W&L July 2022

We were in Georgia for a couple of days and then hit the road once more to go visit "family"! Visiting the Booths was so much fun and they were so hospitable!

While the adults had Lemon Meringue Pie, the kiddos got to create their own pudding and "sand" desserts using graham-bears, pirouettes cookies, and gummies. This is Wendy's!

Home for the weekend: the Donahues! 

We got to visit my Mammow (the girl's Great grandma)!

The girls showed off their piano skills and Mammow and I gabbed until it was time to go!

Whitney and I got to go out for a girl's night to see Steel Magnolias at a local theatre. We made sure to bring our own tissues!

My old college voice teacher was starring in the show so I was so excited to go support her! 

Silly picture after church...

The most serious one we could get :P

And a final picture with Whit! We had a blast and the girls still talk about the fun they had with Whitney's kiddos. 

Once we left North Carolina, we were back in Georgia to celebrate Independence Day with Pop in the town where PJ and I were married!

Small town celebrations are the best. 

Lilly getting her face painted...

Unicorn!

Wendy getting her face painted....

Fairy magic!

Waiting for the parade to start!

The kids raked in the candy. This was only Lilly's haul. We ended up having to throw a lot of it away once we left at the end of the month. So. Much. Candy!

While we waited for it to get dark, PJ and I went on a nostalgia tour with the girls and showed them our first apartment together. 

We also went back to the place where we were married. 

I do!

So grateful for everything that has happened in the last 14 years!

Wendy and Pop playing Sorry

Firework time! Lilly had on noise canceling headphones to dampen the "booms"

It was a great show!

Then we used a powder pack left over from track and field day. 

Lilly was blue for a couple of days and looked a little bit like a zombie. 

It rained almost every day while we were in Georgia and one day we saw a full rainbow!

Boating with Uncle Brad and Aunt Kelley!

Thumbs up all around. 

Floating with Aunt Kelley

The girl's first time being pulled behind a boat on a raft! They loved it. We could barely get them off of the thing! So much so that Lilly jumped out when we pulled her in as we were about to leave and she declared "I'm not leaving the lake! I'm staying here forever!"

Proof that the people behind the cameras were there!

Lunch time- even for the ducks!

Our next adventure was to the Dwarf House!

We made sure to have lunch with the girl's Great Grandpa Sid every week we were there. We had a good time although you can't tell by the faces in the picture. 

Another weekend adventure: Babyland General and Helen!

Babyland General is where all the cabbage patch babies are born. We witnessed a birth ourselves!

The property was beautiful!

On to Helen where we introduced the girls to Betty's Country Store and their giant cookies. 

Outside the Christmas Shoppe (in Santa's Sleigh)!

Sluicing for gems!

We also sluiced for fossils. 

Visiting where PJ worked his first job: A chicken farm!

Wendy wanted a turn posing too. 

All this time Baxter has been around for our various shenanigans but seemed to have enough when, one day, we woke up to him having pooped in the rental house. Once we cleaned that up, we put him in his kennel and went off on our Helen adventure. We got home to him having pooped in his kennel and had gotten it all over himself. After we cleaned that up (and him), I went out and got him a new dog bed. The things we do for our pets!

Pop and the girls put on a show in the back yard. 

Standing ovation!

What became our favorite tradition: walking to get ice cream after finishing library books!

Wendy tried a different flavor each time but Lilly stuck to Cotton Candy. 

We went exploring and found a completely covered play ground. So smart!

Another day, another adventure. This time it was on a hike!

It was a 4-mile hike and it took us about 2 hours. Lilly started complaining after about 30 minutes and Wendy started after about an hour. But I still maintain we had fun and it was better than them sitting on iPads for those two hours!

A few days later, I took the girls to the Lake Lanier waterpark!

I made sure to keep my phone away from the water but I had to capture this. There was a bubble station where the girls got completely covered in bubbles!

Finishing up our visit in Georgia with a Stone Mountain visit!

We were brave and took the girls on the Stone Mountain hike. It was only a mile so we thought it should take maybe 30 minutes!?

We started off strong...

But then even after a costume change, Lilly was having a hard time staying motivated. 

Wendy and I went at our own pace and she got very sweaty. 

PJ and Lilly weren't too far behind. 

Lilly looking back at the hard thing she did. This hike was one of the hardest I have done in a long time! I was so proud of the girls for pushing through. 

Lilly was rewarded with some powder candy from the gift store at the top. 

We made it!

Pop took the tram up and then walked down with us. 

And then we grabbed Great-Grandpa Sid for a late lunch/early dinner at The Cracker Barrel. 

The slide at the neighborhood pool was finally open!

The girls went down the slide over and over again for hours. 

The next day, Grandma Kelly joined us at the pool!

There was also a bike parade. 

Pop came by the night we packed up the house and the girls had a final packing parade. 

All packed up! Believe or not, Baxter was very happy to be back in the car and headed home. 

PJ loaded and unloaded and loaded again our little roof rack every time we stopped over night  at our hotels. The front desk always look at us funny when we came rolling in with 4 suitcases, a bunch of bags, two kids, and a dog. 

Back in Texas and looking forward to school starting!