the backpack was forgotten about during all of the chaos of opening the gifts, but little Zachary knew exactly what he was getting and that it was what he wanted. Good choice, Grandma.

Our resident fish of the day was Zachary's buddy Ian from school. Ian is the only four year old I have ever seen that can do a back flip into the pool. Amazing. We sat back in awe watching this little boy as he entered the pool over and over again like an old pro. Maybe we need to sign Marty up to take swim lessons from Ian next summer...

Zachary, we hope your day was special. You are a very special little boy. We can't wait to see the man you grow into. You make us so proud to be your parents.

Happy Birthday, Bug!

2008-08-13T20:31:00.003-04:00

Today, our baby turned 5 years old. He bounced out of bed bright and early this morning proudly announcing that he was now 5 and he could play on the big playground at school. Oh, the things that are important to a child...

His party is on Saturday, but we did get a cake for Zachary to take to school to share with his friends today. Here's a picture of the cake. It is an Army tank that is also a Transformer. I didn't even know the tank transformed until we were cleaning it up this evening after school.

When we got home this afternoon, we went ahead and gave Zachary his gifts from us. Won't bore you with the details, but his favorite gift was this firetruck bed tent. Zachary has dreamed of camping for about six months now and is constantly asking for a tent so he can camp. I don't think that he fully understands that camping requires quite a bit more than just a tent. But - I found this tent from the Lillian Vernon website and knew it would be perfect.

Zachary spent the evening saying that he can't wait to go to bed. Never heard that before. Probably won't ever again. He was thrilled to go to bed in his new tent. We'll see how the night goes. I fear that when he wakes up in the middle of the night to potty, we will have drama then. We're keeping our hopes up.

Zachary, we love you. Happy Birthday! Five is a big milestone. Guess the next one is 10 - double digits. You're halfway there. We thanked God at dinner tonight for all of the special memories we have as a family. I pray for many, many more to come. You are our favorite kid - and always will be.

We'll have more pictures on Saturday when we have Zachary's birthday party. Can't wait!!

A Way Cool Video

2008-08-08T11:22:00.004-04:00

I just saw this Casting Crowns video on YouTube. Unfortunately, I am not web savvy enough to embed the video, so I just have to give you the link. It is very powerful. Please check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT7x3VnrqbA

The Great Escape

2008-08-05T21:14:00.005-04:00

We just got home from a super fun week in Daytona Beach. We had a great time. This is our sixth or seventh year going to this beach. Each year is more fun than the last. Here is a few pictures of our week.

One of the biggest highlights of the week for Zachary was renting a golf cart and driving up and down the beach for a few hours. This year he got to sit in Daddy's lap and drive. What a thrill!

Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw Santa working on his tan as well. Zachary wouldn't get anywhere near him. He thought that Santa was out of his mind going on vacation without his reindeer. He didn't understand that they don't allow pets on the beach.

This year, we took a day to drive to Orlando to go to Universal Studios. We try to hit a different park every year. In case anyone out there wants to know- four, almost five, is too young for Universal. Don't get me wrong. We had a great time, but most of the rides were a little too intense for ol' Zachary. He only really enjoyed two or three rides the entire day. The rest were a little too adult for him. He had more fun checking out every single gift shop inside the park. We spent half the day dragging him out of them. At the end of the day he was thrilled with his souvenirs and was begging to go back. The day was a success...

Swim Party

2008-07-19T21:43:00.003-04:00

We went this afternoon to a Sunday School swim party at the Crozier's house. We had a great time hanging out with great friends. There were about 45 people squeezed into their backyard. Here's a couple of pictures from the afternoon...

Robbie, Russell, Brent and Marty have invented a game that I think is called "Throw the ball on the roof and see who catches it while still in the pool." Yes, it is a dumb as it sounds. But - it entertains them for hours. Robbie, Russell and Marty couldn't wait for the kids to get out of the pool so they could play a game this afternoon. For the record - Russell won. Five times in a row.

Farrar, Ethan and Zachary enjoyed playing in the hot tub for much of the afternoon. It was very attractive to all of the kids because eveyone could touch the bottom. Unfortunately, it is only meant for three or four at a time. At one time, I think I counted eight trying to swim there. It didn't seem to bother any of them.

Melanie, Micah, Amy, Maria and Kelly found a cool spot in the basement after a wonderful BBQ dinner - thanks Otto's dad! It was great letting the dads keep up with the kids while the moms relaxed for a while.

Thanks Croziers for letting us use your pool. We've got to keep you around as honorary class members so we can use your pool again next year!

Zachary's Big Day

2008-07-05T22:43:00.005-04:00

We got a bicycle from a coworker of mine a few years ago for Zachary. It came with everything a little boy needs for a bike - except pedals. We forgot about the bike for the longest time. In fact, for Christmas, Zachary got a bike (with pedals) and absolutely loves it. A few weeks ago, Marty's mom pulled the bike out of her basement and Zachary has been begging us to get pedals for it. There are training wheels tucked away in the basement, but we never bothered to put them on since you can't ride a bike without pedals.

This afternoon, we stopped at a bike shop in Buford and splurged on a $10 pair of pedals for Zachary to have for a bike to keep at his Granny's house. Little did we know that the first time he got on it he would drive for over 50 feet. I took a couple of quick videos of his first day riding a bike without training wheels. Now we have to get him to try the bike at home without training wheels.

We were so proud of him when we saw what he accomplished. He made us bring the bike home to show off to our neighbors. They were also very proud of our boy. Give him another week or so and he'll be asking for a ramp...

Zachary and McKinney's Mischief

2008-07-05T10:13:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon with the Crozier Crew, Walker and his peeps and the Segraves family. (You don't know them. They don't blog. :)) We had a good time playing in the pool and cooking out for dinner. It is always lots of fun to get together with these great friends.

At the end of the evening, McKinney and Zachary decided to go out front and ride the Gator. They had been out there for a little while when I came out and they decided to tell on themselves. I had no idea what they had been doing, but luckily I had the camera with me. This is too funny.

The next part is even funnier. (You may have to turn your volume up a little bit.)

Russell had those boys so confused. It was great. On the way home, Zachary asked me if they really made the paint come off the bumper. I couldn't help but laugh.

Guess we know what Marty and Robbie are up to today... (Russell - your yard will look great when they're done!)

One Bed Done

2008-06-28T20:14:00.003-04:00

We've been praying for rain for quite some time at our house. Thankfully, the Lord answered our prayers yesterday. We got lots of rain - about 45 minutes worth.

Good thing it rained. That made it much easier for Marty to finish one of the flower beds at the front of our house this weekend. Our friend, Brent, designed our flower beds a month or so ago. It is fun seeing it come together. Thanks, Brent! It looks great!

Pool Days

2008-06-22T22:08:00.005-04:00

The Staples came over for the afternoon today. We grilled hotdogs for lunch and let the kids spend the afternoon playing. Marty and Mark spent a few hours in the basement running wires for our hottub that is on order. While they were downstairs, April and I spent all of our energy working crowd control. After all the work was done in the basement, we ate a quick dinner and everyone went to the pool. Here's a few pics from the pool.

Zachary, the leader of the pack, was full of instructions at the pool. He made sure that everyone was following all of the pool rules. At one point, he was using the noodle to go "fishing" for swimmers. He "reeled" Andrew in several times. He also took great pleasure in spraying everyone with his new fancy squirt gun.

Unfortunately, the pool was not Andrew's favorite place. He began the evening scared of leaving the steps. Zachary was nice enough to loan his "Buzz Pack" to Andrew and his fears were soon forgotten. We were so proud of Andrew. After a few minutes, Andrew was sneaking away from the wall - inch by inch.

The "Buzz Pack" gets its name from our friends, the Plumadores. Last summer, they told us about these swim vests that their son loved using. They said that they called it a "Buzz Pack" because he looked like Buzz Lightyear when he wore it. The name stuck. We got Zachary one and we couldn't imagine how our pool life would be without it.

Ol' Morgan was the brave soul of the crew. She was jumping off the side of the pool whether there was someone ready to catch her or not. We had to really keep an eye on her. She loved when we let her put her face in the pool. She was blowing bubbles like she had been swimming for years. Hopefully, fear doesn't work it's way into her head before next summer.

We hope they can come over and visit again real soon. They are such great friends.

Love you guys!

In Loving Memory...

2008-06-07T18:24:00.002-04:00

Louise Britt Barrett, age 79 of Gwinnett County, passed away, Thursday, June 5, 2008. Funeral Services will be held 2:00 PM, Saturday, June 7, 2008 in the Snellville Chapel of Tim Stewart Funeral Home with Minister Joel Davis officiating. Burial Eternal Hills Memory Gardens, Snellville. A member of Annistown Road Baptist Church, Snellville, Mrs. Barrett was born and raised in Gwinnett County. She was previously employed with Whitley Concrete Company in Decatur, worked with Georgia Warren Realty Company in Decatur and started Center East Realtor as a broker in Stone Mountain. She owned Barrett Antiques in the Centerville Community and retired in 1995. Mrs. Barrett was a loving mother, grandmother and loved baking for her grandchildren and others. She is survived by : Son & Daughter-in-law: Larry E & Karen Titshaw, Lilburn; Brothers & Sisters-in-law: Willis R. & Jenette Britt, Conyers; Mike & June Britt, Snellville; Sisters: Carolyn Simpson, Stone Mountain: Jean Juhan, Snellville; Grandchildren: Allison Renee & Marty Elkins, Flowery Branch; Jackie Lynn Titshaw, Lawrenceville; April Nicole Titshaw, Lawrenceville; April Nicole & Casey Lloyd, Snellville; Autumn Marie Cleary, Dalton Elliott Titshaw, both of Lilburn; Great Grandchildren: Caleb Harris Coles, Savannah Marie Coles, both of Snellville; Zachary Collin Elkins, Flowery Branch, Several Nieces & Nephews. flowers accepted or memorials to Annistown Road Baptist church, 4554 Annistown Road, Snellville, Georgia 30039. Family will received friends from 6-9 PM Friday, June 6, 2008 at the Tim Stewart Funeral Home, 2246 Wisteria Drive, Snellville, Georgia 30078. 770-979-5010. Please sing online guest registry at www.stewartfh.com

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Today, I buried one of the most important people in my life - my Granny. Growing up, she and I were together every other weekend. I want to share some of my favorite memories of her.

Granny, I remember the late nights we stayed up watching Dallas. I remember you absolutely loving Monica Kaufman. I remember our dog, Lucky, buried in your backyard. I remember Marty and I putting up the birdhouse that matched your house - man that was a pain. I remember your famous chocolate cakes. Even better, the strawberry ones. You had some absolutely beautiful flowers in the pots outside your garage. You were always the slowest driver on the road - and 20 years ago it embarrassed me terribly. But now, I married someone that drives just as slow and I just grin to myself when I realize what goes around comes around. We took a cooking class together about six years ago and got some good laughs watching my sisters learning to cook. I still have all of the notes from that class. Walking to you house from Dad's wasn't always the smartest decision when it came to crossing 124, but it was always an easy one. I always loved coming to visit with you. I can't even count how many jigsaw puzzles we put together over the years. Oh, the stories that were shared over those puzzles. I also remeber that when Marty and I told you we were pregnant, you weren't sure you would live to see Zachary born. What a blessing that you did. Zachary called you "Other Granny." It makes me smile every time I hear him say that. Your picture is on his dresser. I remember going to your office and playing on your typewriter for hours. You had some delicious strawberry plants at that office. I also remember the time I called 9-1-1 from your bedroom phone without anyone knowing. I got away with it until the operator called the house and wanted to speak to you. I'll never forget the shopping trips we would take. You always made sure I went home with something nice. I could never go to visit you without coming home with something. I would never know what it would be. Sometimes I would come home with a bag of potato chips and sometimes I would come home with a piece of furniture. One of the favorite things I have to remind me of you every day is the Gone With The Wind collection of plates and puzzle I have in my living room. I always have and always will think of you when I enter that room. I smile when I think of how you would always slip me your loose change to buy something for Zachary. Even if it was a candy bar, he appreciated it. My beautiful pink and white bedroom at your house will always be etched in my mind. You always wanted me to be a girly girl, but it never worked out that way. I know you didn't love me any less, though. The piano in your living room never had dusty keys. If I wasn't playing around on it, you were playing some of your favorite hymns. The crazy drawer in your kitchen that was broken from practically the day you moved in will always make me giggle. I have lots of your cookbooks in my kitchen. You have passed on my favorite trait of dating and commenting on every recipe I try from them. I make a point to diary every recipe I try. You took me to Gwin Oaks Elementary to practice my driving when I was only 14. Not sure if either of my parents know that one. You instilled in me the value of the coupon and the value of hard work. I know you never had it easy, but you always made it look that way. Your entire family loves you very much. We will all miss you greatly.

Your service today was beautiful. You would be humbled by the kind words that were spoken about you. Every word made me proud to be your granddaughter. I love you and can't wait until I can hug your neck again.

Granny - I love you and I miss you. I will see you soon.

-Allison

Wow! What a Weekend!

2008-05-26T21:39:00.007-04:00

This has been one of the busiest weekends we've had in a while. We have had a great weekend making memories, though. We'll share pictures of the hilights.

Friday began with Zachary's graduation from Pre-K. What a special day for him. He was so proud of himself. They had practiced the ceremony for a couple weeks, so he has excited to show us all of his hard work. He is really going to miss Ms. Nicole and Ms. Christy this summer.

Saturday, Zachary and I got up early to go get our hair cut. When we got home Saturday, we promised him that once Daddy was done with the yard work, we'd take him to the pool. Unfortunately, the yard work took until dinnertime, so it was after 7:00 that we went to the pool. It was so cold by then that Zachary was the only one to get in. He only lasted about 15 minutes, though. We were so worn out by then that it didn't matter.

Sunday after church, we went to Grandma's for lunch and then hurried home to get our stuff together to head over to Bryson's house. He's one of Zachary's best buddies also. They had lots of fun playing both inside and outside. About the only time they sat still was for dinner. We had homemade ice cream for dessert and both boys loved it. Here's a quick picture.

Today, we got up extra early because I ran in the Dacula 5k. It was my first 5k and I was a nervous wreck. I asked my friends Jennie and Erin to run with me so I could have some familiar faces nearby. We had a great time. We saw lots of people we knew from around Dacula. Even more thrilling was my time: 36:38. I know that is not a time to win me any awards, but was by over four minutes the best I had ever run. My goal was to complete the race in under 45 minutes. When I approached the finish line, I was THRILLED to see the clock. Yeah, me!

We stayed for the Dacula Days parade. Whoa, what a parade it was! We have never seen a parade last one hour and forty minutes. We got to see lots of friends pass through the parade.

Jennie's dog, Otto, enjoyed the parade nearly as much as Zachary.

We ended our weekend going to Rebekah and McKinney's house to swim for the afternoon and evening. We stayed for dinner. The kids were having so much fun that we had to drag them out of the pool to eat. They swam and swam for almost four hours. My the energy that kids have.

From Rebehak and McKinney's house, Zachary went to Granny's to spend the night. On the way there, he fell asleep. It is not often that he crashes off to sleep before 8:00, but we can't blame him tonight. Hopefully he'll sleep late tomorrow.

What a weekend. What great memories. Thanks, Lord.

Hot Monkey Love

2008-05-19T11:43:00.002-04:00

Marty and I went with our Sunday School class this past weekend on a Marriage Retreat. We had a great time and enjoyed the short getaway. As we were leaving town, we stopped to get a special gift for Zachary to bring back since he was so good while we were away. We knew exactly what we had to get for him. This monkey. For those you reading this that went on the retreat, you'll know exactly what we mean!

Thanks to Ray and Holt for giving us a theme for the weekend.

Awana Awards

2008-05-14T21:01:00.002-04:00

We are Awana Cubbies.
We're happy all day long.

We know that Jesus loves us.

That's why we sing this song.

We hop because we're happy

and we jump and jump for joy.

Jesus is a friend of ours.

He loves each girl and boy.

(This is the Awana club song that the children sing each week. We've had the pleasure of listening to it for two years. It is etched in our minds. Thought we'd share it with you.)

Tonight was awards night for Zachary's Cubbies class. We were so proud of him. Over the last two years he has memorized 64 Bible verses. Impressive. Here's a few pictures we captured of Zachary and his class the evening.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T21:05:00.003-04:00

Whew! What a GREAT Mother's Day!

Our weekend began on Friday at Zachary's school. They had Muffins for Moms. It was very nice to go have breakfast together. We only had one picture because Zachary wasn't in the mood for his picture to be made.

Saturday, we went to Rebekah's 6th birthday party. You can view pictures over on the Crozier's page. A link is to the right.

Today, Zachary gave me my Mother's Day gifts. I will show you pictures of what he gave me. All of my gifts were so special.

Zachary, thank you for being so special to me. I love you dearly. I give thanks daily for such a beautiful blessing in my life. I am honored for the privilege to be your mother. Thanks for my great gifts, Tootie Tot.

Our Babies are Growing Up

2008-05-05T21:15:00.003-04:00

Check out our baby birds. My how fast they grow. Their little four inch nest is getting to be tight quarters for the four young babies. We have really enjoyed watching them grow every day.

Lovebirds

2008-05-01T20:21:00.004-04:00

Zachary's girlfriend, Morgan, came to see his baseball game tonight. She must be a good luck charm. They won 15-4. Thanks, Morgan!

This is just a sample of the long goodbye the two shared this evening. Finally, Morgan's Mommy had to drag her away kicking and screaming while all the while, Andrew (her brother and Zachary's BFF) was stuck in his car seat and missed the entire event. Probably for the best.

Awww. Young love.

Love Pain & The Whole Crazy Carnival Ride

2008-04-26T09:51:00.005-04:00

For Christmas, Marty got me tickets to see Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban's concert last night. I have been looking forward to this concert for months. Carrie is a incredible singer and Keith has some beautiful songs as well (and a beautiful everything else, too).

Carrie was up first. She sang for about 75 minutes. Man, she has come a long way from her American Idol days. I wasn't able to get any great pics, but here's a couple...

When Keith was about to come on stage, the announcer came up and announced that he was filming the DVD of his tour at Gwinnett Arena and we were in for a special treat. Little did I know that he would be on stage jamming for almost 2 1/2 hours. What fun! He sang songs that I had forgotten about and rocked the house all evening. I was able to get some better pictures of him because the entire screen across the back of the stage was a tv monitor.

Last night ranked right up there in the top 5 concerts I have ever seen. What a great evening out. We enjoyed every second of this concert. Marty, anytime you want to take me to a nice dinner and a great concert, I'm there (hint, hint - Bon Jovi/Daughtry is next weekend). I love you, honey! Thanks.

We Have Babies!!!

2008-04-22T21:36:00.003-04:00

Our baby birds were born yesterday. We haven't gotten a good view of them yet, but here are the pictures we have been able to get without the mommy bird getting too upset.
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Today's Bible Verse:
I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. - John 3:3

Fun in the Sun / Sing for Spring

2008-04-20T21:20:00.005-04:00

Our day started out yesterday with Zachary's ballgame. They won! Their record is now 5-2. Zachary is really starting to enjoy the games and is making some good friends as well. Here's a picture of the team just after their win. Zachary is on the end to the far left. Notice that the food/drinks after the game are #1 priority to them at the time...

After that, we went over to Buford Dam for a couple of hours. We had fun exploring at the parks on the lower side of the dam. There were lots of kids playing in the water while their mothers chased them around and their fathers fished. It was so much fun to just hang out together as a family. Here's a couple of pics from our day.

We had a great weekend together. Today, Zachary had his Children's Choir performance at Church. It was titled "Sing For Spring". The camera wasn't in the mood to take good pictures there, so I will post the only decent picture that we got. Zachary is on the second row in the green shirt just to the right of center. Lucky for us, we took the video camera...

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Today's Bible Verse:

Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

-Psalm 48:1

2008-04-12T21:52:00.002-04:00

We spent the entire day yesterday at Stone Mountain Park. Zachary has been on Spring Break all week. Monday, he went to the Zoo with Grandma. Tuesday, he went to Jungle Jump (a moonwalk place) with Granny. Wednesday, his class at school went bowling. Thursday, he went with Granny and Papa to Babyland General to see Cabbage Patch Kids be born and on to Helen for the remainder of the day. We had to end Friday with a bang, so we rounded up Mark, April, Andrew and Morgan for the day and hit the park.

Never would we have guessed all that we could accomplish in one day. In a matter of 12 hours, we saw the 4-D Monster Truck movie, went to the Great Barn, saw the Monster Trucks, went to the petting zoo, toured the Antebellum area, rode the riverboat, rode the paddle boats, climbed the mountain, rode the Skylift back down, played on the lawn for about an hour, met the Veggie Tales, rode the train and ended the day with the Laser Show.

Whew! What a day. We had a blast and we returned home exhaused. It was all worth it.

Stone Mountain is celebrating 25 years of the Laser Show this year. Marty and Allison have each been at least 18 of the last 25 years. This year is by far the best. It is well worth the trip to make the drive.

Here's a few pictures from our Day of Fun:

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Today's Bible Verse:

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
1 Peter 4:12-13

Uninvited Guests

2008-04-09T15:56:00.004-04:00

We came home the other day to find a birdnest in the bucket on the front door.

Sure enough, three days later, we found this...

Guess we've been booted from the front door until the nest is empty!

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Bible Verse for Today:

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. - Deuteronomy 6:4

In the Ring with Infinity Insurance

2008-04-03T20:23:00.003-04:00

Allison's crazy co-workers...

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Today's Bible Verse:

"It is more blessed to give than receive." - Acts 20:35

I'm a Big Kid Now!

2008-04-02T21:06:00.003-04:00

Zachary graduated to his big boy booster seat this evening. While he was in Cubbies at church, we surprised him and changed out carseats. Here's a before and after shot from this evening.

He's growing up so fast. He was on cloud nine the entire ride home tonight. The first thing he noticed was that he could touch his toes for the first time while in the car. I don't think he'll miss the five point harness at all.

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Today's Bible Verse:

Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

-Matthew 24:42

Happy Birthday Levi and Eli

2008-03-29T13:28:00.010-04:00

This morning, we all loaded up and went to the ice hockey rink for Levi and Eli Bear's birthday party. We did not go into the party with high expectations. There was no way on earth that we expected Zachary to enjoy an ice skating party. He had roller skates, but we had to exchange them because he was scared to death when we put them on his feet. The party started off very wobbly. Here's a picture of Andrew Staples (Zachary's best bud) and Zachary on the skates when they first put them on.

After that, the boys got familiar with the ice. Ray, being the brilliant man that he is, brought some chairs out onto the ice for the kids to use to hold on to (and Marty and April, too). After a few minutes, both Andrew and Zachary started getting the hang of it. I took a short, but hilarious, video of Zachary after he got comfortable on the ice.

The Bear boys were in full hockey gear. They were all over the ice and having fun playing with Thrash and their pucks and sticks.

Us southerners aren't that good at ice skating, but we were very impressed that Zachary had a ball. One last picture of the hockey birthday cakes (notice the Zamboni and hockey sticks on the cakes)...

What a fun morning. All day, Zachary has been asking when he can go back and ice skate again. Who would have thought?

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Today's Bible Verse:

I lift up my eyes to the hills -- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. -Psalm 121:1-2