Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fall break

This fall break is definately one for the books. From revisiting decade old hangouts, to gators, to rollercoasters to the beach, we definately put alot of miles under our belts and made alot of memories along the way. We started in hotlanta, the dirty south, ATL livin', whatever you want to call it...I hadn't been back since I graduated 12 years ago.  It was exciting to show the kids where I grew up, sad to see how so many things had changed, crazy how something as simple as a street sign could trigger a flood of memories and interesting to look back and see how much my life has changed since then.  Twelve years ago my life revolved around running, boys, and church dances and now the only boys I'm running after are my two little guys and the only dancing I'm doing is when I have dance parties with Kylie. So our fun started out at Stone Mountain where I have the best memories of eating picnics on "Indian Island" and watching the lazer show on warm summer nights.  I was sad that the lazer show wasn't playing while we were there, but we did get to have our little Island picnic. Jason still doesn't believe me that there used to be picnic tables there, so we dined on Quizno's in the dirt before exploring the island. 

(don't mind Jayden, when you gotta go you gotta go and there's no time to waste on pictures)

 The way Maddox was running around (and face planting about every 10 feet) you would think he lived in a treeless barren wasteland and hadn't seen the outside of an airconditioned building for the past 5 months.




(yes, I am aware that it looks like I'm kissing my great aunt with my stiff lips. Right before this happened a huge spider climbed right by our face on the tree and we had a hard time trying not to laugh while Kylie snapped our romantic picture)
Oh those TREES.  I miss those trees.







After that we took a drive along memory lane through the old hood.  I barely recognized my old street.  It used to boast perfectly manicured lawns and pristine houses and now it was so rundown with overgrown lawns, faded exteriors, broken fences, cracked windows and the neighborhood pool that I used to spend the entire summer in was now a questionable shade of green. It made me sad.

We used to make bike paths and ramps through these woods next to our house. The trees used to be the same heighth as me and now they even towered over all of the houses.  

 My highschool had changed so much with so many new additions, new baseball fields and even the dynamics had changed. It used to be about 80% white and now it is about 80% black. Alot can change in 12 years.  After that I was excited to meet up with one of my highschool BFF's before she jetted off to her fabulously new exoctic life in Thailand.  The last time I saw her was on our girl's trip to Florida 2 1/2 years ago when she was pregnant with her first and now she has 2 adorable little girls. I always love spending time with Nicole, that girl knows how to make me LAUGH.

 Once again, don't mind Jayden.  He was having some issues with Maggie's poopy diaper.

I wish we could have spent more time in Georgia.  I had a whole laundry list of places I wanted to take them in Atlanta, but with the 3 hour time change we could barely peel our eyelids open the next day to get an early start and had to skip hotlanta so we could head down to the gators....

6 comments:

Tyson and Dawn Jolley said...

How fun! Going down memory lane is so great! Even with my 5 years out of high school, it's changed so much! Love the pictures!

Kelly said...

I know! Everything looks so different, and SMALLER. Our old house looks so small. And the neighborhood is way run down. It's still fun to see, though.

I need to know where you got your necklace in the above pics. I've been looking all over for a long necklace like that. Like a regular necklace with a charm, only longer.

Is Nicole in Thailand yet?

nicole said...

Jayden looks so funny in that last picture. I forgot to tell you that that diaper I ended up changing in the parking lot turned out to be Maggie's worst yet, and it got all over her, me, and the car, which is still stained. very very nasty. Hope I can see you again soon. Come out and visit!!!

Janessa said...

Awe, run down or not, I'm sure it was fun to go back and take a look see. It is sad that things are so run down. It sure was a great place to live when it was all in its prime. Lots of great memories! You got so many awesome pictures at Stone Mountain! I love them all. The way you write and describe everything cracks me up. The "kissing my great aunt with my stiff lips" picture and story made me laugh. I still haven't dared let my kids take any pictures with my camera yet. I'm sure the day will come...eventually. How fun that you got to see Nicole. I love the funny faces you caught on Jayden!

Chelsea said...

I drove past my childhood hood several years ago, and I was shocked at my perception. How we view things as a kid and as an adult is incredibly different! sadly. Your hood still looked pretty & green to me, and you know I would love being the minority there ;)

Jodee said...

so fun to go to your old house and show your kids where you grew up. Though if they are anything like my kids they could care less what mommy used to do and where mommy used to live... Oh well.