Rewind: Atlanta

Last weekend we went to Atlanta for all kinds of festivities.  As a tribute to my Dad, my mom took everyone to the practice rounds of the Masters at Augusta National.  As a family, we decided to take something special of Dad’s and bury it under one of the pine trees at Amen Corner, his favorite part of the course.

The place where they decided to bury Dad’s item was under the pine trees right there the 13th hole dog-legs up to the green. For his 50th birthday, we all gave him a painting of the view from that very pine tree. I thought everyone did a great job finding the perfect spot.

While the family was at the Masters, I decided to stay home with the three wee ones. We had a blast, but three under the age of four is INSANE. I don’t know how some parents do it! I was exhausted by the end of the day! But it was a huge success! We got up and played in the living room for a bit while I cleaned up breakfast.

After an hour or so, we moved upstairs and played while I got them all dressed. My kids loved playing with all of Tillman’s books and toys. They climbed up into his crib with him and read books (well, Tillman chewed on them…) while I got dressed. They all had a ball! Tillman makes this loud, long, happy wail when he is having fun, and you could hear him all over the house! It was hysterical!

After Tillman’s morning nap, we had a quick lunch and then headed up to this fantastic park in my sister’s neighborhood. It has bikes and playhouses and pretend kitchens and playground equipment and sandboxes and swings… It is amazing. We played there for over two hours!

When we got home, we napped and then hung out and waited for everyone to get back. I loved every minute of it, and I’m pretty sure the kids did, too. Well, maybe Gracie didn’t enjoy EVERY minute…

As if the Masters and enormous neighborhood parks weren’t enough, we also went to a Braves game that weekend. We’ve taken the kids to one before, but Gracie was in her crying all the time phase, so it wasn’t very enjoyable. This game, though, was perfect! I had so much fun with the kids, and we had awesome seats. We were in the outfield and sat on the first row of a section, which meant that we had a little extra leg room to move around. Critical when you’ve got two little ones. I was worried about the sun because we were going to be sitting directly in it all afternoon. But I slathered the kids up pretty good and made them both wear hats, and nary a sunburn was found!

(Can we talk for a minute about how big Bean looks in this picture. I’m having distinct images of him as a high schooler, and I do not like it. Not one little bit. He’s a stud, though, that boy.)

When we weren’t doing super fun things at Aunt Ginny and Uncle John Michael’s house, we were hanging around on their front porch and taking family walks around their neighborhood.  And we are quite the motley crew when we’re traveling in a herd!

I have to tell you this little story.  We were walking by a house that was having some renovations done.  While we were passing by, the workers threw a huge piece of something into the dumpster and it made a loud boom.  Bean didn’t see it happen, and didn’t even look up.  But he took off running straight ahead without saying a word at the instant of the noise.  He was mid-sentence and just BOLTED, arms pumping at his side, eyes fixed in front of him.  He was a man on a mission, and  I swear I could hear him saying, “I’m out!”  We all cracked up, even Bean when he realized what the noise was.  Funny bunny.

It was a really great weekend. It is always a great weekend when we get to see family. Especially my sister and her family. Little T-Man is growing up so happy, and I love being around their family. It is always a joy to see your family growing and thriving, especially while we remember those that aren’t here with us anymore. I know my dad would have gotten a kick out of this weekend, and not just the Masters. I think he would have been really proud of his family. I know I am.