Shooting the Hooch!

One of the things on my list of things to do this week was to go tubing down the Chattachooche River. "Up The River Outfitters" is right of Highway 20 in Buford and for $9, you can rent a tube, paddle, lifejacket, and get the shuttle ride to the river. We took the 2 hour trip and froze our feet off! Matt told me that the Chattahooche River was cold, but I didn't imagine that it would be as cold as it actually was. We floated downriver from Buford Dam to the bridge at Hway 20. When we got home, I did a little research on the temperature of the water. It typically varies between 50 and 65 degrees all year long. No wonder our feet were numb when we got out!! I took a disposable camera on the ride, but will have to wait to get them developed before I can post them! I'll have them up later this week!!!

Summer Fun

Yesterday afternoon we randomly decided to plan a cookout with some of our friends and family. I love being so sporadic and just inviting people over at the last minute! We had a great time with everyone! Here are some pictures of our night!






Today, we headed to the farm to enjoy the heat....and boy was it hot!! It was 105 degrees in the direct sun! The kids had a fun day fishing and riding the golf cart, while Eric and Matt took some shots at skeet. I love taking pictures and I can never just chose a few to share, so there are tons to look at!



Catching some worms!

"Where are all the fishies?"






The many faces of Cate!










On our way home, we stopped by Watson Mill State Park (which is only a few miles from the farm) to take some pictures! I truly think this is one of the most beautiful spots in Georgia!! There were so many people (young and old) sliding down the rocks and playing in the water and waterfalls today!






I couldn't resist taking a picture of this "Movie Theater." They are showing movies that are already on DVD out in this barn. I wonder what they charge for admission???


I have the next week off from summer school and we have a lot of things planned. I am sure there will be several more blog posts this week!!!

Belated Birthday Lunch

Kerri and the kids took me out to lunch at O'Charley's today to celebrate my birthday. It has been over 3 weeks since we saw the kids last, and boy did they have a lot to tell us!!! Karson was talking before we even opened the door to get him out of the car and did not stop until they drove off!! For my present, they had each picked out a necklace for me, so I had to put them on for the pictures! Here they are!



On another note...I know it has been a while since we have posted any pictures of the pups (and I know you are missing seeing them!) Here they are playing in our back yard.

A Blog Worthy Deal!

I LOVE finding a good deal!!! I am not one to hide my good deals from other either. Some people would rather everyone think that they pay full price for things rather than scrounging around for a good deal. That is MOST DEFINITELY not me! When someone compliments something that I am wearing, I usually say "Thanks! I got it at __ for 90% off!" The most incredible deal that I have found in a while was a few days ago at Bath & Body Works. I am sure that most women know they are having their Semi-Annual clearance sale. I wanted to get some candles while they had them for 75% off. We picked out a couple of the 15 oz jar candles for the house, expecting to pay $4.87 for them instead of the original price of $19. We got up to the resiter and 2 of the scents that we picked up were ringing up for $1.95!!! That's right $1.95!!!! We ran back to get several more of these!!! WHAT A DEAL! A $20candle for $2.00. That is cheaper than Wal-Mart candles! I just had to share!!! Our house will be smelling like Wild Sage and Strawberry Patch for the next year or so!!!

You gotta love SUMMER!

Start the weekend off with a SPASH!


You just gotta love Cate's face!

Daredevil Anna....has no fear!

Taking a rest from all that swimming!


Look at Anna swimming the whole length of the pool. This girl is part fish!

Cate enjoying her "swim" with Uncle Matt!



Me and Mona! We're going to miss Mona while she goes home to be with her family.

A random pic, but another reason I LOVE summer! Look at this beautiful bloom that is growing in our yard!

On the road again...

Matt and I have trouble sitting still. This is usually a problem since we try to stay on a tight budget, but we do what we can to have fun! We loaded up the camper, which we have named "Ol Faithful", and headed to Lake Lanier on Wednesday. The campgrounds are booked way in advance for the weekends in the summer, but getting a spot at such short notice during the week was no problem. We got the best site in the entire campground in my opinion. It was one of those sites that you drive past and say "What a PERFECT campsite! We will have to try to get that one next time we come!" (If you are a camper, you know exactly what I am talking about!) This was a fun trip, but it was a wet one! We got to the campground around lunch on Wednesday and spent the afternoon with mom and Kale watching the sailboats congregate on the lake, grilling out dinner, and mapping out Kales classes for his first semester of college. Then Wednesday night we endured one the worst wind storms I have ever been in. It may have only seemed so bad because we were sleeping under a roof made of canvas, but nonetheless, I was determined that we were going to blow right into the lake. The lightening was really bad too, but not too much rain. The rain decided to hold off until Thursday night. Holy cow!! It poured!! Just to give you an idea of how much it rained, we had an empty dish pan sitting on the picnic table. When we got up Friday morning, it was FULL! All I could think about Friday after we went to bed was how mad Matt was going to be if I had to use the bathroom, and of course the more you think about it the more you have to go. Luckily, I was able to put those thoughts aside and did not have to go out in the downpour! The weather on this trip is the reason that I decided our pop-up should be named "Ol Faithful!"


Just a couple of the hundred sailboats that we saw on the lake Wednesday night. I think they were having a Wednesday night Sailboat club church service on the lake!

This bench was on our campsite. It was a perfect place to sit back and enjoy the scenary around you (when it wasn't raining!)


Harley was trying to stay out of the rain!



The white dish pan in the middle of the table is the one that filled up during the down pour Thursday night!

Thanks to MacKenzie, I had a very long book with me since I spent so much time in the camper trying to stay dry! I am over half way finished with the 4th book of the Twilight series now thanks to all the rain!

The perfect roasted marshmellow!


The dogs were ready to get home!!