One of the things on my bucket list for December was to take the boys to a Bethlehem Walk in Marietta. I had taken my two oldest years ago (maybe 10+ years) and had really enjoyed it. So we made time on our schedule and after trying to go the first night (it was too long of a line and wait), we went on the closing night which was a Monday. The drive is about 35 minutes from our house and the Bethlehem Walk takes place outdoor on the grounds of a Methodist church. Everyone is dressed in the time period of Christ, and you walk through the “city” stopping…

One of my favorite activities at the beach is to go on bike rides whether solo or as a family. It is always a little difficult as a family as my kids range from 8 years old to 19 which means we do have a younger one in tow who gets tired before everyone else. With that in mind, we still went on several bike rides ranging from 8 miles to 16 miles. Bike Ride to Topsail State Park This was a fun ride with the 3 older boys. We decided to go to one end of 30A (the closer end to where we stayed, which meant that the State…

It is always nice when there is fun to be had on property! We actually are planning to return to this resort for an overnight trip with the boys at the beginning of the boys Christmas break. Apart from the activities, I am sharing today, there were 2 games rooms for children, a gym and puzzles and game in the lobby area. One of the activities we chose not to take part in is horseback riding, but that is the one we will do with the boys. It’s really fun to be a little competitive with one’s spouse. I know that I am unlikely to win at some of these…

Anniversary trips… We had a number of years when the children were young when we did not make time to schedule  anniversary trips, but now that they are older, there hopefully won’t be a year without one. The boys are almost old enough to where the oldest at home will be able to supervise his brothers with a little help from neighbors. It is nice to have several neighbors in our cul-de-sac that are friends and would be able to check on them. For this year though, we dropped the 3 boys at some church friends’ house for 3 nights. I knew we wanted to stay somewhat close by and…

A couple of weekends ago, we drove up to Ellijay in North Georgia to pick some apples. We had not been in about 3 years and the somewhat short drive of 1h15  would allow us to go and come back with enough time to relax before Saturday night church. We chose to go back to R and A orchards which has less kids activities which means less people. It was still busy, but very enjoyable. I always like to photograph the fun, colorful and strangely shaped pumpkins at the front of the country store. I never buy any because it is usually still hot most of September and October, and…

The Alice in Wonderland exhibit features 38 large sculptures grouped in seven installations. We were greeted with the white rabbit and his hat (27 feet tall) as we descended the stairs from the building that holds the orchid permanent exhibit as well as the rainforest space. Of course we had to take some pictures next to it and the size of this sculptures was impressive. We were then greeted by the queen of hearts chess set army. These were really fun to look at and to notice all of the details that are involved in the creation of these living sculptures. As we visited, we noticed people trimming the different…

One of the things I enjoy about botanical gardens is that they often have a couple of different exhibits each year, which makes your visit more interesting. While seasonal plants and flowers do catch my eye, some of the different exhibits that come to the botanical gardens can be really impressive. One year, they had these giant trolls (read post here), another year, it was giant origami sculptures (read here). This year, in addition to the Alice and Wonderland exhibit which I will share next week, there was a display of 11 “Enchanted Trees”. The trees range for 9 feet to 17 feet tall and on a sunny day reflect…

Last week, I went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with two of my running friends. I really wanted to see the Alice in Wonderland exhibition before they took it down (mid-September) and wanted to plan one fun outing a week till my birthday. We stopped by the French bakery for some breakfast and then decided to get some sandwiches to go too! We took advantage of a Groupon for our admission to the gardens which saved us $10. One of the things that I enjoy at the botanical gardens is that you see something different each time you go. Tulips and roses in the spring, there is usually an amazing…

I cannot help myself: each time I have visited Arizona (now 3 times in 5 years I think), I have to take pictures of cacti! I am not sure what it is about them that I find so cool and interesting. Maybe it is just the newness, the originality: when you live where there are only hardwoods and pine trees, a cactus is exotic! I enjoy my morning walks at home, but morning walks in Arizona are even more fun. Apart from all of the cool cacti, yard decorations are unique and then my favorite, bunnies and quails abound! We even saw some coyotes on our last walk! This year…