Birthday Boy!

Yesterday was Papa's Birthday and according to Brooklyn he is a whapping 30 years old. Hope you had a Happy Birthday. Mimi made a delicious meal of roast beef, rolls, salad, greenbean casserole, mashed potatoes, and olives. All of that topped off with a Red Velvet cake (per Papa's request) and ice cream. It was all yummy. Of course I forgot my camera. Entertainment was provided by Brookyn and Jack, as they danced and sang along to High School Musical 3. It was hilarious to watch. There was only 1 thing missing...the Brights. We wish ya'll could have been there to help us celebrate.

Here are several reasons I'm glad Papa was born:
1. He is the ultimate family man...always loves being with his family.
2. He is funny and he doesn't mind when we laugh at or with him.
3. He doesn't get mad about the "big" things.
4. He always reminds us "to remember who we are."
5. He works hard.
6. He supports his family in all that they do...sporting events, talks in church, etc.
7. He loves our mother.
8. He's handy to have around...I have lots of fix it and make-it projects that he's done for me.
9. He was a great example of what a son/daughter should be...he called his mother almost every day, reminding us how important it is to have a relationship with your parents.
10. He was strict, now as an adult I can appreciate it. I think it kept us all safe and on the right path.

Hope you had a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!

And to WRAP things up...King Tut...

get it...to wrap things up! Ha ha ha ha! OK, seriously...we loved this exhibit! The Atlanta Civic Center had a King Tut exhibit. It has huge and really cool! Once again, Kate loved it and wanted to read every display...Clair liked it for about 30 - 45 minutes, and Bowen liked it for -30 minutes (yes, that is NEGATIVE thirty minutes). The only bummer...like the Terracotta Soldiers...you couldn't take photos in the exhibit. So, here are a few from the gift shop and from outside. Bowen in a King Tut head dress...$33...nope, we'll take the book for $4.99! Kate and Clair also wanted to try on the hat...Kate wanted to buy the hat, but her $8 budget wouldn't allow it! I don't think King Tut would appreciate this tissue box in his image! But I thought it was funny!And, one of the greatest treats of this trip was finding my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant in ATLANTA...Stephen made a legal U-turn to get us back to Taco Cabana for lunch. Yummy bean and cheese taco for me! :) Then we promptly saved the location on our GPS for future visits! :)

Our Twin Family

The Binns are our friends from Georgia and are the perfect twin match for our family.

They have three kids....just like us...a daughter 7 years old (just like us), a daughter 5 years old (just like us), and a son 2 years old (just like us). We love them ALL! Patrice (the mom) is a great person! She is a good mom and she laughs at my jokes! William is too funny and is a great dad! The family is a great example to us and we LOVE being with them. Even though we don't get to see each other very often, when we spend time together it is like we were never apart! They are such great friends and our kids really love each other and get along wonderfully! It was a wonderful way to spend our Sunday evening in Georgia! Thanks for the yummy dinner and the great company!

We already miss you guys...and your little dogs too!

Day Two in ATL

Next was World of Coke!

They had all these really cool bottles decorated for different cultures.

Then we went into this cool room with all these classic coke signs and got to see other cool vintage stuff!

We meet the Coke Polar Bear!

Then we got to sample 62 Coke products from around the world...Kate and Clair were in "soda" heaven!



We needed some food to counter all the sugar we consumed in the form of soda...soooooo Stephen took us to this great little Brazilian place! Clair LOVED it and even tried chicken hearts and liked them! She ate three! Look at that full belly!

Terracotta Soldiers in the ATL

So, this long weekend we packed up the van and took our little family on a trip to the big city of Atlanta... AKA - ATL! ATL is hosting several really cool exhibits...Terracotta Soldiers from China and a King Tut exhibit from Egypt! So, Saturday morning (Valentine's Day) we went to the Atlanta High Museum of Art to check out the clay warriors. (Kate and Clair with their best solider faces!)

After we saw the Terracotta Soldiers exhibit we checked out some of the art!


Then we washed our art experience down with some yummy and "healthy" food from The Varsity - an Atlanta institution! (Like Kate's onion ring bracelet?)

Then the next morning the girls "dug" out their own Terracotta Soldiers from the gift shop!