Weekend getaway!

Our second camping trip of the summer was on the other side of Atlanta at Stone Mountain.  We headed out Friday afternoon (early to beat the traffic!) and spent the afternoon setting up camp.

Here's a look at the mountain rising out of the middle of Atlanta that's known for it's granite face....

Growing up, my parents taught me one thing about camping that I'll never forget.....

Ding Dongs & Twinkies......never leave home without them ;D

Saturday was full of activities at the mountain, but we started with family pictures.  First the gang with dad.....

and then mom ;D

Once we got in the park, the fun began!  Our first stop, the ropes course.....

I took all the kids (minus Caleb, who stayed with daddy) on the 2-hour course....

Jacob hung in there the entire time, amazing all those around him!  We never even questioned whether or not he could do it, and he showed no fear ;D

Zack was below snapping pictures of us all- here's Allie & me!

Matthew did awesome as well!  He was deliberately falling so that he could hang from his gear ;D

After the ropes course, we did lots of other fun things.  Some of the highlights included a ride around the mountain in a train....

and taking the tram up to the top!  The boys all wanted to pose for me :D

And so did my big cheeseball girls ;D

One of the favorite activities was Geyser Towers....

The kids (big and little) got SOAKED!

The smart ones watched from the sidelines ;D

After dinner, we headed out to the big lawn at the base of the mountain to get ready for the fireworks and laser show.

We had fun hanging out on the lawn, eating fudge & kettle corn.....

that is, until the rain started :/  Yep, it poured, and we had to leave our blankets and head for shelter!   We thought for sure that would be the end of our night, but miraculously, at 9:30 sharp, just as the show was scheduled to begin, the rain stopped!

The show was amazing!!  They used lasers and fireworks to light up the face of the mountain!  I snapped some pictures just to give you an idea.....

Really awesome! 

On Sunday, we got up and made bacon, eggs and yummy camp donuts, and then slowly packed up camp.  Caleb spent about 30 minutes pushing around this empty cooler with his funny little hat on backward and sideways ;D

And Matthew collected all the clothes pins off the line for me.....

That's one way to do it ;D

We're having so much fun camping that we're even planning to do it again over the 4th of July!  And now that we know how to make camp donuts, push coolers and carry clothes pins, we're ready to roll ;D

Stone Mountain

One Adventure After Another!

 Serious fun. Endless adventure!

*It's all waiting for you at Georgia's #1 attraction. Just 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta and home to the world's largest piece of exposed granite, this natural wonderland offers 3,200 acres of excitement for every member of the family. A mountain of memories awaits you. Soar to the top of the mountain on the Summit Skyride for an unprecedented view of the Atlanta Skyline. Then take a trek through the treetops on Sky Hike, one of the nation’s largest adventure courses. When your feet are back on solid ground, head to the 4-D Theater and take a hike with the wildest bears on Earth in the YOGI BEAR 4-D Adventure. New for 2012, experience Geyser Towers! This first and only adventure of its kind brings an all-new must-do experience to Stone Mountain Park. Ideal for the whole family, Geyser Towers features multiple levels of suspended rope bridges and net tunnels connected to towering platforms that overlook a gushing geyser. With its sporadic eruptions and multiple offshoots, you can play in the spray or stay high and dry. The options and the fun, are all yours! And of course don’t miss an Atlanta tradition – the Lasershow Spectacular in Mountainvision. This newly transformed show will wow your family with state-of-the-art digital graphics and awe-inspiring effects. The Lasershow can be seen every Saturday, April 14 - May.*

THIS is where we're going tomorrow!  We're so excited to have this fabulous family adventure so close to home.  And they have a campground at the mountain as well, so we decided to stay for the weekend!      In the winter, they also have a snow area, with tubing and other fun snow-related activities :D

(This is not a paid endorsement of any kind......I'm just excited!)

So excited that I even copied some of the pictures from their website :D
 

A little blurry, but you get the idea!

The mountain has been a favorite Atlanta attraction for many years, and we can see it when we climb up the mountain near us and look east across the city of Atlanta.  And since it's only about an hour drive from our home, we're hoping to purchase a year-long season pass for the whole gang soon.  They have something for every season (pumpkin picking, hay rides, winter activities), so it should be a fun place for our family for years to come!

Allie Z Photography

As most of you know, our oldest daughter, Allie, has recently started her own photography business.  We are so proud of her!  She is not only talented behind the lens, but she is a photoshop wiz :D

We've really enjoyed watching her grow as an artist!

And we're very excited to see what her future has in store for her!

After all, she's come a looooong way to get to this point in her life.  The days of endometriosis aren't behind her completely, but she's back to living again!

And not only is Allie a talented photographer, but she is also very skilled with the computer and has designed her very own website!

 

We would love for you to check it out!

   

And be sure when you get there.....

to "like" her on Facebook ;D  There's a button to do it on her website!

And if you live in the Atlanta area, be sure to give her a call for your next family photos :D

21 years!

As I reflect on the past 21 years, I am reminded of that old Timex commercial....

Takes a lickin', keeps on tickin' ;D

That about sums it up!

Yep, we've had our ups and downs, but we've beaten the odds, and we're still here able to smile after all these years :D

And I have a feeling this year is destined to take us on the biggest roller coaster of our married lives to date.  Yes, even BIGGER than Zack losing his job last year and us relocating to Georgia!  And no, I'm still not pregnant, but you'll be the first to know when I am ;D  

Anyway, in honor of our 21 years, we were more than happy to leave all our little ones at home with our big ones and head over to the quaint downtown area of Roswell for dinner.  There was a restaurant there I was excited to try, and when you see the pictures, you'll understand why!

Isn't that awesome?!  The main part of the dining area is out on the front lawn of the restaurant!  The restaurant itself is in an old house, as are many of the other shops and restaurants on the street.  We chose to sit at a table on the lawn....

A little easier to eat ;D  I loved all the colorful blankets on the backs of the chairs!  What a great way to add color and interest to the setting!  

Dinner was great, dessert was fabulous!!  Zack had the carrot cake.....best ever!  Mimi (my dear friend), you have to come and try it ;D

I had the Napa Valley Cheesecake......need I say more?!

But the best part was the wonderful relaxed atmosphere and good company.  There's nothing better than uninterrupted quality time with your true love!  

Here's to 21 more :D

Show us your life: bedrooms!

Linking up again with Kelly's Korner for Show us your life: bedrooms!  Today is master bedrooms and guest bedrooms, and while we have 7 bedrooms in our house, we don't have a guest bedroom since we use them ALL!  We do have a guest "space" in our basement, but I'll leave that area for another post :D

Here's our master bedroom....

We have a nice tray-ceiling, but the room is a really odd shape, so it presented some challenges.  In addition to our bed, we have Caleb's crib in our room- he's not quite ready for the bunkbeds we have in the room he will share with Jacob.

Eventually, and in the event that we don't have any more little ones, we will replace the crib with a matching chair to make a nice sitting area.

In our last house, we had our t.v. in a cabinet, but we simply didn't have room in this house for the cabinet, so we resorted to hanging the t.v. on the wall.  That meant I couldn't put my mirror above my dresser, but it works.  

There are so many angles to the walls, that it made it hard to place our furniture.  Zack's dresser is almost behind the door, but we had just enough space to make it work.

And one of my favorite parts of our room....

All my babes on one wall!

My blessings :D

The movers destroyed our mattress in our move, so we were able to get a new one, and we took the opportunity to upgrade to a memory foam bed.  We LOVE it!!  And we kept the old boxspring so that we now have 2 boxsprings under our mattress, making the bed extra high :D  I love having it so tall!

I did have to use two boxspring covers, but I like the way it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by!