Camo Day

One trait that Evan will not get passed down from me is hunting. My dad was not a hunter and I never got exposed to the act of blasting away at your diner. Last time I checked they still sell meat at the grocery store. Don't pass me off for a PETA member, I love to eat animals and don't mind people hunting them. Jennifer is a huge hunter. She even has a pair of binoculars that help her scope out the game. One problem - she does not know how to hold a gun more less shoot one. Her dad is a veterinarian and not a hunter either. He did pass down his love for animals to Jennifer. Even though we do not hunt - we still wear camouflage. Last Saturday Jennifer put the girls in their camo shirts and Evan in his camo shorts. We decided to join in on the camo day. You can't see it but Zona has on a camo collar.

I hope Jennifer and I will pass down the love of animals. Living out in the sticks gives us the chance to see several different critters. Here are some inhabitants that hang out around our house - deer, red fox, ground hog, skunk, birds of all kinds - including hawks that Jennifer has her own form of communication with, possum, lizards, snakes, and lots of rabbits. I get calls all day long from Jennifer peeking through a window with her binoculars looking at a new furry friend. For a little over a year now we have been seeing the same group of deer. We get a daily visit from them. I mentioned to Jennifer the other night that she looks forward to seeing the deer more than me and she did not disagree. Some of my co-workers are itching to come up while we are away and blast away at our deer but they have all been warned that they first have to get by the Doc and then face Jennifer. I think they will stay away for now. Here's a picture of our 2nd family.

No work - all play!

What is the best way to spend a day off from work? A day with the family in Atlanta. And let me tell you they call it HOT Lanta for a reason. We planned this day well in advanced and our first reason for this day was late September it will be cool right - wrong. At least 92 and the humidity made the air thick and sticky. We did not waver from our plans. Our first stop was to visit the Echo Lab at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville (Jennifer's last employer). They had not seen the babies yet so a quick stop to show em' off. Only a few people she worked with were there so it was a quick visit with no pictures. Next stop - Bojangles for a little breakfast. One minor problem - they only had 2 high chairs. Good thing we travel with a spare. They did good eating biscuts, grits, and hash browns. Load back up and hope they take a quick nap while we head to Atlanta. Evan - no nap, Ellie and Charlotte - a couple z's. Now we hit Zoo Atlanta.

The kids loved seeing the signs in the park just as much as seeing the animals themselves. The heat and the unexpected crowds made it difficult for the kids to get into the animal seeing groove. If we could have went from one exhibit to the next with no interruptions, then they may have enjoyed it more.
Here's the elephants. We were able to get really close to them. They loved it. One elephant was drinking water and Jennifer was scared she was going to blow water all over the crowd.

It is rare and I don't think I have even seen a rhino up and moving. They usually are just laying down basking in the sun. We got lucky and this big girl was very active. Here she is getting a quick drink.

' Here's a statue honoring the late silver back gorilla "Willie B". He was a feature attraction at the Atlanta Zoo for many years.

Here's a shot of the real deal.
Here they are getting a quick feel of the playground. This was designed to be like mole holes. They loved them and they pitched a fit when we got them back in the stroller.

We finished up the zoo trip and headed for some lunch. Chick-fil-A. Yes they have several high chairs - yeah.

Next stop - Egleston to visit more of Jennifer's previous co-workers. She worked for Children's Health Care of Atlanta for several years and her friends could not wait to see us. It was not long till the kids took over the place.

We were going to make another stop by my work but they were too worn out. So we headed home. And they slept most of the way!!!

Some Funny Shots

Ellie on the runEvan sit down for the millionth time

Evan you are not ready to potty train

The grass is wet!

No more pictures

Not every picture can be perfect, but that's life.

Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago we had the babies' 18 month photo shoot. We had it planned for a Saturday morning. Of course when we got up it had been raining. We got everyone up and hoped for the best. The plan was to go to Jennifer's Granny's house for the shoot. We called Jessica to see if it was raining at her house and it was not. We got to Granny's house and it started raining. We called Jessica again and we planned to wait it out and call her when it stopped. The babies ate their breakfast and Jennifer ran in and said it's not raining. We called Jessica and she came over. Charlotte was first.

So Beautiful!

Ellie was next up. It was starting to drizzle so we were getting frustrated but not Ellie she loves the rain.

Cutie Pie

After Ellie we rushed to get Evan, by now it was raining harder. We got a few shots but the poor thing looked like a wet cat. We gave up and planned for another day. Later the next week we meet up one evening. Evan was not in a picture taking mood, but we got some good ones of him.

There's that smile

We also got some group shots that day. By the end Jennifer and I are hot, sweating and yelling at each other. In the end it is all worth it for these wonderful memories of these 3.

We're out of here!

Gone Fishing

Last Friday Night I got to take the kids from church fishing. We had a bunch of well behaved kids that ranged from 3 to 11 years. They all caught fish and had a blast. Jennifer made a surprise visit with the triplets and of course they made it down to the pond. They loved seeing all of the other kids and were very interested in what they were doing. They each held the rod but caught no fish - maybe next time.

Ellie trying to pull in some dinner!

Charlotte trying to figure out how to set the drag.
Evan with a big cast.

After the fishing we hit the playground. We have learned that the babies love playgrounds. Charlotte is usually easy going but not when it is time to stop playing. She throws a fit - at least until we give her some snacks.

The other kids were very helpful. They all took turns catching them as they come down the slide.

Johnny Apple Seed

The weekend trip was not all about sick babies, we did have an outing planned. Jennifer has wanted to go to an apple orchard to pick your own apples, so we found one that was not too far away. We loaded up and headed out to visit Windy Hill Orchard and Cider Mill.

Greeted by Johnny Apple Seed

Headed off to pick some apples. They made us all buy a small bag so let's fill them up.
Dad can you reach that one for us?
Evan points out a nice big red one.

Charlotte giving it her best effort.

Ellie reaching through the limbs.

They even got to see some animals. Pigs, chickens, roosters & a goat.

At the end we stopped for a nice refreshing apple cider slushy.