Safety First!

Erek has determined that in addition to the booster seat and seat belt, safety glasses must be worn at all times the car is in motion (nevermind that he HATES wearing them for their original purpose - Home Depot kids workshops):

First Day of Spring 2010!

Saturday was the first day of Spring 2010! That means FREE ices at Rita's!!! The boys had Cherry, Mom had "Peeps" flavor (yes, the Easter candy), and Dad had Florida Orange. The weather was incredible -- sunnny and 70 degrees!!!! (only to be followed by a very rainy and cold Sunday)



After Rita's, we picked up Lulu (our chocolate Lab) and took a hike along the Wolf River. The boys spotted this tree that looked like a number 4!

Carter's trip to the ER

This morning shortly after midnight, we woke up to Carter in tears screaming that his belly hurt. Vomiting started a few minutes later and the pain seemed to be getting much worse. Fearing appendicitis, Dad rushed him to the ER (which thankfully is now only a couple of miles away). They checked him in, drew blood, and started an IV. Although his belly was very tender, his bloodwork and further exam ruled out an acute appendicitis attack. Nausea medicine and a bag of IV fluids made a world of difference. A couple of hours later we were headed home (after a stop to the 24 hour Walgreens, which thankfully (again) is even closer to our house than the ER). The doctor feels it was a case of the nasty stomach bug going around, but it could still be the early stages of appendicitis. We are to keep him on close observation for the next 36 hours.

Just arrived in the ER and had blood drawn and IV started:


Feeling much better a few hours later:

Ice Storm 2010

This past weekend we received a "wintry mix" of weather that blanketed the area in ice. Fortunately not as bad as 1994. I read in the news that about 17,000 people lost power compared to 250,000 in 1994. We lost power for a few hours during the night, and I heard that others were without for a couple of days. Back in 1994, I recall people living for weeks without power.

On Sunday, the sun came out although the high was still only 31 degrees. We were all ready to get out of the house, so I took the boys for an extended bike ride. We ended up riding 8 miles, including a stop at the Water Spray Park which was covered in ice. The whole time we were riding was very surreal -- all the trees and shrubs were covered in ice and it seemed like we were riding around in the Land of Glass:

Before & After

Amazing how content you feel after a hot meal on a cold night...

Before getting in the car:


After getting in the car (haven't left the parking lot yet):

Happy New Year from Atlanta!

The only thing bigger than a stop at the Varsity...




are the mustard bottles at the Varsity....

It's 11:30 pm -- do you know where you children are?

Yes - on vacation, in the mountains, in a cabin....and on the internet!



The rest are on the bunk beds "pict-o-chatting" on their Nintendo DS's (why talk to the upper bunk when you can text?)