Trip to Georgia

We traveled south this past week to spend time with Eli's grandma, aunt and uncle, and cousins in Georgia.  We hadn't been there in a few years and it was wonderful to visit again and let our kids get acquainted with that side of the family.  Our kids slept poorly, ate more poorly, and had constipation issues to top it off - all a consequence of traveling, which we've seen over and over again - but we were reminded why we travel so much in spite of these issues: because it's worth it to see and invest in family and friends!

In addition to seeing family, we had the pleasure of spending time with my college roommate who lives in the same area.  She and her husband were missionaries in the Dominican Republic for about nine years before moving to the States last summer.  It was fun and encouraging to see them again and to talk about missions!

As you might imagine, it's hot in Georgia this time of year.  Hot and humid.  But an afternoon on the lake kept us cool for awhile.  It was relaxing and refreshing.  Kai had a particularly enjoyable time.  He's a sociable little guy these days and explored everything while bouncing between everyone on the boat.  Caleb was content to hang out with Grandma Horn and hang onto a rubber worm he found :)

I'm 28 weeks pregnant in this photo.  Baby Horn is carrying straight out front, like our other two did.  Baby Horn has also been keeping me extra warm lately.  I was glad for a sundress to keep me cooler in the Georgia heat.

There were six little kids running around and, as always, they entertained us and kept us busy.  We tried to get a photo of Gram with all the kids.  Five of the six made it into the photo and this was the best we could get.  

It was a bit easier to get a picture of the cousins in our generation :)  Eli's cousins are fabulous people and we loved spending time with them!

One day we took the kids to the turtle pond down the road.  We saw nary a turtle but the boys loved it just the same.  We threw bread to the fish and nearly had two kids fall off the dock, but we managed to leave dry and happy :)

On our last day we ventured to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  It's quite the place!  Caleb loved the dolphin show and they both loved the tank with whale sharks and giant rays.  Caleb, our animal lover, was particularly enthralled.  He was like a normal kid in a candy shop :)  

So despite the poor sleeping and eating and pooping habits of our kids, we were so glad we made the trip to see family.  We probably won't see most of them until we're home from Africa in a couple years so we're particularly thankful for the chance to head there this year.