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Lasershow Photos

The title is a little misleading. The pics aren't OF the lasershow, just a couple taken when the pack went TO the lasershow.

The first is of my son, his buddy from Cub Scouts and a new boy joining the den.

The second is my daughter playing with my son and his buddy. I love the expression on his face.

We're off!

Back next week.

Weak of Recovery

This week was supposed to be a week of recovery after going/doing with the nephews. I don't think I did a good job of it. On Monday I managed to take the kids to the grocery and then lose them for a couple of hours at a friend's house. Tuesday I painted the bathroom, took the kids to the bank and Target then out to Stone Mountain for the Laser Show. Wednesday I took my son to the orthodontist, had friends over, then took them to the pool for a birthday party. Today we have to clean up our various disasters, do laundry, pack and otherwise prepare for the next big thing... the BEACH!

One of these days I'm going to sit down and refuse to go/do anything... maybe.

Downstairs Bathroom

I painted the downstairs 1/2 bath this morning. I used the same color I used in the 'new' tv room. I'm trying to decide if I like the color or if it needs something else. So, one coat on and I'll live with it a while to decide if I'm going to put up a second coat or go for a different color. You can tell that the cabinets are now VERY white, which looks nice. The issue may be the floor.. I don't want to do the floor..

Scrapblog of Nephew Visit

As promised, here is the scrapblog of the past week.

Braves Game

For my two kids, this was the 2nd game of the summer that they've been to see. My son and daughter REALLY want to go to a game and sit behind the dugout, so we may have to see what can be arranged. This was my eldest nephew's first pro baseball game (so he told me) which means it's likely to his brother's as well. They told me they enjoyed all of it except for the fact that the Braves lost. My eldest nephew brought his glove with him and next time wants to sit where he can catch a foul or a home run.

Yesterday was the last full day we'll have the nephews here. Their mom comes to claim them today as well as a couple of things from the parents' old house. Next week we get ready to go to the BEACH.

Stone Mountain

Well, we didn't make it to the indoor climbing place Friday. Instead, since the chance of rain had gone down, I gave the kids the option of going to the Zoo or out to Stone Mountain. They chose Stone Mountain. We all did Sky Hike first, which is a good thing as by the time we got to the front of the line, the line itself had grown considerably longer. The kids then ran around the smaller ropes course and tried the climbing wall.

I didn't catch my youngest nephew or my daughter doing the wall, just those two. Anyway, after that we had lunch at Miss Katie's there at Crossroads. Good, but expensive. The kids ended up bringing majority of their lunches home for dinner. We also spent at least an hour at the Barn before retrying the rocks. It was about that point that it started raining briefly too. I took that as a sign to come home for the day.

This afternoon is the Brave's game vs. the Mets.

Keeping Busy

With my younger nephew's asthma and allergies to cats, I'm trying to make sure that the kids go OUT most of the day. We got a later start Thursday than normal, but not surprising given we went to Six Flags the day before. The boys wouldn't get dressed until late morning and I didn't feel like forcing the issue. I don't think brains were working until after lunch. I'm not keen on making things for them to do, but there's only so much stuff outside of my house for them TO do.

So, Thursday I hauled the group to the Mountain Park pool and set them loose for about 3 hours.

When we got home, I let them sit and watch tv for a while and I got dinner ready. After dinner, they went back out and rode bikes around the "safe" part of my street (ie: the cul de sac road which is across the street from me). Then it was baths and bed with lights out at 9:30.

Today I may try taking them out to Suwanee for a while. There's an indoor rock climbing place that might be good to check out.

The Exhaustion that is Six Flags

We finally made it to Six Flags on Wednesday. We arrived at the park 15 minutes after opening and didn't leave until 30 minutes before closing. My daughter adored the Scream Machine (though it may be a toss up with the Mind Bender), my son liked the Ninja. My oldest nephew I think, liked the Goliath the best. My younger nephew seemed to really enjoy the Mind Bender.

I was surprised that the crowds weren't worse than they were. The longest wait I think we had was for the Monster Plantation (approx. 30-45 minutes). Second longest was probably for the Goliath (approx. 30 min.) at the end of the evening. Thunder River had posted a 30 minute wait, I think we only waited 10-15 minutes. The biggest crowd in one place was at Skull Island. I did manage to find a place to sit while the kids played, though.

All in all, a very busy and tiring day. In theory the plan was to try to go to the zoo tomorrow since the chance of rain increases Friday. The only way that would work is to go in the morning. I don't see it happening. I'm not sure what we'll get into (or up to), it's a wait and see.

Seen on the Road

Sorry for the blurriness.. but it reads "Buy One Get One Free - Homes from the 180s"

Georgia Aquarium/World of Coke

I took my kids to the Aquarium yesterday. We left fairly early to get there around opening time. This was necessary so that I could see about getting annual passes taken care of. At any rate, as per usual with my children, the visit was a 'zoom' visit. We did go see the Titanic (which according to a billboard I've seen, leaves Sept. 7th), which my daughter still thinks is spooky. They spent at least 30 minutes touching the rays at the touch pool in front of Georgia Explorer. They also were able to get a chance to see the penguins. YES, the penguins are still there, you have to go behind the scenes to see them.

After much pleading on the part of my nephews, we stopped next door at the World of Coca-Cola. I have to say that their 4D movie caught me off guard. The chairs MOVE. You don't just get the air and water effects. The kids actually found it funny, so all was well there.

I should have a scrapblog with a lot more pictures at the end of the week.

Preview of Den

It's rearranged! Bill can now use the treadmill and watch TV again.

I picked up two NEW Lane recliners at Goodwill as well as a TV stand. That has the actual end table that was holding the TV as an actual table instead.

Camp Photos

The robot my son and his partner put together. It uses sound to detect barriers and turns and goes the other direction.

I forget what these "bits" are called, but they programmed them on the computer to function in a sequence, play sound, etc.

My son also demonstrated his version of pacman, a screen saver, a target game (shoot the key into door keyholes), and a 'spinner' that creates geometric designs (somewhat like a screen saver).

Preview of Entertainment Room

It's done! Woo Hoo!

The instruments are 'behind' the futon.

Next project: finish rearranging the den. After nephews leave, I'll paint the downstairs bathroom. When we get back from our trip to the beach, the roofers will be replacing our roof. The list just keeps growing..

Camp Stuff

It's the end of camp week for my kids. All in all a success. My daughter has enjoyed the Zoo. She's not sure if she wants to do it next year or not, but she had fun. She had fun getting to see the education animals (and loved holding the red tail boa). The crafts tickled her pink, though she was very annoyed with the older kids who made fun of them.

My son is convinced he's going to try to do his camp again next year. His picks are adventure camp with boy scouts and CEISMC. I'll be visiting this afternoon to see what the projects look like. I've had multiple video games described to me, a screen saver and a LEGO robot. He was also thrilled to get a chance to go swimming at Tech's athletic center.

I'm hoping to enroll both in CEISMC's kids club, I think they'll enjoy that. I've also been told to look out at Fernbank for more parent's nights out where kids get to do science stuff.

So, tomorrow a day to move furniture into the new entertainment room and Sunday my nephews arrive for a week. I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Georgia Aquarium - Random photo

Giant Squid on display in Cold Water Quest at the Georgia Aquarium

Aquarium Waldo

I'm effectively the "where's waldo" of the aquarium today. If you can find me and ask about penguins, you may get lucky and get a quick trip behind the scenes to see them. I'm only here until 1:30, after that I have no idea who Waldo is.

Views from the Zoo

We took the kids to Zoo Atlanta Friday since Bill had the day off. My camera actually cooperated for the most part and I was able to get a few good pictures. Here are some of the ones I took.

Painting Tip

My kids wanted to help paint. My daughter had friends over Thursday when the light fixture was installed, so my son and I started the first coat of paint. Note to self: don't expect it to only take a single coat (or a single gallon) when teaching a child how to paint a room. I'll admit, my son did a fair job of painting. You can't see the little parts in the picture that need to be 'fixed', but I know they're there. Now it's on to the second coat. I think I'll handle the trim work myself.

Have a Happy 4th!

My Daughter's New Fish

I tried taking pictures of them, but they wouldn't cooperate. So I videoed them instead. They're "GloFish" - one is red, the other green (though it looks kinda yellow in this lighting).

Random picture

Part of the Cartoon Network play area at the Braves' stadium.

Picnic at the park

I took my kids out to Stone Mountain yesterday for time to play at Crossroads and to have a picnic. These are a few of the shots I took of them on the Sky Hike. My daughter was very proud of herself, she did the second level. I would have gone up with them, but I wore open-toe sandals instead of close-toed shoes. They enjoyed themselves regardless.