266 Hotlanta - take 2

I will try to knock out a few more days. At this rate I will never be caught up :)
On Friday, July 3rd we headed up to spend the day with one of my brothers and his family. Katie and Claire are the cutest cousins ever. They automatically start playing like they have never been apart. Milly and Connor are only 22 days apart (Katie and Claire are one year and 22 days apart), but they don't seem to have too much in common other than the need to play with whatever the other one is playing with. Milly has a purple princess car (just like his red car) and she will defend that thing with her life! Connor wants nothing more than to climb behind the wheel and head off, but Milly will quickly reclaim the driver's seat if he even glances in the cars direction. On the way up to Geof's house we picked up a baby pool and a slip'n'slide. The girls never did get up enough speed to really SLIDE, but they had fun splashing around. Connor just wanted to explore the new world, see what he could find to destroy. And of course, practise his plumber impression.

On the Fourth of July we headed to my other brother's house. Well, eventually we headed to his house. I knew we would be in the pool, and the one thing I forgot to pack was my swimsuit. So, we went a-lookin' and eventually a-findin' a swimsuit. I hated to just buy some ugly suit ... if I am spending money when it is so tight then I should spend it on something decent, right?! Only problem, it took longer than I thought, and we arrived just as Geof and his family were leaving. Which sucked, but seriously ... the first swimsuits we found were HIDEOUS! I would have been miserable. But, I found a decent swimsuit, and spent the day with Vince and his family, so it turned out pretty darn good. Katie floated around on her "special" float (a cheapy float from Walmart, but hey, it was HOT PINK). Connor tried out his new "Puddle Jumper" (also from Walmart, on clearance for $5 in the sporting goods section - if there are any left). He has hated every float we have tried this year, but he LOVES the Puddle Jumper! He even tried to put it on the next day just walking around the house. We splashed around out there for hours, and then Ronka grilled out some burgers and we chowed!

We brought some Snap-N-Pops and sparklers and you would have thought we brought an entire fireworks display. Katie was very excited. The older kids, not as much. However, the people across the street put on an amazing show .. best part, it was free!

There is no photographic evidence, but on Sunday night I was able to meet up with a few of my old basketball buddies! The Lady Blue Devils are all as beautiful as they used to be (actually, we are much better looking now - well, not me) We LAUGHED and carried on, and probably annoyed the crap out of our waitress. She had NO personality until she told me I needed my second margarita. I guess she warmed up as the tab started to rise and she could see her tip grow. Did I mention we laughed? I wish we could get a true reunion going! This time it was Stacy, AmyV, Megan and I. I can just imagine the hilarity that would ensue if we could get all of us in one place. Satacy and I headed to Cafe Intermezzo for a little dessert after AmyV and Megan left for their long drive home. I wish I had taken a picture of the delicious desserts we had! YUMMY! I chose the Chocolate Mousse Cake with Cheesecake Chunks. Stacy got the White Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake. And yes, I did manage to survive a night out without the kids. AND IT WAS LOVELY!!

Grammy has been complaining for awhile about the mockingbirds that dive bomb her as she walks to her car. I thought she was surely exaggerating. SHE WASN'T! These guys were experts! One day we were sitting on the carport, enjoying our morning coffee when we noticed a baby mockingbird that was trying to figure out how to fly. We watched it for a little while, and then I went and got my zoom lens.

Everything was fine as long as I stayed under the carport (at first) but when I walked into the yard to capture a different angle I was suddenly under attack! They were not shy at all about getting as close as the could. They meant business! Grammy has some stray cats that have adopted her yard, so I understand they do need to keep an eye out, but seriously! I am 5'9" ... that bird really wouldn't deter me if I wanted to do something. But you have got to give it to those birdy parents THEY HAVE HEART!

As the day wore on they were not quite as timid. They started flying under the carport. And then they started heading for MY kids! Admirable as it is for them to defend their young, they just have no clue the lengths I would go to defend MINE! Luckily, we are human and we have much larger brains. We grabbed our stuff and headed inside, and we left them in peace.

And now we have covered a week in Atlanta. The next few days we went on an "adventure" so those will have to be broken up!