Atlanta

The last stop of our block leave vacation was Atlanta.  We went there on block leave before Pat deployed and enjoyed it so much that we wanted to stop there again.  We spent two nights there this time.  Here are the last of my vacation photos.  (I'm sure you are relieved that I'll finally stop posting about it.)

View of Centennial Olympic Park from our hotel room.  You can also see Pat's favorite attraction of ATL--World of Coke.

Photo from in the park.  

 There are a couple playgrounds for the kids in the park.  The boys love it there.

 But this is the face Ryan makes whenever the other kids take something he was playing with or even if they come too close for that matter  He's rather shy.

 Sean enjoyed the freedom running around in the park.

 We also went to the Imagine It! children's museum again.  You can see the post I made about our stop there last year HERE.  It is funny to see how much things change and yet stay the same.  We have a very similar photo of Ryan from our last trip there too.

I thought this was one of the coolest exhibits.  As soon as you walk into the room it starts a video that includes you.  The kids loved seeing themselves on TV.  

 They loved banging on the drums too.

 Sean was very impressed when he saw himself on the TV.  He kept walking to the TV and pointed where he had just seen himself.

The boys really loved the museum.  I highly recommend it for anyone that has little children that love hands on activities.

 We stopped by the fountain in the park one afternoon, but after seeing how crowded it was we decided a trip to the hotel pool would be better.

We also went to the Georgia Aquarium which is awesome.  We didn't really get any photos there though.

So that was our block leave vacation.  I am so happy that we got to see a lot of different places AND spend some time with family.  It was a great vacation.

Beaches

I'm a beach girl, but I'm not your typical bikini, sun tan lotion, and sun bathing beach girl.  I enjoy the beach in the evening after the crowds have gone home, in the mornings before it gets crowded, or even the fall and winter when no one else is there.  I'm not all that fond of the sand, but I love watching the waves, smelling the air, and taking in the beauty of nature.

I grew up in a beach town.  Because the beach was always close by, it is hard for me to accept the idea that some people have never spent any time at the beach.  It seemed so normal to me that for a long time I didn't realize how lucky I was to have it close by.  I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I should have while I lived there, and I know I took it for granted.  

On our drive home from Disney, we decided to spend a night at Daytona Beach so the kids could see the beach.  Daytona is not quite the most family oriented area.  However, when looking at places we could stop it seemed to be a choice of where we'd fit in better:  an upscale beach community or a spring break location.  With two little boys running wild, we went for the more casual choice.  While Daytona wasn't glamorous, it ended up being perfect to give the boys a quick beach experience.

Our hotel was right on the beach.  We arrived mid-afternoon and headed straight down with the boys.  They absolutely LOVED the beach.  Both of them got right in the water.  Ryan had no fear of being taken under or going out too far, which was scary and very nerve wracking as a mother.  Sean enjoyed sitting at the edge of the water and letting the tiny waves splash him.   I will say Daytona Beach was really great as far as shallow water and gentle waves.  Keeping our hands and eyes on both boys occupied us entirely, so I have no pictures of them enjoying the water, but trust me when I say they enjoyed it!

Cell phone pic from our balcony.

 The beach.

 The only down fall was how much sand the boys would bring back to the room after every trip down to the beach.

On our way to go get dinner, Ryan put his sand bucket on his head and started calling himself "marching man".  The things this kid comes up with are just too cute!

After dinner went back out to spend some time at the beach now that the crowds were gone.  It was peaceful and fun.

That evening we played in the sand.  And in case you thought I was exaggerating about the amount of sand the kids had on them, check out Sean's hair in the first picture below.  

As a special end to the night, there was apparently an air show going on somewhere nearby and the planes flew right over our heads several times.  Unfortunately I didn't have my zoom lens with me, if I did the photos would have been spectacular.

Since we gave the boys two baths in about a 6 hour period the first day there, we decided not to go the beach the next morning before packing up.  We ended up in the car early for a long drive to our next stop.  While we were driving we saw signs for St. Augustine, and Pat really wanted to stop.  So we took a short detour.  It was so beautiful there, and I am very glad that we stopped.  The kids appreciated being able to stretch their legs too.  (But again, I didn't have my zoom lens on the camera.  Shame on me!)

And a last photo for my artilleryman.

Disney World

We spent a week in Disney World.  It was probably my favorite trip yet.  Not only was it magical to see it through the eyes of my children, but we had great company down there.  We were with my parents aka Grammy and Grumps and my sister and brother-in-law aka Auntie Rie and Uncle Justin.

We stayed at Disney's Old Key West Resort in a Grand Villa.  It had three bedrooms and four baths.  We had a full kitchen and dining area.  It was a perfect home away from home and big enough that we could all be together.  It was also a very relaxing resort.

These are pictures of the resort I took during a boat ride we went on.

This was a view from our balcony.  One of the last days we were there we enjoyed a rainbow.  It's hard to see in the photo, but it was beautiful.

My handsome hubby on the boat ride we took.  We're so glad to have him home and be able to go on vacation with him.

I'm noticing now that I'm uploading that we didn't take too many photos in the parks.  We formed amazing memories though.  Here are a few photos that I did take.  

Mommy and Ryan entering the park.

Ryan on his first ride during this trip.  (Spaceship Earth)  Sean was sleeping so Auntie Rie walked him around.

 Grumps with Sean before going on Journey Into Imagination.  Sean really loved Figment.

 Ryan enjoyed reading the maps at each park.

 We ate lunch with Leo.  (and June, Handy Manny, and Oso)  It was really great food, and Ryan loved seeing the characters.

 The boys met Mickey Mouse.  I don't have a photo of Sean during this because someone (my husband) screwed up my camera settings, and it took me too long to figure it out again.  By the time I had the camera running, Sean had run away from Mickey.  Trust me when I say I was super mad at the hubby, and I let him know.  Don't worry though, I finally forgave him.

Ryan's favorite thing about Disney World was anything Toy Story.  He was so happy when he got to meet Buzz Lightyear.  The look on his face was priceless.  Sean ran away again.  

 Buzz statue by the toy store.

 Ryan and Sean with Mr. Potato Head.

 The boys with Mickey and Minnie statues.  Sean is holding his Figment.  He still really loves his Figment now that we're home.

 Ryan's favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear at the Magic Kingdom.  Although one night he had a bad dream about Zurg and slept terribly.  But he went on the ride again the next day and had fun beating Zurg.  Ryan went on this ride at least 4 times.  Sean enjoyed the ride too, although he was a little too small to aim the gun.

 Both boys liked riding the monorail.  Sean was quite adventurous walking around while it was moving. We had to hold onto him tightly.

This trip really was such an amazing time.  We'll never forget the joy on the boys' faces or the fun we all had together.

Albany, Georgia

Yup, you read that right.  Our next stop was Albany, Georgia.  Have you been there?  Yeah, probably not.

When we were planning our driving route, I knew with the boys we needed to break up the driving into something that was manageable.  A stop on the map that look about the right distance was Albany, Georgia.  I did a little research and it quickly became my top choice for the next stop.

When I told Pat he was definitely a little skeptical.  Although I assured him I was certain it was a perfect stop, there was part of me hoping I hadn't led us astray.  As it turns out, I loved it there.

There were a few things that attracted me to the city.  It is the birth place of Ray Charles.  There is a beautiful monument dedicated to him at a plaza in the park right across from our hotel.  They pipe in his music at a fountain.

There are keyboard benches around the sides of the fountain that the boys loved playing on.  

The Ray Charles Plaza has a playground next to it.  I thought this would be a great way for the boys to get their energy out.  They were loving the playground, but since the mosquitoes were so bad we decided to head back to the hotel pretty quickly and go back to the park in the morning.  But before we left we made a little detour to see the turtle artwork with the boys.  They had a patriotic turtle on a street corner, but unfortunately we didn't stop for a photo.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but all the above attractions are right at a riverwalk along the Flint River.  The next morning we went out walking on the riverwalk.  We came straight from breakfast and I didn't have my camera with me.  So I took Pat's point and shoot and captured these photos on the riverwalk.  It was gorgeous.  

After walking and enjoying the beautiful morning there, we went over to the Flint Riverquarium.  It is a small scale aquarium based off the river, but it was a great size for the two little boys.  I didn't take any photos there, but if you ever end up in Albany, check it out.  

There is also a park/zoo called "The Parks at Chehaw"in Albany.  Maybe we'll go there on our next trip through, whenever that may be.  

During my research online, I had seen some people talking about the best hot dogs at a place called Jimmies.  It's a cash only type of place.  They steam their hot dogs, and that is a weakness for my hubby. We didn't intend on going to find it, but on our way out of town we spotted it.  Pat convinced us to pick up a few hot dogs for the ride.  While he was in there getting the dogs, there must have been at least 15 other customers going in/coming out--and all at 11:30 a.m.  Pat says they specialize in chili dogs, but we just got the regular ones for the sake of our new car.  They were good hot dogs, although I'll warn you that they were rather bright pink.  It was nice to get a taste of Albany as we left.  These next two shots were from my cell, so pardon me that they aren't the best quality.  

And the last thing about Albany that won me over (although it was doing pretty well before this), was this sign posted right at the park.