Family Matters

So, once Savannah's birthday was celebrated on the 8th, it was time to jump into a fun family weekend=) We started Saturday morning off early with a 5K Make-A-Wish Foundation run for the annual Cobb County 5K around the Marietta Square. This was my mom's first 5K race, and my sister's first in a while. I was so proud of them both! It was a tough course, and one I will have to do again for the Gobble Jog on Thanksgiving morning, but twice! since I will be doing the 10K. Whew! Tired just thinking about it. It's so nice to do these races with family. We have a Palooza Clan running the Gobble Jog! My official time for this race was 29:25:63, which I think was better than my 5K I ran back in March. Next up on the fun family weekend was our annual trip to Amicalola Falls, except this year we really made a day out of it on Sunday. We hit Burt's Pumpkin Farm first, not too long after it opened for the day. Did the hayride, picked out some pumpkins, took a few pictures, then with boiled peanuts in hand, headed for the classic family picnic at the bottom of Amicalola Falls.(This is my son's typical face these days. He's not much for new things and constantly fussy. Right now I attribute this to teeth and his frustration with his inability to communicate. So we grin and bear it for now...this to shall pass, all too soon, right?)

Now, I say this is an annual trip. Truthfully, we've been very sporadic from year to year holding to this tradition, but I'm hoping it's one everyone continues to make an effort in the future to hold onto. My mom had quite a spread for our picnic, which was delicious!

Once the food was eaten, it was time to work it off, so half of us hiked to the top, and the other half drove to the top to keep my sister company who was unfortunately suffering from a stomach bug this day=( But even just hanging out on the blankets at the top of the falls was a lot of fun, and surprisingly the kids were holding up great even though we were slowly encroaching on naptime hours.(Yes, this is my LITTLE brother and sister....Love them!)(Every kid should have an uncle that will toss them in the air=)

Pushing our luck a little more, we all headed over to downtown Dahlonega for some around town shopping. We were WAY past nap times at this point, but Savannah did great, and as long as I carred Weston, he was fine as well. Needless to say, I got a workout on this shopping trip=)

(He takes three steps these days before hitting his knees! So close to walking!)(So Uncle Matthew taught her how to climb up, get a big mouthful of water, then spit it into the dirt....what was hilarious was watching her chase him and try to spit the water on him=)(The men...mostly=)

All in all, the day was a success. I enjoyed every moment with my family...playing, laughing, catching up, resting, just hanging out, shooting the breeze. This is our kind of family tradition. Nothing fancy and nothing over the top exciting, but just some good 'ole southern, fall mountain fun. My family is the closest thing to my heart outside of Joey and the kids. I know that when push comes to shove in this life, they are the ones that have my back. With Matt & Em in Augusta and Tim & LA in Orlando, it's hard to get together as much as we like, but I'm thankful for the simple fact that we all still do want to get together. It's not something we dread, just something that's hard to orchestrate, and for that I am thankful. Most families don't have the blessing of being able to say that. Love you all from the bottom of my heart. Looking forward to all being together again at Christmas!