Southern Vaca Day 1: Atlanta Here We Come

Our summer vacation started on Friday July 15th and continued through the following Friday.  As I mentioned in my last post we had a busy morning on the day we left trying to get everything packed up and making sure our Emma pup was taken care of before we left.  Our flight was at 1:10pm and we had hoped to get on the road at 10:30 that morning.  With everything going on we didn't get out of the house when we wanted and when I walked into the Milwaukee airport with Asher while Eric and Avery parked the car at the $7 lot, I began to panic.  There was a gigantic line in front of the Southwest airline desk and our flight was only slightly more than an hour away.  Thankfully though, everything worked out.  Once Eric and Avery made it back, the line went quickly and before we knew it we were waiting outside our gate and eating our PB&J sandwiches I'd packed.

Not long after we were boarding our plane and headed to Atlanta, Georgia to visit some close friends.  The boys did great on the plane enjoying their coloring books (seriously the "magic" coloring books which reveal the colors with the special included marker are amazing for travel!) and the snacks that I'd packed.  Asher was a bit bummed because he was so excited to get juice and snacks from the stewardess (his favorite part of flying), but due to turbulence throughout the flight he was only able to get a quick drink and some pretzels near the end of our flight.

At around 4:30pm (Eastern) we landed in Atlanta and after picking up our rental car we were ready to head to our friends Jennifer and Stephen's house.  It took some time to get our car because we didn't quite know where to go.  First the boys and I sat outside (sweating) waiting for Eric to get it, but then Eric came back and said we needed to take a tram to the rental car area.  Once we got there, the boys were thrilled to get a chance to run around and burn off some steam while Eric got our car, getting a lot of smiles and waves from the passersby.  Eventually we were sent to pick up the vehicle and were happily surprised to see that we had been given an almost fully-loaded Buick Enclave to drive for the week.  I was pretty excited, since that is a car I've always said would be perfect for me if we had the money.  It was really nice and the seats were amazingly comfortable.

Once we had our vehicle we headed to the Wohlers' residence and we were so so happy to see our friends Jennifer and Catie (whom we hadn't seen since they surprised me at Avery's birthday party last year) and Stephen and William (whom we hadn't seen since they'd moved 2 years earlier).  It was so good to see them and get to see their home and the beautiful neighborhood that they live in.  Both Eric and I were getting used to the heat and humidity, but we were surprised by how hilly and lush the Atlanta area is.  It is actually a very beautiful place to live.  We enjoyed a delicious lasagna dinner provided by Stephen and then enjoyed catching up and seeing our kids play together.  At one point the kids were playing in the playroom while Jen and I watched and visited when we saw something fall on the floor below Avery.  I thought, "could that be what I think it is?'  Sure enough, Avery had pooped and a piece poop fell out of his diaper and onto the playroom floor!  Gross.  I was mortified, but Jen joked that it was just payback for the time that William (as a baby) had an explosive diaper that leaked on our futon in our playroom.  :)  Oh well, we survived and got everything and everyone cleaned up...the luxurious life of a mom I guess! ;)

Finally, that night after the kids had gone to bed, Jen, Stephen and I stayed up late talking in the kitchen.  Eric graciously volunteered to stay with the boys since Asher didn't want us to leave the room.  It was such a great start to our vacation and that night I could barely sleep as I thought of all that was planned for the week ahead including the moment I would have to say goodbye again to our dear friends.