HOT + Atlanta = Our trip to HOTlanta!

The girls and I spent a few days visiting the R5 in Atlanta last week and had a great time! The afternoons were so hot that the only logical choice for the afternoons was playing and relaxing at the pool.

On Thursday morning, we took the five kids to Zoo Atlanta. The R5 kids have been many times and were expert tour guides. We got to see lion cubs frolicking, turtles procreating (check YouTube for that one ... the zoo visitor next to us video taped it), and five Mechling kids sweating!! Lots!! IT WAS HOT!! Whew. So we wrapped up our animal viewing by lunch time and had a picnic in the adjoining Grant Park. It was on the walk over to the park that our camera took what I believe to be a fatal fall off the stroller, so it may be a while before you see any original pictures from me!!



As with most family gatherings, however, it wasn't the planned activities that were the best but rather just "hanging out." The kids had fun playing dress up together and splashing around at the pool. And Resa and I enjoyed chatting about everything from food to family, as well as watching Twilight on Wednesday night. We'd both seen it before but what can I say??

A small Rogers reunion

A couple weekends ago, we drove down to Columbia to get together with the Rogers' side of Ray's family. We met at Saluda Shoals park, had lunch and let the kids play in the water playground. Cady really enjoyed playing in the water, but Maddy stayed close to "home" (me). Ray stayed behind the camera and worked his magic!

Cooling down at Baskin Robbins

Well, it's June and it's officially H-O-T here in South Carolina, at least in my book (I've been accused of being a heat wuss!). So one evening last week, we grabbed one of our neighorhood friends and headed to our neighborhood 31 Flavors for an ice cream treat.

Reece's blast thingy for Maddy and me + sherbet for Cady and Julie = DELICIOUS!!

Memorial Day Weekend in Virginia

In perhaps what is the start of a family tradition, Ray and all his siblings gathered with their families at "Mom and Dad's" house in Virginia Beach for Memorial Day weekend. We made it up in less than 8 hours, due in no small part to my disregard of the speed limit and the fact that there was hardly any trooper presence in North Carolina. We arrived late Thursday night and stayed through Tuesday afternoon and had TONS OF FUN!

We tried not to schedule too much the first few days and just relaxed at the beach and pool. On Saturday afternoon, however, we got together with the family of Jon's fiancee, Anna. We just spent time getting to know each other, mostly eating and talking poolside. The kids were the only ones to actually go swimming. And Ray was quietly taking LOTS of pictures. He's getting pretty good!!

Beach Time

Of course, being in Virginia BEACH, we spent quite a bit of time on the beach. It's such wonderful, easy entertainment for the kids. Both Cady and Maddy are respectful of the water so I don't feel that I need to shadow their every move this summer. They had fun splashing, digging, wading and collecting beach treasures but most of all, they loved playing with their cousins.

The whole family spent a hot half hour on the beach on Saturday afternoon, posing for family portraits. It was well worth it and the professional photos turned out very well, but I have to say that I think Ray's casual snapshots are pretty fantastic, too!!

Back at Busch Gardens

We wrapped up our weekend of family fun by spending Memorial Day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Most of the day was spent divided up into two family groups: those who love to ride the big roller coasters (Ray and all his siblings) and those who don't as much/at all (Me, brother-in-law Tyler, and all the kids plus Grandma Weezie). Although I'm fairly sure Ray had a blast riding all the big coasters, I can't speak for him. I know that the "kiddie group" had an unexpectedly good time!! Something about watching your kids squeal with glee that just makes your day happy.
Maddy and Cady rode all of the kiddie rides possible, like the carousel, the little WWI airplanes and the miniature Clydesdales, but Cady also managed to stretch tall enough to go with Daddy on the Big Bad Wolf!! Wow. Ray is pleased with how his future roller coaster buddy is coming along!!

The whole fam met up in the German Fest Haus for lunch and Oktoberfest music/dancing, rode some more rides and called it a day by 6ish. We then drove over to the Great Wolf Lodge (of which we unfortunately have no pics) to spend the night. We spent the next morning in the indoor water park before heading back to SC and reality!

A date with my daughter

I'm quite behind on blogging but I'm just going to start with "now" for now!

Tonight, Cady and I went on a date. We went to the movies to see the new Disney Pixar flick, UP. It was so cute. I laughed. I cried. I think I liked it more than Cady did, because so much of the subtle humor goes over the head of a 4-year old. But she sure liked going out with her mama. She kept saying, "I love you, Mama! This is so fun!" And her mama sure liked going out with her (that was a whole lot of "mama", huh? Have we been in the South too long??).

A funny post script: In the movie there is reference to the "quiet game". You know, the one wherein the first one who talks, loses. On the way home in the car, Cady enthusiastically suggested that we play the quiet game. I was happy to comply. After about 30 seconds, Cady announced that she didn't want to play anymore. It was not fun! I laughed out loud!