Day 4,5 and 6 at home!

So on Sunday, Dave's parents were kind enough to open their home up to my best friend Ashlyn and her son John. They came over for a spend the night on Saturday and part of the day on Sunday.

It was so great catching up with her. We have been friends for 34 years and she is the closest thing I have to a real sister. Emma and John had fun wheeling around on their "big bikes". I am so thankful they came!

My parents also came up for a quick visit. I feel like I did not get to spend as much time with them as I would like, that could be said for everyone we saw.

Moving as far away as we have makes you appreciate every little moment you get with family and friends.

We were able to see Rebecca and Cummiskey on Sunday too!

Day 5...

Since we still had Aquarium passes we decided to take the girls to the see the new Dolphin show. Emma got a little scared but the face painting made up for it.

Then it was to Johnny Rockets for some milkshakes.

Dave and I also got to visit with my friend Erika and her husband Chris. And as a huge surprise, my dear friend Emily came over for a visit. It was a great day!

Day 6..

Was another day of getting last minute things wrapped up at the house and spending some time with Mimi and Gramps!

We can not wait until our next trip home! But in the meantime .....Our door is always open!

Ellison's Sneak Peek 1 Yr Photos

WOW.... is all I can say for how talented my dear friend Erika is. I took Ellison to have her 1 yr pictures done and this was our sneak peak. I am anxiously awaiting the rest of them, but I can tell you I know I will not be disappointed.

If anyone ever wants family pictures done, I highly recommend her. She is AWESOME!!!!!!!

As a disclaimer: please do not copy, edit or use this photo in anyway. It is property of Erika Dehlic's Photography.

Trip Back Home!

It has been 5 months and a few days since we loaded up the Volvo and made the hike across country, and we decided that was long enough. we booked a trip back to Atlanta.To say it was busy, is an understatement. I think we were all more tired after going than when we left. I just now feel like we are all back on schedule but I would not leave any o it out. We got to see so many people we love, it was hard to get back on the plane without taking everyone with us.

Day 1....

Dave and I spent most of the day at our old house cleaning it and sprucing it up a bit. It is still on the market and we keep saying a prayer to St. Joseph that it will sell soon. Managing two households on two different coasts is challenging.

At the end of the day I got to see my girlfriends for a night at Eclipse di Luna. It was so great to catch up and everyone looks great and their families are all growing and getting more beautiful by the minute. I drank way too much wine, but the hangover.... completely worth it.

Day 2...

We spent most of the morning again at our old house. The afternoon , however, we hit Mimi and Gramps' backyard paradise. Mr. Wiggles and the princess pool were a huge hit and the girls just loved it.

This picture sums up the attitude we sometimes see from Emma.

I did not realize that somewhere between 4 and 5 you become a teenager!

Sweet Gracie May!

Dave had a night out with the guys in East Cobb ( we are getting old when the suburbs are the hangout) and Emma and I went to Dea's house for a spend the night!

Day 3.....

Party Day!

We were fortunate enough to attend 2 very special birthday parties while we were home. First was Ann Cole's 2nd Birthday! She is absolutely adorable and looks just like Lane and Dea. She is a little peanut and has the cutest pig tails, ever! Dea did a fabulous job, as usual ,and we found out that Ellsion loves pimento cheese sandwiches.

After a little Wii playing time, which I am going to be practicing my tennis skills for my next match up with the Canovas, we headed over the Gracie May's Ice Cream Shoppe! It was a blast!

Emma and Grace sitting on the Miami "Mimi" Dolphins towel

Bonnie looking cute as ever!

Grace giving Ellison a love pat

A for her party, a special birthday twirl!

We are so proud of our nieces. They are beautiful inside and out and the girls had an unforgettable time with them.

More to come!

Father's Day!

We hope Duckers had a great Father's Day! Also, Our thoughts and love were with Gramps and Pop Pop. We cold not be more thankful for such wonderful Fathers in our lives.

Duckers day started with a little Biscuits and Gravy and US Open. Thankfully Dave's favorite Rory won! His weekend actually started with a Daddy Daughter day on Saturday. He and Emma had a brunch date at the Purple Place and a shopping trip to Golf Galaxy to try some new clubs.

So we did a little present opening, Emma's and Ellison's gift, a new Bobby Flay cookbook, of course, and Dave's gift to himself, a couple new clubs ( from his day before outing). We ate homemade BBQ for lunch and I tried to make Mimi's potato salad. ( I need to keep practicing). Then it was time for some fun!

It was the perfect day for flying a kite and for make a tee time.

So while Duck hit the links the girls hit the pool!

And to finish the night off we had an appearance from Super Poop!

Ellison so graciously accepted this name because she earned it tonight in the bathtub. Emma was glad she decided to wait on her bath.

Turtle Bay

So as summer has arrived, I decided to have the girls and Miss Kiara travel with me one day a week to see parts of the state that they have never seen before. It still feels like February here, so in many ways I feel like we are on winter break. You can tell I am a little bitter about the weather!

This past week we went to Redding , about 2:45 Northwest of Sacramento,and stopped at the Turtle Bay Exploratory Park. I dropped Kiara and the girls off to go exploring while I headed over to one of the hospitals to talk about snakes!

They found a lot of cool exhibits. Emma's two favorites the Parrot Playhouse and the build a dam water area.

Feeding the parrots

Ellison likes the water just as much!

Checking out the Wetlands and looking for Saturn

We also could walk across the Sundial Bridge.

Backdrop to Redding

We stayed close to home this weekend trying to get ready for our trip back to the east coast. Finley came over to play and Emma did mange to take a bike ride with her buddies, Alex and Danny.

And Yes, a little science experiment too!