Last Day in Atlanta

   Well, the weather that held off for a nice day on Saturday, we found Sunday morning. So poncho purchased, we walked over the National College Football Hall of Fame.  We had originally planned to try and do some outside activities, but it did not work with the rain, but the Football museum was a good back up. 

Touchdown - and yes it is shaped like a football

The Fam ready to learn!

   It was a very interactive place, which the kids really loved. If ever you get to push buttons, play with tablets they are in. When you arrived they asked you what your school choice was and you could scan that pass throughout the museum, and it would include things about your school. You could plan routes, answer trivia questions, even ask questions to famous players.  The best part was the bottom floor that they had a skills course, were you could kick, throw,  and catch some throws. It was really fun, and Joel did hit both of his field goals. The rest of us never got close :). 

Cooper seeing how much more he needs to grow to be average college player size.

   Since we were a limited on weather, we walked over to the Children's Museum that was downtown.   The kids loved it, but mom and dad were looking for comfy chairs to spend a few hours in.   Thankfully the rain stopped Sunday night and we were able to go to the Fernbank Natural History Museum Monday morning before our flight out.  It was a gorgeous building surrounded by trees  that had a hiking trail out the back for us to explore.  The traveling exhibit they had at the time was about microbes, and was really interesting and disgusting at the same time. Learning about all the tiny things going on constantly inside and outside our bodies. After checking out the great exhibits. We went outside. It included raised walkways, homemade bird houses, a fort for the kids to climb in, and a hiking trail surrounded by flowers. 

Stegosaurus

One of the outdoor play areas, had water ways you could watch your tiny boat float down

Pretty raise walk way 

Cooper and Lauren were able to explore several large forts that were built in honor of all of our stick forts we build as children

Now the fort ever kid wished they had in there back yard

    We had a great time in Atlanta, and the kids were able to tick off another state that they have visited. So grateful for the things we have in our lives. Now, where to go next.

Continued Atlanta Trip

    We still had lots to see, including family, so we got up early on Saturday morning and headed over to the Atlanta Zoo.  We had great weather for the day, and it was not a huge zoo, but a very pretty one. With rolling hills, and lots of tree cover. Something I tried to make the kids take note of, but I am not sure it stuck.  They had pandas, a great gorilla and orangutan exhibits, with lots of babies to watch. We had a great morning.

My Baby Roos

Jill, Cooper, and Lauren with one of the five panda's at the zoo

 

Happy kids

This is a great pic of my kids, just because it shows their personalities..... Cooper working on his patience and Lauren so full of joy :) - We are so blessed

     For lunch we headed up north to see my Aunt Lois and Uncle Jack(my mom's sister). It had sadly been a very long time since we had seen them and we were grateful that they had the time. We meet at the Mall of Georgia, and had a good lunch, great conversation and a lovely day.  It was a really nice to see them.

Cooper, Aunt Lois, and Lauren

 

    Atlanta was a really pretty place and we had a great day, the next day was a little more challenging with rain, but find a poncho at Target and keep going :)!

We went on a trip!!

   I really enjoy traveling, but once you have little ones, it can become a bit more challenging. I will say, it is always worth the effort.... get busy livin'!!  So Atlanta here we come.  We flew out Thursday night after school, and was not shocked to see traffic when we landed at 11 PM. 
   We always hit the ground running on trip, and we got up early to hit the Aquarium at 9 AM. The Atlanta Aquarium was amazing, and we ending up spending most of the day there. They had 4 whale sharks that we were lucky to see them get feed,  in the largest aquarium we have seen. It was so cool, to see the huge mouth take all the water in and expel out of its gills.  Then we checked out the dolphin show. Lauren was such a fan, that Joel took her back to see another show later on in the day. We did end up sitting in the splash zone, which adds to the experience:).  It was such a great time to see the beluga whales playing with a blanket, the otters up close were bigger then I  realized, and the sea lions show.  I would recommend this place to anyone in the area.

Cooper, Joel, and Lauren in the tunnel of the large Aquarium

Two of the four whales - Such awesome animals

Cooper and Lauren getting a closer look

   After spending most of the day at the Aquarium, we also had tickets to the Coca Cola Museum.  It was located just across the park, so we walked over and spent about an hour going through and seeing the history of the company. The most fun was the tasting room, where you could  taste the products that they make internationally. I found a few fruity ones that I really liked, and Cooper promised to try every flavor, which I think there were around 150 different kinds.  He did not manage it, and still had a sick stomach. 

Kids with the Coca Cola Polar Bear

  So our sick stomachs headed back to the aquarium and went back to see more animals. 

Lauren super excited about the dolphin show (could not take pics during the show)

Whole fam with the Georgia Aquarium Mascot. (Lauren wore her mermaid pants in honor of the ocean animals)

    We found a good restaurant downtown to eat and then went home to rest up for another exciting day.