Atlanta Botanical Gardens

 
Last weekend, we took Melanie to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  Mark had the idea to go, but heard from a coworker that admission was free on the first weekend of the month, through the end of the year, for Bank of America customers.  The program is called 'Museums On Us'.  They're offering free admission to over 100 museums nationwide, including (in Atlanta) the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Fernbank, Zoo Atlanta, the Atlanta History Center, and Millenium Gate.  I have to admit that I was hesitant about taking her there.  I wasn't sure if she would appreciate it, since she's so young.  But, the place really surprised me.  That day was the Grand Opening of their "green" expansion, and they also were displaying sculptures by Henry Moorethroughout the gardens.  The whole place was really beautiful, and they even had a kids section.  We started off there, through the belly of the caterpillar, coming out through gates of a butterfly.  Another section was set up to look like Mr. McGregor's garden from Peter Rabbit...very cute.  There was a little shack there, where we had to hide from the rain for a few minutes...ha!  After that, there was a bee hive (behind glass), and a "kids" only tree house with spiral slide.  After a few hours, we had to run to avoid a big rainstorm.  Melanie was wearing out anyway (turns out she had a double ear infection).  Next month we're planning on going to the zoo that first weekend of the month.  I think Melanie will really like that one.  Right now, whenever she sees a bear (in a book), she says wwrrraaahhhhwww!

p.s. the full album from the day is posted over on the left.   

A-Day Game

This past weekend, we headed to Auburn for the A-day game.  That game is what it is...a glorified scrimmage.  But, we had fun and it was an oppurtunity to take Melanie into the stadium. 

After the game, fans were allowed onto the field for autographs.  After taking a few pictures, we tried to track down Aubie, but we couldn't get to him fast enough.  He took off down one of the tunnels.  We guessed that he didn't want to take any attention away from the players and coaches that day. 

We did get a picture with a cheerleader, but Melanie wasn't exactly excited about that. 

Once we got back to Nana and Grandaddy's house,  we just played out in the yard, since it was so nice outside.  Melanie's favorite is still her pink car, and she loves it even more the faster you can push her.

*post script - I take full blame for the less than stellar pictures from the weekend.  It was my fault that we left the good camera at Shannon's house last weekend.  Shame on me!

 

First Day of Spring

We, like other fools in Atlanta, got spring fever on the first day of spring, and spent the day working and planting in the yard.  Mark cut down the old holly bushes in the front, which we've hated forever, and planted some new shrubs.  We didn't get a "before" shot, but you've probably seen them in some of our older posts.  Here's what they looked like all cut down.  We added a lot more to this pile by the end of the next day.  Unbelievably, they picked all this stuff up the following Monday.  We have great service in Decatur!

 

Here's a couple of pictures of Melanie "taking care" of Lucy while we worked.

 

 

While Mark was out picking up mulch, etc., I had to watch Melanie while trying to continue working.  It turns out that Mark's truckbed is a pretty good playpen. 

 

We didn't get finished with getting everything planted by the end of the weekend, so we had to take a "finished" shot on a different day.  Here's what the new shrubs look like.  We would like to plant some low, creeping flowering plants near the front for some color at some point, but this is a start, for now.

Snow Day 2009

After being warned by Nana and Grandaddy that it was going to snow, we finally started to get some around noon last Sunday.  We wanted to get out in it, and show Melanie what it was all about, but we wanted to wait until it slacked off a little.  At four o'clock, it was still pouring, so we finally went out to get some pictures before it got dark.  

   

   

 

As you can see from Melanie's shoes, we're really not prepared for snow.  So, after getting a couple of pictures, we went back in for a snack. 

   

Jen and Dave's Wedding

Just before Thanksgiving, we went down to Santa Rosa beach for Jen and Dave's wedding.  We had such a blast, hanging out with all our friends!  These pictures are long overdue, but the album is now posted over on the left.  Congratulations to Jen and Dave!

Melanie's First "Real" Haircut

Back in October, we got tired of Melanie's scraggly looking hair.  So, with a quick snip, we took a little off in the back, but left the front and the sides longer.  Now that a few months have gone by, the sides were starting to look long and scraggly, so we decided it was time for a real haircut.  This morning, we went out for pancakes and waffles, then went to Salonred Kids in downtown Decatur.  This place has a bunch of cool toys and clothes in the front, and in the back, they have the little cars that the kids can sit in while they get their hair cut.  Melanie did great, and came out with a very cute 'do'!

   

 

 

Catching Up

We've got a lot of catching up to do around here.  With football season, Melanie's birthday, two weddings, Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas,, and New Years, we've gotten really behind on posting pictures.  So, we're just going to take one event at a time, and update you with those pictures. 

First up, Melanie's birthday.  Mark and I both took off work that day, the day after her birthday party.  We didn't have much planned, we just wanted to spend the day together.  So, that afternoon, we took Melanie to a park in Avondale Estates, and ended up taking a bunch of really great pictures.  We've been meaning to post some of our favorites, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.  So, here they are!