Atlanta: Day 2

Evidently we have had an eventful May as I just hit 300 pictures in my Picasa album with this batch from our Sunday morning at the park. What a fun month! 

Lovely expression, Robert. 

How cute is Arthur? He is such a chill and happy little man.

And also very enthusiastic!

Asa is smart, thoughtful, sensitive and sweet.

This rope ladder was quite the challenge.

But Abby was determined to make it to the top.

Everyone took turns on the bee.

I love that my husband jumps right on the seesaw.

These two girls. They couldn't be any cuter.

The girls also had fun pushing Robert on the swings.

Always so full of joy.

Thanks Anna and Austin for hosting us and for putting together such a fun and memorable weekend. Even though we don't see each other very often anymore, I love how easy it is to pick back up as if no time has passed at all. As parents you truly encourage and inspire us. We love you!

Atlanta: Day 1

Friday morning we piled into the car for a Memorial Day weekend trip to Atlanta to visit "the A's": our friends Anna and Austin and their three beautiful kids Asa, Alden and Arthur. The Padgett family is so very special to us. I met Anna 11 years ago while we were working as Customer Service Reps for the Cincinnati Symphony. She shared her Mighty Leaf chamomile citrus tea with me and the rest is history. It's rare to find couple friends where the husbands like each other as much as the wives do, but that's just the case with the Padgetts. There's mostly a lot of eye rolling from me and Anna as Robert and Austin make inappropriate jokes.

Anna and Austin are amazing parents. They definitely have their hands full as Arthur was born in February last year when the twins were not quite two, so they had three kids under two years old in the house. Whew! We last visited them in December 2013 so it was fun to meet Arthur and see how much the kids have changed since then.

2013

Asa making sure Abby eats her vegetables.

The girls in 2013.

The whole gang. Arthur was born just a few months after this.

So back to today. After a rough 8 and 1/2 hour drive to Atlanta with worse than usual traffic and multiple accidents, we finally made it to their house. Abby did great on the trip. In fact, I was the one getting really frustrated towards the end of the drive when she told me, "It's ok mommy, we'll be there soon." Ha! 

We spent a lovely Saturday morning at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. 

The kids said hello to the 18 year old beaver.

Abby and Alden became best friends quickly.

In my eyes Anna is truly a Supermom.

Isn't this beautiful? What a great setting for a wedding reception.

This lady was quite the educator. 

She had all kinds of "pieces" of birds!! Feet with talons, wings, and more.

Inside the kids looked at turtles and fish.

They all liked digging in the pretend compost pile.

Abby was worn out and slept great at naps and bedtime. She looks so tiny in this big bed!

How cute are Alden's pig tails?

We spent quite a bit of time in the backyard playing with bubbles. The weather was incredibly gorgeous with sunshine and the temperature near 70 with a cool breeze. Ahhhhhh.

The hugs never stopped.

That evening we had a sitter come over to watch the kids so we could go out to dinner. It was some much needed adult time for all of us that felt just like the old days in Cincinnati. Delicious food and dear friends...there's nothing better.