Thursday, August 23, 2012

Locks of Love

 Abby decided well over a year ago that she wanted to grow her hair out so she could donate it to Locks of Love and she did just that!

She was very nervous once she got in the chair and even started crying because she was worried that she wouldn't have enough hair left to work with.  Melissa reassured her and it began...

Before...


After...





 Abby couldn't believe how great it was to have shorter hair.  She felt so light and after showering, she was amazed at the small amount of shampoo needed to wash her hair.


 Here she is mailing off her donation.  

What a great kid!


Monday, August 20, 2012

Girl's beach trip-2012

 This year's beach trip started with an invitation to 7 friends but only 3 of us ended up going due to other commitments but Jennifer, Cindy & I had a great time!

There are very few photos since we were so busy doing nothing that it was difficult to pick up a camera.

A few of the highlights...

Thunder storms.  There were a couple of doozies and this photos of the pool shows just how much it rained.  It filled up the pool to the rim!

Also a note...we didn't even get in the pool at the house once!  How did that happen?


Another highlight...sushi.  Thanks Will.



We headed for a beach walk on our last night and tried to take a few photos.

Not bad.

 


We asked a random beach walker to take our photo

 


Random beach walker struggled to take a photo because she was trying to manage the camera, 2 dogs, a cast on one arm and a cigarette.   Poor choice on my part.

 




Dolphin

 

Other highlights that were not photographed:

Eating out for every meal (with the exception of breakfast)
Lots of talks
Fixing the world's problems, not to mention a few of our own
Not taking care of anyone but ourselves
Wandering downtown
Chubby Hubby ice cream
Laying by the pool at the Club
Finally getting the right radio station at the Club
Sleeping in
Wearing sweats & not wearing make-up
M&Ms
Funny (or possibly drunk) hibachi chef
 Finally getting cable and internet back after one of the storms caused a power surge

Thanks girls for a fabulous get-away and thanks to my in-laws for letting us get-away at their lovely home.

A couple of videos...

Monday, August 13, 2012

First day of school & The Braves

 The first day of school, oh how I love thee...

Sam is 13 and going into the 8th grade at ClearWater Academy.  We are excited that there are now 19 students this year and 5 new staff!  CWA is growing and it's very exciting!  This year in the upper school the students transition from classroom to classroom, which is really what they need to do.  Sam has been blessed with wonderful teachers, staff and therapists at CWA.



 Abby is 10 and is starting 4th grade at Woodward Academy.  She is now going to the Lower School which is an entirely different building.  She was most nervous about have a locker with an actual lock!  We went to her orientation and she got her lock and practiced, practiced, practiced!  Abby also changes classes...she actually has 7 periods!  In 4th grade!!



Back in early July I got an email from Sam's Miracle League coach and he had been nominated to attend a Braves batting practice, Meet & Greet and a game.  We were very excited.  The only day that worked for us was the 13th, the first day of school no less.

We picked up the kids early then headed to the ballpark.  We got there a bit early and waited a bit but were met by Jelani who was our escort.  He had a bag of goodies for us...tomahawks, hats, balls, etc.  We got down to the field and waited for batting practice.  The team the Braves were playing were the San Diego Padres and we watched them bat first.  During this time two Braves players came over.  Kris Medlen (pitcher) came and signed Sam's ball and Johnny Venter came over and handed Sam his baseball bat!  Sweet!

After waiting a bit Jelani let us know that the Braves would NOT be having batting practice.  What?  The solution:  You can come back and we'll try for another game.  Works for us!  We then headed up to the 755 Club to eat dinner on the deck.  As we were dining, it started to rain hard.  The field crew started covering up the infield and we headed inside.

It was time to go. 

Sam & Jelani







Kris Medlen signing Sam's ball



Signing Abby's hat

 



The family on the field w/Sam's newly acquired bat




The Padres batting practice



This is one of the Padres coaches, Rick Renteria.  He came over to the kids and gave them each a practice ball and chatted briefly.  He was very nice.






 It's hard to read the sign behind the plane but it says
Cheetah 
"No Cover with Ticket"
It's a local strip club and there's no cover charge if you show your ticket.
Sweet...we had 4 tickets!




The field view from the 755 Club


Outdoor dining at it's finest!



Rain delay



Even though the experience didn't exactly turn out like it should have, we still had a great time!  We are excited about our "re-do" on Friday, September 14th against the Washington Nationals.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Summer Beach Trip

I planned a summer beach trip with another family (the Moore's) and we went July 22-July 30th.

We had a great time and it's nice to have friends for the kids.  We enjoyed a lot of beach time, pool time, food time, TV time, club time, doing nothing time.

We were quite successful at all of the endeavors listed above.

Here's a little video of our trip.  I will say that I was not good at taking photos this time around.


Upon leaving the beach, Todd, the kids and I went to Savannah (the first time for me and kids) so Todd could meet with some customers for lunch.  The kids & I had lunch at a darling place, Soho South Cafe.  We wandered the streets a bit then headed home.  It was a great trip with some great friends!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

2 years

 There are some days in life that you never think will come.

The removal of braces is one of them.

After nearly 2 years, Abby's braces were removed!  It was a joyous day!

Before...



 During...










 Final touch-up...





The worst part...impressions for retainer

 





Post-braces photo shoot

 





Cheesy post-braces smile!

 


Retainer fitting




She's been waiting for 2 years for this...

 


All that being said/photographed, I am hoping & praying that Phase 1 will be the ONLY phase we have to have.

Here's to straight teeth!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Legoland

I had received a coupon for a $10 discount off of one ticket to the Legoland Discovery Center in Atlanta.  It's a relatively new attraction at Phipps Plaza so we decided to try it out.  There was already a line forming when we got there.  My hope was that every other kid would be in school so we could enjoy it all to ourselves but that was not the case.

It was a bit pricey, after the $10 discount I still paid $40 for admission.  The kids had a pretty good time, don't think we'd go again but an adventure non-the-less.  Afterward we met Todd for lunch at Antico and got donuts at Sublime.