JOHN VISITS CHICK-FIL-A!!!

What an exciting day in our family's history!!! We visited the Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters in Atlanta!!! Thanks the wonderful managers at our Chick-fil-A we had a personal guided tour, complete with a visit to Truett Cathy's office (unfortunately he was not in this afternoon), a view of the corporate gym and cafeteria, and (Trent's favorite) a chance to see the BATMOBILE!!

Truett Cathy purchased the Batmobile and drove it into the hall of cars himself. His Batmobile is only one of three from the movie "Batman Returns." The Batsuit is only one of 500 from the same movie.

This picture was taken in the Chick-fil-A Museum in a model of Truett Cathy's first restaurant. If you would like to know the entire history of Chick-fil-A please email or call John and he can tell you everything he knows.

It was a great tour and I'm glad that we were able to finally go. It is such a neat place and it would probably be a wonderful place to work.

Visiting Abby

Yesterday, we spent most of the day hanging around the house and relaxing and then we took off down I-75 to go see Abby. Most of you know that Abby just moved to Macon last month for work, so the kids and I wanted to go and see her new apartment and her office. Luckily, Person was able to join us on our short road trip.

The Fernbank Museum

Today, the kids and I went to the Fernbank Museum downtown. This was the first day that I actually drove into the downtown area on I-75. What an experience!! I've determined that Atlanta traffic on the interstate only has 2 speeds-either you go really slow in bumper to bumper traffic OR you go really fast (and by really fast I mean 75 to 80mph when it's listed 55mph). Today I had the priveledge of being able to drive in both.

When we got onto I-75 at 11:00 this morning it was bumper to bumper for about 2 miles due to an accident. The rest of the time I felt like I was the turtle on the interstate, and I was driving at 75 mph. But I soon became accustomed to my surroundings and it didn't seem so bad. I've also realized that going 20 mph over the posted speed limit is not as big of a deal here in the "big city" as it is on I-81. I have to admit, by the end of our outing I was the one breezing past those "turtles."

So anyway...our visit to the Fernbank was very much enjoyable. I had done a little searching on the internet about this museum prior to today and thought it sounded like a nice place to visit. I was also excited that if I bought a membership at the Fernbank it would be accepted at the Science Museum at home also. And even better than that...I was able to save $10.00 on the membership since I am a teacher! So our family now has full membership priveledges at the museum until July 2008. And that's a good thing because there was no way we were going to be able to see the entire museum today - we will have to go back again to finish it at a later date.

Below are some of the pictures I took while we were there. The kids and I had a great time and I look forward to taking John back this weekend to see their IMAX movie titled "Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France." By the way sweetie...if you want to see a trailer for it check this out http://www.wiredtowinthemovie.com/

Trent and Ella both practiced being weather forecasters on the green screen. Trent thought it was very neat that the weather forecasters don't see the pictures on the wall, instead they have to look at the t.v. monitors in front of them. Ella was not as enthusiastic about being on t.v.

Both of the kids had a great time making gigantic bubbles.

One of the special exhibits at the Fernbank this summer is called "Lizards and Snakes." This was a really neat exhibit that had a special area with all kinds of hands-on learning materials for kids to play with. No, Ella and Trent are not holding real, live reptiles...they are just dressed as herpetologists ready to study the plastic look alikes.

The final stop today was in the kid's play rooms. Each room was designed for a specific age group - one for preschoolers and the other for school agers - and teaches kids about the different wildlife in Georgia. The kids both agreed that this was the best part of the day. Here, Ella is pretending to help the bees carry pollen from one flower to another...and she would still be doing this if Iwould've let her. The child drops a ball into one of the two flowers on the sides and the ball goes through the tube back down to the middle flower to be picked up again. Ella figured out how it worked and then tried to see how fast she could do it.

Next door in the school age room, Trent learned how to fish and about the different types of animals that are in the rivers and lakes around Georgia.

So that was our day! Check back soon for more updates.

Monday Pool Fun!!

Today was just a sit-around-and-do-nothing day complete with a trip to the pool. As many of you have read in previous posts Ella is not very fond of the water. However, today she made her first steps towards the water...she sat in the boat and she allowed Trent to squirt her with the water gun. Just wanted to share a few pictures for you to enjoy. Check back again soon!

The Georgia Aquarium

Today we went to the Georgia Aquarium with Pops and Person. It was very exciting, but there were a lot of people. Fortunately, we had advanced tickets for 11:00 this morning so we didn't have to stand in line like yesterday at Coke. The Aquarium is fairly new so it stays quite busy. And it has the only Whale Shark display in North America. Ella said her favorite thing was the fish and the penguins.

This is the Aquarium's mascot "Deepo."

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One of the best displays is the Beluga Whale tank. I believe they have about 4 of them at this time. They act very much like dolphins and were very friendly as you can tell from this picture I was able to snap of Trent.

Another neat thing that the Aquarium offered was the opportunity to touch several of the animals, like the horseshoe crabs and shrimp! Even Person touched the shrimp!!

One of Ella's favorite things about our visit was the play area. There was an indoor Whale Slide, playground, and tube maze.

Here are 2 short videos of the kids enjoying the Aquarium.

Saturday's visit to The World of Coke

Yesterday afternoon we went to see The World of Coke downtown. It was extremely busy down there and even though we got the building at 2:00, we weren't able to get in for a tour until 3:15. Fortunately, I had packed some Teddy Grahams and raisins for the kids to snack on while we waited. We also found a drink machine and a shady spot, so it wasn't that bad waiting. The tour was very nice and at the end of the tour we were able to taste all the different Coke products from around the world. Trent liked the drinks from Europe the best. Here is a picture of Ella and Trent trying different sodas.

We also got to meet the Coke Polar Bear, which Ella called the Big Teddy Bear the entire time. This bear was so neat! It could blink it's eyes, open it's mouth, and had numerous facial expressions. I've never met a bear that was so life-like. Of course, Ella would not get close to the Polar Bear without holding Trent's hand.

Because we were late getting a tour we didn't leave Coke until around 5:30 and Ella was exhausted. She did a wonderful job during the tour and didn't complain one bit. So on the way home, she actually fell asleep in the car...something that is quite uncommon for Ella.

We finished the day with a wonderful dinner at Jerry and Darryl's.

Our visit to Stone Mountain

Last night for dinner we had "cafeteria night"...this is the long-standing title Pops and Person assigned to the night when we heat up and eat all the leftovers in the fridge for dinner.


After dinner, we loaded up the cars and took off for Stone Mountain for the Laser Show. This was the first time that I had been to the mountain of stone and I must say it was spectacular. We had a great time! For those of you who haven't been to the rock, you must visit it on your next trip to the Atlanta area.

This is a picture of Stone Mountain. The line on the left side of the picture is a sky car that takes people from the bottom of the mountain to the top and then returns. I imagine on the ride that you get a great view of the carving in the stone.

As you can tell there are 3 men carved into the stone...General Robert E. Lee, General Stonewall Jackson, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The laser show was displayed on the stone wall and fireworks were shot from the small pond at the base of the mountain.


It has been great having Carol, Don, and Aunt Hazel visit this week. And Abby was able to come up from Macon again this weekend!


Trent and Ella are being royally spoiled this week, not just by Pops and Person but also by Carol and Don. These are the light sabres Carol and Don bought for them.


This morning we woke up and ate a wonderful breakfast of bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, and toast fixed by Pops. Currently, we are sitting and waiting for Abby to return from picking up a copy of the new Harry Potter book. Then we will be going to the "The World of Coke" to see how Coke is produced. It should be quite fun!!

Keep checking back for updates!

Ella finally learns to Tomahawk Chop!

Make sure after you read this post you continue to the next one. I had to make two separate posts in order to get everything online.

We worked all night on the Tomahawk chop with Ella. Here are 2 video clips of the learning process.

Our 2nd Braves Game

Last night Pops, Person, and I took Trent and Ella to their second Braves game. Here are a few pictures of our outting.

We decided to take our chances and find tickets when we got down to the stadium. Trent was very excited that Pops got us tickets on the Lexus level! He was also happy that we were sitting on the visitor's side so he could monitor the going-ons in the Braves dugout. I was happy sitting in the Lexus level because we were only steps away from an enclosed, air conditioned concourse with very nice bathrooms. I've now been spoiled.

I took these next two pictures because this was Julio Franco's first game back with the Braves. If you are a Braves fan you will remember that Franco played for the team several years ago. He was released by the Mets and picked up by the Braves on Wednesday morning, just in time to start at last night's game. I was amazed by 2 things - first, that he started so soon after being signed and second, at the warm welcome he was given...the crowd went crazy when he stepped up to bat. They were very happy to have him back in Atlanta.



This was his first bat of the night.

Tonight we will be going to Stone Mountain for the laser and fireworks show. Aunt Hazel, Carol, and Don will be coming back from the boat today to join us on the mountain.

Keep checking back for updates...and don't forget to leave a comment to let us know how you are doing!

Getting out and About

It's hard to believe that we've already been here a week! Since we have been in Atlanta, Trent and Ella's sleep schedules have adapted nicely from 8:30pm-7:30am to 10:30pm-9:00am. The past several nights, I've looked at the clock in the car when we pull into the driveway and it amazes me to read 10:00pm and then realize that Ella is still 'chipper' and Trent is still awake. I hadn't intended for there to be such a change in schedule, but it has proven to work out very well...especially for night's like tonight when we will be out until 11:00/11:30 at the Braves game. And I must admit that it has been very nice getting the extra sleep in the morning.

This morning was a little different since Aunt Hazel was not here. The past few mornings breakfast has taken a little longer than usual because we spend time talking with Auntie and figuring out what we are going to do for the day...mostly, trying to arrange our schedule around the threat of rain (do we go to the pool, do we stay inside, is it going to rain this morning, is it going to rain this afternoon, is it going to get hotter, and so forth). Well, today I was able to listen to the weather during breakfast and found out that the threat of showers was small, so we decided to hop in the car and drive over to the park. It was just a short car ride (5 minutes) and the equipment was terrific. It reminded me a lot of Longwood at home but with more kids and a great wooden fence around the perimeter to keep everyone wrangled inside. We spent about 1 & 1/2 hours playing (Trent found a group of boys to play with) and then decided that it was getting too hot for our liking so we came home and ate lunch.

Tonight we are going to go to the Braves game to see Tim Hudson pitch. Hopefully, this series with the Cardinals will be better than the last 3 games with the Reds. It seems that yesterday's 15 inning game ended with the Reds winning and a terrible traffic jam with fans trying to get out during rush hour. Even though I'm still bummed that Trent didn't get to see Smoltz pitch, I'm relieved that I wasn't in that mess with 2 kids! I have patience, but not that much. And Trent was happy because Pops bought him a pack of baseball cards last night while we were out, so he didn't miss out on much.

Tomorrow night we are still planning on going to Stone Mountain for the laser show. Since Auntie is flying back home Sunday morning, we are going to try to go to "The World of Coke" on Saturday with her, and then do the Aquarium on Sunday after we drop off Auntie at the airport. We will have to see about the Braves game Sunday night.

I will definitely have pictures tomorrow from tonight's game so check back. Remember to leave us comments...Trent keeps checking to see if anyone is reading what we wrote.

It's Hump Day in Atlanta

Things have been fairly easy-going this week at "The Ritz Moses." Yesterday, Person got off work after lunch and we spent the afternoon shopping with Aunt Hazel and Carol. Auntie has had a difficult time trying to find clothes to suit her style back at home, so we thought a bigger city might have a wider selection. Not much luck for Auntie, but Trent found a Borders Bookstore where we purchased 2 new books for him to read and a new Dora book for Ella. On the way home Aunt Hazel treated all of us to a sundae at Dairy Queen since it was "snack time." Last night, Person fixed a wonderful roast and Don, Carol, and Darryl came over for dinner. We then watched the Braves on t.v. (one of the things Trent enjoys most about Atlanta...you never miss a Braves game because they are always on t.v. here)as they lost their second game to the Cincinnatti Reds.

Since it has rained here almost everyday since we arrived (no joking) we haven't been able to get to the pool as much as we had hoped. It was a bit soggy this morning, so we decided to try our luck after lunch. We were able to spend about 1 & 1/2 hours there before the raindrops started to fall and a small storm moved in. I still believe that we are the only ones using the neighborhood pool which is a bit boring for Trent, but a quick trip to Wal-Mart earlier this week has equipped him with water guns and a small boat. That helped to relieve a little of his bordom. Ella still will not touch the water - I put her in the boat which brought her to tears, so that was the end of Ella in the pool today. She is much happier standing on the side throwing the ball out for Trent to retreive.

Aunt Hazel, Carol, and Don left at lunch time to spend the next few days at cousin Jerry's boathouse on the lake. I believe the plan is for them to be back Friday afternoon so we can go to Stone Mountain for the lazer show that night. If the weather holds out, we are going to try to take the kids to another Braves game tomorrow night and Sunday night. This will be the final chance Trent has before we go back home - there's not another home game until July 31st. I really wanted to take him to today's 1:00 game since his favorite pitcher, John Smoltz (who is now off the DL) was starting. However, I don't believe it would've worked with Ella in tow. Do I really look that dumb???

So that's about all the news I have for now. It looks like Saturday we will be taking off to the new Georgia Aquarium downtown...Pops is very excited about that one! I will update again when there's new news to share. I hope all is going well at home - remember to leave us a comment and let us know how you are all doing.

Short Videos from Saturday's baseball game

Here's a short video of Trent learning how to Tomahawk chop.

Here's a short clip of Mom and Trent singing "Take Me Out to The Ball Game" during the severnth inning stretch. You can see all the umbrellas and ponchos in the background because it was starting to rain much harder...the game was delayed about 4 minutes after this.

A Little Update from Atlanta

All is well in Atlanta but it's been a bit uneventful over the past 2 days. We have been taking it easy and just enjoying spending time with family. Aunt Hazel's flight arrived yesterday afternoon and she is now occupying the last open room at "The Ritz Moses."

Last night, Pops and Person hosted a cookout for all the family (and we even met family we didn't even know we had!) before Aunt Abby had to drive back to Macon. Trent had a wonderful time playing with a new set of cousins he met last night - Abby and Lucas are 2nd (3rd? 4th??? whatever) cousins who live in Southern Georgia. So far, Trent hasn't had much time to play outside and meet the kids in the neighborhood so it was nice for him to have a playmate(s) for a few hours.

This morning, we woke up and spent a few hours at the subdivision's pool. We were the only ones at the pool so it was very peaceful. Trent had a great time playing in the water but Ella didn't want to touch the water. Ella spent most of the time throwing the ball out in the pool for Trent to go and retreive!


John left about 4:00 this morning in order to make it to his 6 am flight home. Thanks to computer technology I was able to track his flight and he made it home safe and sound, and even a little earlier than scheduled! I know he will enjoy spending the next 2 weeks as a bachelor. Those of you at home...keep an eye on him and keep him out of trouble!!!

I will post another update soon! Remember to leave comments and keep us updated on the going-ons at home.

Day 2 in Atlanta-Trent & Ella's 1st MLB game

Tonight Trent and Ella went to their very first Major League Baseball game!! Of course, it was the Atlanta Braves...oh yeah, they played the Pirates for those of you who were wondering. Here is our family picture before going into the stadium. Trent wore his Andruw Jones jersey to the game...and Andruw made the first HOME RUN of the game in the first inning. Trent will tell you that he made that Home Run because he (Trent) was wearing the #25 jersey. When I asked Trent about his favorite part of the game he told me it was "Andruw's home run!"


Coke in a souvenir cup at a Braves game: $4.75
Eating Braves peanuts at Turner Field: $6.25
Learning how to "Tomahawk Chop": priceless


Unfortunately, around the 6th inning it began to sprinkle rain. By the middle of the 7th it was pouring. We took part in the 7th inning stretch (and got soaked, by the way) before they called a rain delay and pulled out the tarps. This had the be Trent's second favorite thing of the night. Trent and Mom stood in the (pouring) rain in order to see the crew do their thing.

At 9:45, we decided that it was late and the game wouldn't start up again until after 10:00, so we left. By the time we made it back home we were able to watch the end on t.v. And how did the game turn out???? Well, even though the Braves gave up their 4-0 lead in the 7th, Jeff Francoure pulled off a base hit in the 9th to end the game at 5-4.

Abby arrived this morning, Carol and Don arrived this afternoon, and Aunt Hazel will be flying in tomorrow around noon. Person is planning a picnic for everybody tomorrow for dinner. Daddy will be flying home on Monday morning and coming back in 2 weeks. Keep checking back for updates. There won't be as many during the week because the weekdays will not be as "eventful" as the last 2 days, but I will let everyone know how things are going.

Day 1 in Atlanta

We just got back from the "big city" and the kids are taking a nap, so I thought I would post a few pictures from our visit to Turner Field. It was quite exciting and Trent LOVED IT! We decided that we wouldn't rush around this morning to get out, so by the time we left it was close to 10:30. After dealing with Atlanta traffic it was about 11:15 when we arrived at the stadium. The next tour of the field was 12:00, so we signed up and took some time to few the exibits in the museum while we waited. Here's a picture of the kids at the museum:



During our tour of the stadium we started at the very top and moved down. It started at the Sky Box where the big Coke bottle sits with the smaller Coke bottle canons on either side. This is the Coke bottle that the fireworks shoot out of whenever the Braves win or a player hits a home run. This picture is of Trent and Ella sitting in the giant size Coke chairs overlooking the city of Atlanta (sorry it's sideways, I forgot to reformat it before posting):

We then made our way down to the Lexus level (You guessed it! This entire seating level is sponsored by the Lexus car company and there are 2 cars sitting inside the concourse when you go in! It was a little mind-boggling to figure out how they got those cars up on the 3rd level of the stadium) . This is the luxury level that houses all the suites and the press boxes. Here are Trent and Ella pretending to be TBS sportscasters:

As you can tell from Ella's body language it was time for lunch at this point!

We then walked into the next room that is reserved for the rest of the print media, scouts, game announcers, and the "stats" people. Here's the next Voice of the Braves:


Following the press rooms we walked down to Trent's FAVORITE part...THE BRAVES DUGOUT!!!!! Trent says this was the best part of the whole tour:



We finished the tour with a walk along the field (on the dirt, we were not allowed to touch the grass) to the visiting bullpen. Unfortunately, since tonight is a home game, we were not able to see the clubhouse (locker rooms). If we had gotten to the 11:00 tour we would've been able to see the visiting locker rooms, but we were 15 minutes too late getting tickets. Oh, well.

We finished the morning with lunch across the street from Turner Field at a little grill & bar call "The Bullpen." It was very good and much needed at 1:00. It is completely full of Braves pictures from 1966 to the present. We are going to save Olympic Centennial Park for another day. The day was starting to heat up when we left lunch and Ella was getting cranky.

We will be attending tomorrow night's baseball against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Our seats are in the Upper Deck between Home plate and 1st base. We were able to see them from afar today and they look like they are going to be great seats for Trent's first MLB game.

Don't forget to leave us a comment...Trent is very excited about everyone getting to read about his vacation! We will write more tomorrow!

We're in Atlanta!!

We arrived yesterday afternoon at Pops and Person's house (about 5:00). The trip was fairly uneventful...we were traveling with Ella, you know. We ran into some heavy traffic on the other side of Chattanooga, but other than that the car ride went well. Ella and Trent enjoyed the new DVD player from Pops and Person and Ella actually took a short NAP!! That was surprising!

This morning we are off to Turner Field for a tour, Centennial Park to see the Olympic rings, and then a lunch at "The Varsity." I will be sure to update and post more pictures soon!