Sophie and Mary soakin in the Georgia sunshine
This was our second road trip to Georgia as a family (Simon and Bailey included, of course) and all went well. It was a little easier this time driving at night since the girls' bedtime is 7:00. We left home around 9:00 last Wednesday (April 19th) night and arrived at my parents' house a little after 6:00 Thursday morning. Sophie and Mary got a pretty good night's sleep on the drive over and woke up in a cheerful mood after we arrived. For a little while - then Sophie realized we'd traveled to another place and it was all too much for her to take. That happened a couple of times during our visit but other than that the girls were both quite sociable. They were definitely more fun than during our last visit when they were between 2-3 months old - that was a hard time... Folks always say you'll miss the times when they were so little, but I think we are all glad we are past those days! Not that it isn't nice to look back and see how much they've grown, but we're just enjoying that it's not all about eating and sleeping anymore.
It was a productive visit - we got to see a lot of people and were able to visit my top eating places. :) Thursday was not that eventful, we just enjoyed hanging out with my family and tried to catch up on a little sleep while Grandma and Grandpa tried to catch up with the girls. Then that night Peter and I went out with Russ to El Tejado, my favorite Mexican restaurant - who knew you had to travel all the way to Forsyth, Georgia to get the best mexican food. Well in a sit down restaurant that is - there's always Taco Stand (we'll get there later). Going out is a more exciting event after you have kids although it's pretty much the same. I'd say the getting out of the house part makes you a little giddy at first, then you can relax and act like you're normal people that get to do this all the time.
Friday we spent the afternoon in Athens. It was not a long visit as we just squeezed it in between morning nap at 9:00 and afternoon meal at 3:00 but it was impressive that we pulled it off on schedule and got to see so many friends. We left during nap time and went to visit our friend Stephanie. After the girls had lunch we went by the old building (Life Sciences Bldg) and saw some friends we worked with a couple of years ago. We went to Dr. Wang's lab and he was at a conference over at the Georgia Center but stopped by for his lunch break. Anyone that knows Dr. Wang knows that he does not shy away from a photo opportunity! He took some pictures and saved them on a CD for us, so I told him I was going to post them on the blog. Unfortunately, he remembered he left his camera in the car after he arrived - by the time he was back from the car Sophie was asleep and was not going to wake up for anybody.
Dad, Mary, Mom and Sleeping Beauty (Sophie)
Our friends from the old lab! L to R: Tucker Swindell, Dr. John Rose, Dr. Albert Fu,
Quentin Florence, me and Sophie, Peter and Mary, Kathy Medina, Jackie Taylor
Mom and Sophie, Dr. B.C. Wang and Mary, Dad
After we went by the building we stopped by Taco Stand for a to-go order (see, I told you that one was coming) to chow down on once we got back to the house. Actually, we saw someone at Taco Stand too - my old coworker from Olis, Jody Bradberry. He's a manager at Rick's First Generation Camaro and sells parts for old Camaros (duh) and other stuff too I guess. Peter could probably talk shop with him for a while. But alas, Mary was tired and fussy at the time and we were running behind schedule! Jody has a daughter that is in high school now. I remember being at her 5-year old birthday party. It's been a while...
Peter called our good friend James Griffith hoping to catch him at the building but he was already gone. Not surprising, he usually arrives early and leaves early. But he wanted to see us so he met us at a parking lot outside of Athens on our way back home! Just want to let him know again it was so great to see you, and we really appreciate you going out of your way and waiting to see us! We had a brief but nice visit. Mary had gone to sleep but Sophie was awake again, so she got out with us for a little while. James took a picture of the three of us on his fancy, newfangled iPhone (that he bought used from someone that must have been fancy and newfangled himself). It was a nice picture, but on the way home Peter said he didn't feel right about it since Mary wasn't in the picture. I hope we get to see it anyway, and we can take one with us and Mary to even it out!
That afternoon we went by to see the milk barn. Russ and Daddy are remodeling it and it will be a house for Russ to live in after he graduates this summer. It's come a long way and looks great. Russ had already left, but Daddy turned around and met us not long after we got there. He gave us the tour and told us about all the challenges. Then we went for a ride out to the creek out past the pond. It was the first time Peter had ever been back there. I'm sure Grandpa will be taking Sophie and Mary out there one day.
Peter went to visit his mom that evening but I went out with Russ and his girlfriend Mandy to Ingleside Village Pizza in Macon (see, I told you I hit all the eating spots). We also went to see that new movie with Owen Wilson called Drillbit Taylor. It was cute I guess but I was not overly impressed. I actually dozed off for a minute but got myself sugared up for the second half. It was nice of Russ and Mandy to let me tag along on their night out together since they have not been dating long. Mandy was really nice. I like her! Hopefully we'll get to know her better. :)
Saturday we visited Peter's mom, Ilona, or Nagyi to the girls (that's her Hungarian grandma name). Nagyi lives in Atlanta now and there is a park near her apartment. So we packed a little Easter lunch and had a picnic in the park. It was a beautiful day. The girls love being outside and we had a great time. Nagyi took a lot of pictures of us and the girls wearing the bunny suits she bought for them. I can't wait to see the pictures. When I get the pictures, I'll post them and write more about our visit.
Grandma Carol had to snap off a few pictures before we left on Saturday since the girls were just so darn cute. Note the date on the pictures. We know to ignore that now, but 10-20 years down the road I just know it's gonna cause a world of confusion.
Grandpa and Mary Bunny
Sophie Bunny
We all went to church on Easter Sunday. Mom, Dad and the girls arrived fashionably late. We were not trying to be fashionable of course, but we had to adjust our schedule to go to church. Let's just say everything did not adjust as planned. Mary had some tummy issues. But we took care of that and no one seemed to mind us walking in late. After we got home, we got some pictures before everyone got out of their Sunday clothes.
Grandma, Uncle Russ, Grandpa, Mary and Sophie
Dad with Mary, Mom with Sophie
After a nice Easter lunch, we had some visitors. Mema and Papa came by on their way to Atlanta to go work on a movie. They are always working so hard. Then Great Aunt Janis and Great Aunt Marilyn came by and visited for a while.
Aunt Marilyn has twin boys, Jason and Justin, that are about 8 years older than us. It was nice to hear her relate some stories about when they were babies. We still get all the same comments!
"Looks like you've got your hands full!"
"Are they twins?"
"What's the age difference?" (I personally think this one's a little weird)
"I'm glad it's you and not me!" Aunt Marilyn's answer to this one was, "I am too."
I thought that was a good answer to the last question and plan to use it. Actually Peter got to use it before I did since he had to take the girls with him to stop by the lab earlier this week.
It was hard to leave Georgia but it was good to finally get back home. We got back Monday morning after Easter around 5:30. The girls woke up after getting out of the car but went right back to sleep in their cribs. They were glad to be back home too. We had a little time to relax during our visit, but we all came back more tired than when we left. I think I've finally caught up on sleep now. I don't know about Peter, but he usually sleeps less than I do!
That's all I have to report on our trip. Other than that all is well. We are patiently waiting for the girls to reach another milestone - crawling, eating... We were so excited about feeding them, but they are just wondering why we keep trying to put this foreign substance in their mouths! We'll keep trying every day or so. Until then, at least the girls are healthy and we are all having fun. More to come.
Mary and Sophie chillin in the crib
