Vacation Roundup

The big vacation is finito and we are getting settled back in. The driving was blah but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?! (Next time we will save our little pennies and fly, even if it kills us!) Thank goodness Ella Grace is a wonderful traveler and didn't mind all that time in the car.

We got to see and do all kinds of picture-worthy things last week so I have a ton of pics to share! Want all the details? You're gonna get them! More than you ever realized you wanted to know!

Here's how it all shook out:

David and E left for Grandma and Grandpa's house early and got to ride Lonesome, Grandpa's horse (who is in fact lonesome now that Scoot is here with us!).

I drove down last Saturday and fortunately got to see my baby girl before bed (and got my first Waffle House fix!). I had been missing her pretty good (um, and David too!). We went to church Sunday and then had lunch with George, who Ella thought was just great!

Sunday afternoon we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa and then went to feed the ducks and visit Grandma Lucy's pond.

E tries to hit the ducks with the bread and David and Ken strike the same pose.

Then it's back to the house to do chores.

Feeding Lonesome some watermelon hardly looks like a chore!

Sunday night we waved goodbye to Cedartown and headed south to my mom's house. Going to the beach was first on the agenda so off we went!

E with Grandmama and then chasing down a seagull.

Post-beach, pre-supper.

The next day, second verse, same as the first!

Such a little lady. She must get it from me.

E with Grandmama and Jim and some pretty water.

Looking for seashells.

We all freshen up and head out to supper where I order Ella a strawberry daquiri (sans alcohol, of course!). Big fan, she was!

Lush! She must get that from me, too.

To finish up the evening we go over to Granny and Grandaddy's to say goodbye.

G&G are skilled great grandparents - they keep an arsenal of hula hoops and jump ropes!

E discovers Granny's piano and almost cranks out chopsticks!

Are you tired yet? Eyes starting to glaze and things getting fuzzy? I hate to tell you that these are only Tuesday's pics! I think my mouse is getting a little tired too... but the show must go on!

Wednesday we headed north to Athens to visit with the north GA crowd. No McGraw function is complete without Aunt Allyson and Uncle Charlie coming down the mountain to add some character. We were not disappointed.

Papa, Ella and Uncle Charlie eating (?) seashells, UC's famous bunny ears.

Thursday was the big day of the multi-celebration BBQ. Marisa moving back, us visiting and about 10 different birthdays called for the cooking of a massive amount of chicken in Papa's new BBQ pit.

Yep, the man loves to cook out.

Give him a few hours and 40 halves and this is what you get. Yuuuum!

While all of that cooking was going on, we headed down to the creek for a little dip.

At first Ella wasn't so sure, but it didn't take her long to fall in love.

More creek fun.

Marisa snapped this. LOVE IT!

Marisa and I are definitely cut from the same cloth!

We had to literally drag E out of the creek so we could help with the last minute preparations. Here is some of the faithful help now...

Uncle Charlie getting (as he put it) "dirty side up". I'll second that.

People started drifting in for some good food and refreshing beverages. I was very fortunate that Niki just happened to be in town before her big trip to Austrailia, Kasey had just gotten back into town from California, Katie and Tracy drove up from south Georgia and Greg, Andria and baby Dellaina came over from Woodstock. (Special thanks to Greg, who has a hard and fast rule against weekday night functions, for making an exception just this one time...!) It sure was nice to get to visit with some old friends, meet baby D and have them meet Miss E.

Uncle Rusty sweeps E off her feet and some of the feasting on the porch.

I finally get my hands on Dellaina and her proud parents, Greg and Andria.

Niki, Greg, Katie and Tracy chatting inside while David and Rusty hide outside.

Some irresistable pics of baby D chowing down.

Andria, me, Katie, Niki and Kasey (this ain't nuthin' but an OC party!)

Believe it or not, that does it! Good grief, I'm tired! As pictures from other people's cameras come rolling in I will have even more to share. Yippee!

I'm sure y'all are just dying to know what transpired in the garden while we were away, right?! Don't you worry one bit! There is news to be had and I will update you soon!

Footnote: Unfortunately, I managed to work out exactly zero times while we were gone. Boo. Sunday: bike 4 miles (gotta start back in easy)