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Daddy's family moved to GA about 15 years ago and I'd never been to visit. (For Shame!) So when we heard that Grandpa was terminally ill and it wouldn't be long, we decided to go for a visit rather than a funeral. I'm so glad we did. I was so blessed.
My middle sister, Auntie R, played travel agent for us. She took care of all the arrangements and her mom, my stepmother, graciously gifted us the plane tickets. Who knew she could be so sweet? We wouldn't have been able to go otherwise.
My littest sister, Auntie T, went too. This was the first time some my kids had ever met her. My children adored their aunties and made me promise that we'd see them more often. A promise I'm all too happy to keep.
The aunties were wonderful help through the whole trip, but especially during the traveling. They each took on a buddy and helped us keep track of everyone. L became quite attached to her auntie R and Becca to auntie T. It was really cute.
Miss B did as well as can be expected of a 2 (almost 3) year old on the plane. She had a hard time sitting for 4.5 hours but really wasn't naughty. The traveling was much less stressful than I'd thought it would be. PTL!
My aunt picked us up at the airport in Atlanta. She had already parked her minivan for my family of 7 the day before. She drove her truck to pickup the rest of the crew and luggage. We adopted the van for the rest of the week. SO nice to save on rental fees!
It was about an hour drive north-east to their home in Suwanee. GA was beautiful! So many trees. There is forrest land in the middle of town and rolling hills of green everywhere else.
We were blessed with awesome weather. There had been a storm the week before, so the pollen was low and it was cool but not humid. Gorgeous springtime weather.
My aunt's home is large enough to accomidate us all, so we didn't need a hotel either. SCORE! The aunties shared a room and my family was in another. Dh, baby and I in a queen and the kids on the floor (air mattress).
Our only complaint was the heat at night. The air temperature didn't change from day to night. So the wonderful breezy 70s in the daytime turned into HOT, still 70s at night. We are used to sleeping in the cold dry air, so it was tough.
The first day we spent just hanging out around the house. We took a walk around the neighborhood and drooled over the HUGE homes. It's amazing, the difference in housing costs between here and there. Whew! L kept saying, "We gotta move to Georgia, Mom!" I couldn't make her understand that daddy's salary would adjust accordingly in GA and we'd not be able to live in that particular area. ;)
On the second day we got to go see my cousin's son play baseball. He's 14 and playing in the pony league so I thought J would be into it. But alas, he was much more into the playground. LOL
On the 3rd day we found a park called Suwanee Town. AMAZING!! This was the coolest park we've been to in a long time. Huge play structure, lots of space for all ages, nestled in the trees with lots of shade, and a fence all the way around so the kids could run free. VERY COOL! Later that day we went to church for dinner. They do a big churchwide dinner every Weds pm before services at the Methodist church that my aunt attends. It was neat to meet some friends and see where they worship. It's a beautiful facility and a huge congregation.
The next day we went into Atlanta and went to the Aquarium. It was really nice. J was so excited, especially to see the whale sharks. He still swears he's gonna be a marine biologist. It's been more than 3 years so... we'll see. My cousin's little girl went with us. She's 4 y/o and a total crackup. She's very animated and used to being the only child around, so it was an adjustment for her to be with my kids. lol
On Friday we went into Atlanta again and went to Centennial Olympic Park. Such a pretty park. We got to see a brick that my aunt had purchased in mermory of my dad. Neat. We went to the children's museum that is across the street from the park. SO FUN!! There was so much to do in there. The kids (and the aunties) had a blast. Magnet fishing, moonsand, painting, tapdancing, dress up, pretend grocery shopping, mega tinkertoys, ... it was a great place!
Saturday was AMAZING! We went to another baseball game in the am and then they threw a birthday party for my little MissB. (Her actual birthday was the following day (Sunday).) On the way home from the ballfields my aunt stopped at Costco and bought a party. A feast complete with sushi, steaks, scampi, cake and gifts. The generosity was overwhelming. We teased that we'd come back to GA for all our birthdays from now on.
The best part of the trip, for me, was the time spent listening to Grandpa tell stories. I came to know him in a way I never had before. I wish I had that opportunity with my dad.
Here's some pix from our trip:
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