Redneck Swimming Pool

Last Sunday, my newphews Jack and Benjamin were playing in mom's backyard and were dying to play in the water hose. It had gotten a bit cool but they insisted. Mom had already put up their little swimming pool so Melissa improvised. We found an empty rubbermaid tub in the basement and put some water in it. They would have played in it all afternoon if we would have let them. It was pretty hilarious.

Imagine-It Children's Museum

Melissa, Ana, Beth, Mom, and I all headed to Atlanta one Sunday in August to the Children's Museum. This was our second time going to the museum and it was even better this time since the kids had gotten a little older.

Jack loved the grocery store section. He would shop and put his groceries in a basket and then take them to the register and ring them up all while pretending to talk on his cell phone.
All the kids enjoyed painting on the wall and also building in the moon sand. Benjamin enjoyed eating the moon sand.
Benjamin especially loved the balls. He would pick them up and toss them every where. There was even a crane that he could operate to pick up and move things.
Baby James even got to go. He mostly just hung out in the stroller though. After playing at the museum for a couple of hours, we all headed across Centennial Olympic Park to CNN Center for lunch and then to the park to play on an awesome new playground.

Six Flags

Jamey and I took Alice and Jones to Six Flags right before school started. This was their first time ever. Jamey and I have't been since high school. We all actually had a really good time. The crowds were light and the weather was wonderful. The first picture is them posing in front of the Thomas the Tank Engine ride. The second was on our way into Monster Plantation. We are all already looking forward to our trip to Six Flags next summer.

Myrtle Beach with Alex and Ava

I am so behind on my postings but school has started and I have just gotten overwhelmed. As you can see from the pictures, we went back to the beach at the end of July with Jamey's mom, and his sister, along with a set of 2 year old twins (Jamey's sister's girls). This was there first trip to the beach and they had a blast.
This is their first experience with the ocean. They were a little hesitant at first but got very brave by the end of the week.
We tried just about every night to get cute pictures on the beach. We were only successful a couple of times. When I say successful, I mean getting both of them to look at us at the same time. This was one of my favorite pictures. They were not even looking at us but it is still precious.
Of course, Jamey and I had to pose with the kids. They are growing up so fast. We are sad that we don't see them more often. We had a great time! Can't wait to do it again.

Yellow River Game Ranch

My sister Melissa and I took her little boy Jack to the Yellow River Game Ranch on Friday. Melissa and I have never been real huge animal lovers which we both rediscovered once we got there. I think that we were a little more scared of the animals than Jack was. Once we got over our initial fear we went back and bought more food for the animals and actually had fun feeding them. We saw tons of deer and fawns, goats, mules, chickens, pigs, ducks, rabbits, and many more animals.We can't wait to go back and take Benjamin and Ana.

Seagrove Beach

We did it again. The whole family went to the beach and we lived to tell about it. Well some have better stories than others. The weather was beautiful, the water was crystal clear, and the kids were cranky and ill. What else could you ever ask for?

Jack enjoyed the beach again this year. He played in the sand, he played ladder ball with Jamey, Nick, and Andy, and he eventually loved playing in the water.

Benjamin grew to like the beach but not until the very last day we were out there. He didn't like the sand to touch his body. We finally got him into the water on Friday and he seemed to enjoy it.

Jamey and I took advantage of the nice weather. We managed to stay out at the beach just about all day each day we were there. Jamey of course played golf one day and he went fishing another day. Check out all of the fish that they caught. We have eaten fish twice since we got home. It was great!

Fun Day in Atlanta

Nick, Melissa, and Jack have moved to Atlanta for Nick to do his residency at Emory. So instead of me helping move, Ana and I took the kids on Marta to the Children's Imagine It Museum at Centennial Olympic Park. Jack and Benjamin both loved riding MARTA. Ana and I both got motion sickness. Ugh! The boys loved the museum. There are a lot of cool things for the kids to do. Jack loved pushing around the grocery cart full of things. Benjamin loved stacking the blocks and knocking them down again. Oh, Benjamin also loved the moon sand. He didn't do a lot of building....he mostly did some eating. We hope that it is non-toxic. Here is a link to the museum. I highly recommend it. We can't wait to go back. http://www.imagineit-cma.org/home.asp

Benjamin's New Playground

Benjamin got a new playground in his backyard. Jack and Benjamin played on it for the first time on Friday night. They both love the slide and the swings. Benjamin even got a new sandbox. I'm not sure how long the sand will be in the turtle. Jack likes to shovel the sand onto the mulch.

Atlanta Braves and Jones' 5th Birthday

Jamey and I took Jones to his first Braves game today for his 5th birthday. We had a great time. Jones enjoyed the Cartoon Network playhouse better than the game though.

Tybee Island and Good Friends!!!!

Lee, Jeff, Jamey and I headed down to Tybee Island again this weekend. We drove down Friday after work looking for some sun and relaxation. Our first stop of course was Huc-a-poohs. This is the best pizza place in the state. We went three times in four days. I highly recommend it. It is also a fun place to hang out, have fun and have a few adult beverages. Saturdays weather was cloudy and cool but it warmed up a ton for Sunday and Lee and I hung out at my friend Jan's house.

Jamey, Jan and I also went on a walk down the beach at the river and found some great oyster beds. Jamey actually brought some back with him and cracked and ate them right out of the water. Ugh!!!

Zoo Atlanta

Alex and Ava (our twin nieces) from Memphis came to visit for Easter. Jamey was dying to take them to the zoo so we loaded everyone up and headed to Atlanta. My sisters and their two boys also went so it meant for a full day. The kids loved the animals. Alex loved them so much that she would cry each time we left one area for the next. She finally figured out the whole zoo concept after about 4 or 5 animals. We ventured into the petting zoo. Jack loved brushing the goats. We were all surprised that Alex didn't really want anything to do with the animals. Us girls then loaded up all the kids and too the little train ride. The men of course hung out in the shade while Jamey caught up on the NCAA basketball brackets. I am beating him so he was checking the scores constantly. Here are a few of the better pictures.

The Big 4-0!!!

Jeff Kinsella turned 40 this year. Lee had a big birthday celebration at their place. Check out the cake. It tasted like bananas dipped in chocolate. Yumm....

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Savannah and Tybee Island

During my "mid-winter" break from school, Jamey and I took a trip down to Savannah and Tybee Island. The weather was cold and rainy except of course for our last full day there. We did manage to get in a couple of tours in downtown. However our favorite adventure was on Saturday when we visited Fort Pulaski. We did the self-tour, the guided tour and even "hiked" (if you want to call it that) out to the old Cockspur Lighthouse. It happened to be low tide so we got pretty close to it. These are a few of our favorite pictures from the trip.