Re-winding a bit more. {meeting baby Hadley}

Back in October I took 2 weeks off work and jumped on a plane with the 2 kiddos and Auntie Sarah in tow. {Wow, was that an adventure!}  Let's just say I won't be flying again by myself with the 2 kids anytime soon! Trying to keep track of 2 kids while navigating through both airports was a challenge for sure! Sarah however, was a huge help!  LOVE her!
Tucker did amazing on the plane!  Hardly heard  peep out of him the whole time.  Ellee did okay.  She is a huge Daddy's girl so was so sad that he couldn't come with us.  Since she is 2 she had her own seat.  I had her sit in her carseat to help keep her contained {very smart decision on my part!}  However, she got bored very quick so there was a lot of fussing!  Sarah did an excellent job on trying to distract her so it turned out okay.

We had a ton of fun spending that 2 weeks with my sister and her family! We did lots of fun things.  We went to the pumpkin patch, a kid's play place called JUMP AIR, trick or treating, shopping and had tons of fun relaxing at home.
We also got to visit some extended family.  We really enjoyed being able to spend some extra time with them!  I sure wished we all lived closer!!

The trip home was much easier since I kind of knew what to expect!  Again, Sarah was a huge help and Ellee didn't fuss as much.  It helped that we could keep telling her we were going to see her Daddy, whom she missed very much! :)

I have so many fun photos to share!  To see all our fun Georgia Trip photos, click HERE! :)

catching up.

We have been so busy the past few weeks!  Instead of posting for each event I have decided it would be easier to do a catch up post. Here goes! :)

While we were Georgia we got to visit with lots of family.  Here are a few snapshots:

Ellee and her Great Uncle Bryan

Ellee and my cousin Samantha. (Samantha would be Ellee's first cousin once removed)

Cortland and Boone

Here are a few shots of Boone and Ellee...they were the 'kissing 2nd cousins'.

They became friends right away!

We completed our trip with a visit to the World of Coca-Cola.  It was fun taking the self guided tour which included an entertaining multisensory 4-D movie, old artifacts and a tastings of over 60 different Coke products from around the world.   If you are ever in Atlanta I recommend going!  Check out the photos from our visit:

Waiting to start the tour

Old vending machine

The oldest artifact on display.

Miss Ellee with the 7' tall Coca-Cola polar bear.

Ellee posing with Dr. John Pemberton. The inventer of the recipe for Coca-cola..

right from his backyard.

After having such a wonderful visit with my sister, her husband, Aunts, Uncles and cousins it was time to get back to reality. :(  Ellee did very well on the plane ride home.  A few fusses here and there but, overall it was a success.  She spent a lot of time sleeping and looking out the window.  Were were lucky to have an open seat between us so she was able to stretch out.  Here are a few pics from the ride.

Looking out the window.

Taking a snooze

snuggling with Daddy

Well I think that wraps up the 'catching up'.  Here are a couple other photos...

Playing dress up at Grandma's.

Miss Ellee in her Valentine outfit. :)

georgia aquarium.

Friday (1/29) we went to the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. That place is huge! It is the world's largest aquarium and has more than eight million gallons of water. It has pretty much any fish/shark/ocean life you could imagine in over sixty exhibits. Ellee loved looking at it all! We even got a chance to watch them feed the ocean life in one of the bigger tanks. We had a so much fun!

Check out our photos...I even included a video!

This turtle swam right up to Ellee. It seemed like he wanted her to pet him. :)

This is DEEPO. His named is inspired after The Home Depot. The Home Depot donated $250 million to the construction of the Georgia Aquarium. On their website it says that they were able to open their door debt free because of that donation. What a great gift to the city of Atlanta!

Stopping to take a family pic.

Taking a snooze...all that ocean life wiped her out! :)

The Berkens (Aunty Em & Uncle J)

Enjoying this exhibit with a new friend. :)

Here is Miss Ellee trying to pet the fish!

Kani House..can we say YUM !

Thursday evening we went out to dinner at the Kani House Japanese restaurant with Jason, Emily and Jason's uncle and his co-workers. They had some pretty amazing food.  We all decided to get our food hibatchi style which is where they cook the food right in front of you. Our chef was pretty entertaining!  Miss Ellee got some pretty wide eyes when she saw the flames.

 

puzzled wided eyed look

  

  

She was very interested in those chopstix!

 

gold mining.

Thursday (1/28) we went to the Consolidated Gold Mine.  They say it was the site of America's first gold rush.  We got a lesson on panning for gold. Then we each got to try panning for gold on our own.  We only found a few flecks of gold in each pan but, it was pretty interesting to see the whole process.  We were told that our gold was probably worth a combined total of $4 or $5.  I guess we won't be retiring anytime soon. :) 
We then got an underground tour of the mine.  We were taken 60 feet below the ground where the actual mine is.  It was complete with all the old tools they used as well as a few bats...ewww!  Check out our pics!

 

  

 

 

 

jet plane to Atlanta!

On Tuesday Ellee took her first airplane ride!  We are in the "peach state" this week visiting my sister and her husband along with some other family that we don't get to see very often.  We are so excited to be having a vacation!
Ellee did so well on the plane.  She did get a little fussy towards the end but, what 6 month old wouldn't after spending 7 hours on a plane!  There were actually quite a few babies on the first plane.  I guess you don't really notice them until you are traveling with one. :)

We have a lot of fun things planned to do while we are here.  Today we went mining for gold.  It was pretty fun.  We got a tour of the mine and got to sift for gold.  I will post about that later, and of course there will be pictures!
We are going to the Georgia Aquarium tomorrow and hopefully the World of Coke.  I think Miss Ellee will love the aquarium!

We are off to get dinner at Kani House: Japanese Steahouse and Sushi.  They do all the cooking right in front of you.  It should be fun!! :)