Kate singing "Unto Us" ... Major FAIL (but funny ending)

So this video didn't turn out how I was hoping ... but when I watched it last night for the first time, I laughed and laughed. :o)

Kate at Yellow River Game Ranch

Here's one of the videos I mentioned in my post below ... Kate is curious about the various creatures at Yellow River Game Ranch and even tries to give one a high five. LOL! She's all about high fives these days. :o)

Breakfast & Lunch with the Grandparents

We had breakfast at IHOP with Grammy and Grampy before their Monday-morning departure. A few hours later, we met Halmoni and Halabaji at Honey Pig for lunch to celebrate Halmoni's birthday. If you'd like to schedule a meal with us, please have your people call our people. We do weddings and other events, too, so don't hesitate to contact us. TIA!

The Pink Pig with Grammy & Grampy

You didn't think I would let a holiday visit with the grandparents go by without a trip to The Pink Pig, did you? We had a great time riding the pig train with Grammy and Grampy. Kate showed them the ropes. The line wasn't long at all, which was a relief. We went on Sunday, so it could have gone either way, really. Afterward, we ate a late lunch at the Lenox food court. We were going to hit the history center after that, but we decided to nap instead. :o)

Lights of Life @ Life University

On Saturday evening, we made a last-minute decision to drive to Marietta to check out the Christmas lights at Life University. I'd read great things about this light display--called Lights of Life--which apparently is a 20-year tradition. I also read that there was a train and a few other activities for children, so it sounded like a win-win for our crew!

After we got there and got through the gate, we parked and checked out the train and activities. It was quite cold out that night, so we wanted to get this part over with. LOL! There were some cute Christmas display windows (what are those things called?) and a couple of photo things with the faces cut out. I am a sucker for those things! hahaha! Of course, Kate could not wait to ride the train, and she had a big time!

Once we got back to the car, we started our ride through the Christmas lights. It reminded me of Fantasy In Lights at Bristol Motor Speedway, though I don't think it is as big as the BMS display. It was great, though, and Kate LOVED it. She kept naming things she saw in lights, and all the way home kept looking for more Christmas lights. It was so cute to see the magic and excitement in her eyes and to hear it in her expressions.

I highly recommend Lights of Life, especially if you have children who would enjoy all the great displays. It's only $5 a car to drive through, which is a bargain in my opinion. Oh yeah--and it is running through the 31st, so check it out if you get a chance.


Delicious!


Loved the Nativity display. It was hard for me to get good pictures.


Small sampling of the lights--I think BMS has that same dragon.


All aboard!


Oh yeah, I got made fun of because I did not know that Life University was a chiropractic school and I was like, "What's up with all the chiropractic references?" LOL!


Merry Christmas!


Happy New Year!

The Day After Christmas @ Yellow River Game Ranch

The day after Christmas, we loaded up and headed over to the Yellow River Game Ranch. Grammy is a huge animal lover, and she thoroughly enjoyed this place on her last visit--so we went back for more fun. For feeding the animals, we took two kinds of cereal and some crackers and bought some carrots and peanuts there. I divided some of the cereal up in little baggies so folks could have their own bags. We had plenty of food, and the animals sure gobbled it up!

Kate really enjoyed the ranch this time. She has enjoyed it in the past, but she was really into this go around. Of course, she loves running around and being outside--and the animals were an added bonus. When we first got there, she kept pointing to different animals and saying, "Oooooh, what's that?" Hilarious. We got some video; I need to upload and post it. She enjoyed feeding the animals out of her hand but many times ended up throwing the food on the ground at the last second. LOL! She also liked picking up various rocks and got scolded a few times for throwing them.

Grammy and Grampy enjoyed our outing as well and had a great time feeding all the animals and watching Kate. We took a ton of photos, so I will let them tell the rest of the story. This wasn't our first visit to the Yellow River Game Ranch, and I'm pretty sure it won't be our last.


Passing out crackers


Grammy's having a blast!


"Oooooooh, what's that?"


Getting up close and personal


It was a little cool outside--not too bad, though.


Grammy and Grampy really got into it!


I took more than 100 photos--hard to believe, I know.


Grammy loves animals, and they seem to really love her, too. As long as I can remember, she has had a way with birds, animals, and all kinds of creatures.


Squirrel


Mom, me and the deer ... or ... mommy deerest


Pretty Peacock


Kate enjoyed putting food in these tubes for the animals that are caged.


Feeding the bunnies--one of which got out of the pen. Oooops.


Grammy and Grampy in front of the famous groundhog's house.


Before we left, Tanna took a group shot.

Christmas Afternoon & Evening

Continuing with Christmas Day ...


Kate with her grandparents

What a full day it was! After we got home for the aquarium, Kate ate a bit and went down for a long winter's nap. While she was sleeping, we were able to Skype with my sister Cindy and her family, who live in Spain. Grammy and Grampy were excited to be able to talk to their four children and 13 grandchildren on Christmas Day. Before dinner, they called my sister Robin and my brother, Johnny, to wish everyone a merry Christmas and to hear what Santa brought.

Around 5 p.m., Tanna's parents arrived for Christmas dinner. We also had a cake to celebrate two birthdays--Jesus' and Halmoni's (the 28th). Tanna did a great job with all the food, and Halmoni and Halabaji brought a delicious ham. We had plenty of food, which we enjoyed the next day, too. Unfortunately, Halmoni had to work on Christmas night, so they couldn't stay too long after dinner. By the time Kate finished eating, it was almost time for bath and bed, etc., anyway. We had a wonderful Christmas day, and we were thankful.


Skyping with Cindy, Joe and the kids


There are Cindy and Hannah on the monitor. See the book on the desk? It's an incredible book of family history that Cindy put together for our family. It is amazing and such a precious gift. She and her family have been working on it for a few years now. They have traced our family tree back to President Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, James Stewart and Bob Hope (on my mother's side of the family) as well as President Franklin Pierce (which we knew about), Pilgrim William Brewster, and authors Nathanial Hawthorne and Robert Frost (on my father's side of the family). There is so much more to this, but I suppose I should save it for another post.


Wishing everyone a merry Christmas


A long winter's nap


Preparing the bird


Birthday cake for Jesus and Halmoni, whose name is Sun


Special Plate


Enjoying cake--this was actually before Kate ate her dinner. Oh well, it was Christmas.


Kate loved staking blocks with Grampy.


Grammy enjoyed reading our Christmas cards and letters.


After Kate's bath, Grammy and Grampy read her Christmas stories from one of her children's Bibles.


Merry Christmas!

Georgia Aquarium on Christmas Day

Not many Atlanta attractions (or businesses, for that matter) are open on Christmas Day--but the Georgia Aquarium is! So Grammy, Grampy, Kate and I decided to check it out. Tanna stayed at home to start the Christmas turkey and other dinner preparations. I wasn't sure what the aquarium crowds would be like--or if there would be one at all. I figured it could go either way. Turns out, it was relatively crowded, but not bad.

Grammy had been to the aquarium with us during her last visit, but this was Grampy's first time. He enjoyed it very much. Grammy did as well. Kate had fun watching all the fish--she's done pretty well on our last few visits to the aquarium. There for a while, I dreaded going because she just wanted to run all over the place. LOL! Our membership expires next month--not sure if we will renew, but we'll see. It is a great place to take out-of-town guests.

The photo they take as you enter the aquarium--you know, the one that they try to sell you later? Well, it was such a nice shot that I bought the package they presented to me. :o) I haven't scanned it or anything, so you will have to take my word for it. I got a big pic, a smaller pic and then two smaller photos with magnetic photo frames. Here are some of the pictures I took: