Little Bit of Life with HK: Atlanta trip recap and recents

Hi beautiful readers,

I figured I'd do a small recap on my two week 'holiday' in Atlanta. As most know, I'm a small town girl at heart. I love Austin but nothing can beat out time with my family and the beautiful Piney Woods of Northeast Texas. I love how life slows down to an extent. I mean, there are things I miss while I'm there, like the options of all the great and healthy food choices I have at my fingertips. Oh, and of course there is a lot to do in Austin. Plus, I have easy access to doctors and clinics here. (I am a bit of a paranoid person so living less than a mile from a hospital helps me!) Ha! And I'm close to UT and all the great sporting events for the Horns....but, I digress.

That said, my time in Atlanta was so cherished and blessed.

I always start the trip a bit apprehensive because I am driving across state ALONE with two babes. A lot can go wrong alone but then throw in two toddlers and well, your stress levels go up. Anyway you cut it, the drive is six hours alone--then add an additional two or so hours with two kiddos.

On the way up to Atlanta, we got rained on. Therefore, changing babies on the back of my tailgate in the rain wasn't fun for me or Kix. Rest stops and stopping where there are no gas stations is something I've grown accustomed to doing! It seems we ALWAYS need to stop once we are five miles out of the last town we stopped in! Ha!

However, as soon as I got off I-35 and leaving Waco in the dust, I began to feel free.
The green expanding pastures and big skies opened up and my heart feels happy and free. I love the country. My ideal world would be we could do it both. You know live in both worlds...But, I guess that's kinda hard.

Anyway, when we got to Tyler, we got to meet up with Rachel at the Rose Gardens. I love that girl. Rachel has been my bestie since we were in womb. Rachel and I even had baby showers together (as in our moms were pregnant with us). After a quick stretch of the legs, visiting Rachel and letting my kids run wild we got on the road for the longest part of the trip.

If you ever drive to Austin and Atlanta much--then you know from Avinger to Atlanta is the world's longest forty-five miles. It is curvy, hilly passage full of the tallest Pine trees. It's beautiful but it always seems someone desperately needs a potty visit when we hit this stretch. And there isn't a real safe spot to pull over for miles. But, we managed.

Once in Atlanta I spent the days visiting grandparents. I didn't do a lot of social visiting because my time really was booked. I had a few dentist visits and an orthodontist visit. I also saw my uncle (for a wellness check up) and I spent nearly every afternoon with my grandparents. I did squeeze in a lunch with Juli in Texarkana (and her cutie, Parker) and with Nikki in downtown Atlanta. Otherwise, my days were booked with going to see family and doing what I would typically do with my kiddos. I did get to see Meme some as well and my brother, Carter, also came into town. The two weeks flew by--and I wished for more!

Me and the kiddos did take advantage of the cooler spring weather, but by the end of the week it was getting rather warm. So, I'm glad we got to be outside a lot. We set up a tent for a few days of 'camping', rode the tractor, watched fireflies, saw dozens of deer, rabbits, geese and other wild life. The boys rode bikes and big wheel toys. They loved playing on Big Daddy's playhouse and tire swing. They ran around free on lots of land. Played with every old toy we ever owned as a kid and just had a great big time! Both grandparents live on a lake so they got to play and see a lot of gorgeous Texas nature on display. All in all, couldn't of asked for a better time there! Like I said, we would of stayed longer.

But, one of the reasons I got back into town was because I didn't want to miss another Sunday at church.
J and I do Sunday school teaching and though it has been so wonderful and a blessing to me...I think Justin and I won't be teaching next year.

Our weekends are usually busy because Justin is gone during the weeks and sometimes he works weekends. So, essentially we don't go anywhere together unless *one* of us can stick in town. Basically, both of us never leave town together so that we can help with Sunday school.

I definitely want to serve our church and to serve Him so I am still not sure what our next course will be.

We also have been missing a lot of church sermons this year due to teaching. Mainly because the boys are worn out by the time 'BIG' church starts and are ready for naps (Kix that is.) So, I think we will look again at teaching when they are older. Also, with my grandparents aging and time is precious, I want to feel like I can easily leave on the weekends to be with them. And that Justin can come with us!

Phew, ok. Got a little long winded there. So that's that.

In the next few weeks we have some exciting things. I will be seeing George Strait this weekemd (WHOO HOO!) His last concert...and it will be a BIG one! I hear Kenny Chesney will be there, too! I hope Tim McGraw comes as well. I am SO excited to go and really grateful that Carter got the hook up! We initially had some (nosebleed) tickets but thanks to Carter working for the Cowboys he was able to snag us some better seats!

After that, I will be teaching VBS and then we are gearing up to go on vacation at the beach with the whole family. The final thing for the summer is Kie's tonsil removal. Something I'm definitely not looking forward to doing.

But, I'll try and worry about that later.

Also, my next post will be about my 'battle of the mom pooch'. I joined a new gym that I CAN WALK TO (see, urban living has it's pluses) and I also started with a personal trainer.
So, if you're into fitness then check back soon.

Alright, now for a few pics to leave you with!