So, if you read my blog about 3-4 months ago then you knew I was doing Weight Watchers religiously...and then I went on my trip to Bermuda... Well, that was kind of a downer in my dieting plan and I never really got completely back on track. So, I'm trying again now and I've added the little nifty weight loss ticker at the top of my blog. That way I can be accountable without making a post about it each week. So, stay tuned and hopefully I'll be at my goal soon!

Floating down the Hooch!

On our trip to Georgia this month we had so much fun! We did a lot of things that we hadn't done before and one of them was driving up to Helen, GA to go tubing down the Chattahooche River. We did it on Monday morning before Ryan flew back home. We took both girls and they each had a wonderful time! Avery got her own float and happily sat in it the whole ride - which took us about 1 1/2 hours. Ryan and Avery hooked their tubes together and floated down the river side by side. They were so cute! My mom and I took turns holding Riley in our tubes. She was so great! It was a beautiful day and I am so thankful that we got to spend the day together with our family...making sweet memories!

P.S. I have to give a special shout out to our friends Matt & Christie. They live about 10 minutes away from Helen and came up to see us for a little bit before we went tubing. They have a newborn baby named Abigail and a 5 year old named Andrew. Our camera battery died and Christie took these pictures for us. They even knew of a great place to see us as we were on the river and stopped to take some more pics of us in motion! YAY! You know me and pictures...I was so glad that she captured this memory for us! Thanks girl!

Family Fun Day - July 4th

What a treat it was for us to be able to spend the 4th of July with our family in Georgia! We were all excited to get to hang out at Mimi and Papa's pool and swim, cook out and spend the day playing outside. It was a beautiful day. One that I can look back on and smile about! It was one of those days when I wasn't worried about what was going to happen tomorrow or what was going on in the world but I was able to be in the moment and enjoy FT (my FIL's code for Family Time) at it's best. As I was looking at the pictures from the 4th I saw the ones of the kids jumping into the pool and they all had these smiles that were infectious....a look of pure joy! Ahhh, this must be what heaven will be like. I hope so! As you can only imagine...I took way too many pictures! So, I made a few collages so I could fit all my pics in the post. We had an incredible fireworks display and I must say right now that I am thankful to the Lord for keeping my husband safe as he set them off. You can see from the pictures that they were not some dinky backyard fireworks...they were the real deal! So, this is a major praise report! Also, I just wanted to give a shout out to my friend Brandi! It was great hanging with you and your family on the 4th. I know you all were tired but you still made it and I appreciate that! I wish you all could have stayed for the firewords but I understood! And a shout out to my in-laws for hosting a fabulous shin dig! You should really be thankful that we don't live in town anymore because we would seriously be invading your pool every day! No, seriously! It's awesome and we are so glad you guys made the decision to put a pool in your back yard a few years ago! The grandkids will grow up with some awesome memories of fun times had there. On to the pics. God Bless America!

Madison, GA

July 3rd we were in Athens visiting Ryan's parents and my mother-in-law had a fun day planned for us "girls". She took us to lunch at a cute little Italian restaurant called Mirko's. I had a delicious spinach and cheese stuffed ravioli...oooooo yum! Riley and Avery split some noodles with butter, and of course, I think my "little Mikey" - Riley ate more than her sister! After lunch we drove to Madison with a stop at one of my mother-in-law's favorite road side fruit stands. She and Avery picked out some Georgia peaches, boiled peanuts and some fresh tomatoes! Avery got a kick out of it and walked away with a little lolipop from the nice man - perfect! Then it was on to Madison. A quaint little town established in the early 1800's. It's got gorgeous antebellum homes and a sweet little downtown with some fun little shops to browse in. We enjoyed shopping with the girls - who I must say are some of the best shoppers ever! If you are going to have girls then you've got to have ones that are good shoppers, right? Riley didn't make a peep and Avery was very patient. So, after we were done shopping we rewarded Avery with some ice cream. We found a little ice cream shop named Scoops and we all enjoyed an ice cream cone (except for RK of course)! We had a wonderful day and we were so grateful to spend a fun filled day with Mimi aka Beverly aka Mom! :-)

Special visit

We had a special visit recently from my best friend Jaime. Jaime and I met our freshman year in college and have been besties ever since - that's 12 years for those of you who are trying to do the math in your head! Jaime is a beautiful woman and I am so blessed to have her in my life. She is one of those friends with a wealth of wisdom and knowledge that goes beyond her age. I love her crazy spirit and the fun we have together...silly fun! Here are some pictures from her visit. We mostly hung around the house and played with the girls. No big plans, just sitting and enjoying each others company...sometimes that's the best kind of fun for some old friends to have! Come see us again soon Aunt Jaime! Love you, mean it!