Stone Mountain Park

Today Brad, Chloe, and I spent the day at Stone Mountain Park with the family and had so much fun riding the train, visiting all the shops, seeing a 4D theater, and shooting foam balls at each other in the kids' barn. The kids barn really was a huge barn that was turned into a massive play area that was 4 stories tall. It was definitely geared towards adult's enjoyment as well as for children. High pressured air guns that shot foam balls? Yes, please. They had two slides that you could ride all the way down from the 4th floor and was even open for adults. Needless to say, I had to try it but was not expecting it to be so violent. Since it was built for kids, I was much to big and had to lean way back to fit my head in. I also did not soar through the turns, but instead hit each of them like a wall. It felt a little like being in a pin ball machine. Also needless to say, I had to ride it three more times.

Other Chattanooga pics

Here are some more pictures of the places we got to see. The buildings with the glass triangle roofs belong to the Chattanooga Aquarium and the bridge is the one across the river that we got to walk across (to get to Cheeburger). The other picture is of the Chattanooga Choo Choo, the hotel we got to stay at.

Chattanooga

This week Brad's parents took all their kids (and families) to Chattanooga for a couple days for some fun. We all drove up together yesterday and spent the night at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, which is the city's old train station. We had dinner at a super cute 50's diner called Cheeburger where we got to "design" our own dream burger and Chloe's kid's meal came in a cardboard Cadillac. Talk about awesome. Today we had a blast at the Chattanooga Aquarium and saw an IMAX movie in 3-D about orangutans and elephants in the wild. Chloe was not a fan of the imax theater from the time we stepped in it (something about a big dark room) so she and I spent the time running around outside the theater.

Today Chloe had some very proud firsts: she got to pet her first sting ray as well as her first snake. The snake was an albino king snake who was very friendly but Chloe and I were the only ones who wanted to pet it. Chloe even got a sticker for her bravery. That's my girl.

The drive home was nice and Chloe slept most of the way. This evening we spending it at Brad's parent's house so tomorrow morning we can have a big family Christmas with presents and food before everyone disperses to do their individual Christmas plans next week.

Random pictures

Our cute little Chloe.

Chloe and the Christmas Tree

Last night I had a little fun with Chloe and the Christmas tree. She was very cute and loved posing for the camera.

Christmas Pizza

Today Chloe and I decided to make Christmas-themed pizza for lunch. Chloe even helped me cut out the shapes. It was fun and delicious.

Chloe and Santa

Last night was our ward Christmas Party and it was so much fun with lots of good food, friends, and...Santa! We thought Chloe would be a lot happier about sitting on Santa's lap this year than last year; however, she was equally as traumatized as her previous experience. Afterwards, Santa gave her a goodie bag of toys for being such a brave girl. The second picture here is of Cheri and I. Cheri is my friend from California who has been living with Brad's parents while completing an nutritionalist internship here in Georgia.

Ralphie

Ralphie relaxing on the couch. He's the man.

Our Christmas Tree!

Last night we put up our Christmas tree and it's beautiful! I am so excited that the Christmas season is here! The first picture here is of Chloe wearing the wolf slippers that were Brad's as a little kid. So cute!

Salt Lake Airport

While waiting for our flight back to Atlanta, Chloe and I hung out in the kids' play area which was quite the life saver in keeping Chloe busy and happy. I wish other airports had these (so far I have not been able to find one).

More Thanksgiving Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from Chloe and I's trip to Utah over Thanksgiving. It was so wonderful to spend time with the family and we can't wait to go back. Declan has grown so much since we saw him in August. Chloe was so cute with him by giving kisses and hugs.

Riding

Today I had some fun riding my mom's Clydesdale, Annabelle, and had so much fun. It has been way too long since I rode last, my legs are particularly feeling it since they are like jello. My mom gave me a fun lesson to get me back in the swing of things and helped me work on my 2-point. The weather has been much warmer than last week and with the exercise I didn't even need my coat. The second to last picture is from my mom working Annabelle out through her voice commands. Very neat.

Thanksgiving!

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with the family and the food was fantastic. Here are some super cute pictures of the fam and Alyssa's rice crispy turkeys, but particularly my little nephew, Declan. As tradition, my grandpa, Alvie, sang Old Man River for us just before departing and it was just as beautiful as ever.

Hiking Stone Mountain

Today has been such a fun day because we decided to get some exercise and see the sites by hiking Stone Mountain. It's 2.6 miles round trip and once we neared the top it was quite steep. It sure was fun, though, and we got to stop and rest at the gift shop that was up there. Chloe rode on our shoulders most of the way but she did do most of the climbing on her own while we were on our way up. It was quite an amazing view from up there, which was such a neat change from standard Georgia views (a couple hundred feet because of all the trees). I read that on a clear day you can see 60 miles away. Stone Mountain is apparently the largest chunk of granite in the world (or at least this continent). It actually reaches (underground) all the way into Alabama.

Brad to the Rescue

I've caused several interesting, less-than-optimal experiences this past week and I'm so glad Brad's job is no more than 20 minutes away. So, last week I left the house to check the mailbox and quickly realized I had locked myself out of the house, leaving Chloe inside. I called Brad and luckily he was already on his way home after work so I was only stranded for 15 minutes or so sitting on the front porch with my hand on the fogged window and calling to Chloe. She also kept her hand on the window and every now and then did a sucker-face right to the glass.

Yesterday I made sure to take my keys with me when I left the front door to check the mail. However, I forgot to turn off the security alarm and was greeted by a screaming siren when I came back into the house. The security company called to make sure I was alright and I apologized for my mistake. That same day, Chloe managed to lock herself in the guest bathroom and no matter how hard I tweeked that wire hanger in the door handle hole, I could not unlock it. I called Brad and he came rushing home and was able to pick the lock to pieces, releasing a rather shaken Chloe. Just minutes later we ordered the emergency release keys that go with those locks so we should never have this problem again (they weren't the standard "pick it with a bobby pin" kind of locks").

Today I was hunting around the house looking for Ralphie and ventured into the garage to check for him there. I forgot again to turn off the security alarm and was once again greeted by a screaming siren. I somehow managed to be on the phone with a friend when the security company called so they sent a policeman to the house to check on us. I didn't realize they had dispatched someone so I wasn't expecting anyone when I saw and heard (through the blinds) a man trying to open our back door. Needless to say, it freaked me out and I tried to watch him walk around the house to the front door. Thankfully, once he came in view of a clear window I could see that it was a policeman. He knocked on the door and I apologized for my mistake and thanked him for checking on us.

So in conclusion, we know our new security system works and has very fast reaction times. I also have made a determined effort to always take my keys with me when I check the mail :)

Cats!

Brad and I decided to get Chloe a cat for Christmas! We found the perfect one for her in the classifides so her Christmas present came early this year. We intended to get one cat but it had a brother and the owner didn't want to separate them so we took both cats! Their names are Ralph and Rambo and they are finally starting to feel right at home. I took a few pictures of them with Chloe this morning now that they are feeling more comfortable and emerged from behind the couch.