Robinsons Come to Visit

We've been lucky to have a lot of family come and visit us this past year!  My mom and brothers came out for the first time since we've lived here the first week of July and we had a great time despite all the rain.  It literally rained everyday they were here and some of the days it rained ALL day!  It kind of put a damper on the 4th of July, but we still managed to have fun.

They flew in on Monday July 1st and we started things off by going to the Georgia Aquarium on Tuesday morning.  Hayden warmed right up to uncle Ian and asked for a ride in the line to get tickets.

Hayden and my mom by her favorite fish Nemo

The highlights of the day were the Beluga Whales, the sharks, and of course the dolphin show.  Hayden kept asking the whole time we were there if it was time to see the dolphins.  This is right before the show began.  She's seen it about 4-5 times but every time she sees its like it's the first time.

We also saw a few movies while they were here.  We took Hayden to see Despicable Me II and my brothers and Paul and I saw The Man of Steele.

Like I said, the 4th of July literally rained all day so the fireworks were all cancelled as well as the parades and any other outdoor activity.  So we took my brothers to the gym and gave them a good leg workout and then had a big 4th of July dinner.  That night we met up with our friends the Heinholds for dessert.

Hayden was constantly asking for her Uncle Ian's attention and he was so good to play so many games with her.  She loved having him chase her around the house. Here Hayden is "sick" and Ian is taking good care of her.  Hayden also enjoyed every morning with my mom while I slept in!  They watched Glee, read books, and my mom even got Hayden interested in puzzles by bringing her some new ones!

We were able to take them to Pickett's Mill which is about 10 minutes from our house and a significant Civil War battlefield.  Due to the rain, we were unable to go on the walk to really see the trenches and get a better feel for the area.  But we were able to walk around for a bit.

Saturday we took them to get some southern barbecue at one of our favorite places, Jim and Nicks.  That night we took them to Stone Mountain.  My mom taught Geology for a bit so we knew we needed to make a trip there. We went on Saturday night and so they not only had the laser show, but also a fireworks presentation.  The only problem was that again it rained right after we left the top of the mountain and so the grass was SOAKING wet and it was so humid that the smoke from the fireworks just sat right in front of the mountain blocking most of the laser show!  Oh well, at least it wasn't hot!

Sean & Ian on top of Stone Mountain 

 Hayden on top and her funny new poses

My mom and the boys!

One of my favorite pictures from their trip.  On top of Stone Mountain!

Monday was their last full day in Atlanta and we actually got some sun, so we took them to Acworth Beach in the morning before the rain came in and we had a great time.  Again Ian was so good to spend so much time in the water with Hayden and Sean even got in and squirted them with the water gun while Hayden shrieked with delight!

Ian & Hayden

Sean working on his tan

That night in between the rain we did some of our own fireworks.  Hayden had been looking forward to this the whole weekend and I think my brothers had been too.

Sean and Ian lit all the fireworks for us and it was so fun to see Sean get so happy and act so natural.  If I had known he would have so much fun I would have bought a pack of fireworks for each night!  We did have a pack of pretty weak fireworks and right after I made some statement about how lame they were, one shot off the ground and barely missed my face!  Everyone had a good laugh and Hayden cannot stop talking about it. After the fireworks ended we caught fireflies and frogs.  It was a great way to end their visit here.  

Tuesday early afternoon we drove them to the airport and Hayden was so sad to leave them.  She had it in her head that she was getting on that airplane with them.  She just kept crying and saying, "I need my grandma" and "I want to live in Utah."  It was pretty sad and made me feel bad that we live so far away.  But I'm so glad they were able to come and visit.  It was a relaxed, enjoyable week.  Hopefully we'll see them again soon!