Weekend Update - Camping Adventure

We tried camping this weekend. It rained. Fortunately, we discovered that our tent is fabulous (meaning: waterproof!), and we did not get wet during the night. We were just AWAKE all night, listening to the rain POUND on the top of the tent. It would have been more soothing, had we known we were not going to wake up with a river of water running through the tent (been there, done that!).

We tried to salvage Sunday morning--Saturday afternoon had been beautiful, and the kids were able to ride their bikes and play in the lake. We roasted hot dogs and made s'mores over the fire (kindled with Matchlight briquets and fueled with a bag o' firewood from the grocery store). That was Saturday. Sunday was rainy and cold and gray and dirty. The kids made friends with a boy in the next campsite, and they all went out exploring and playing by the lake--IN the lake, when they "accidentally" fell in.

By lunchtime, we were ready to give in and call it a day. Unfortunately, as we were packing everything up and taking down the tent--that's when it rained the hardest. We all got soaked. We couldn't go home: We had Open House Sunday from 2 - 4PM. We drove into Buford, Georgia, which is about 10 miles from the lake, and the home of the Mall of Georgia--nothing like "roughing it" within 10 minutes of one of the largest shopping malls in the country...

We pulled into Target (gotta love Target!), and I ran in for a few replacement essentials: a pair of shorts and underwear for Zach; a pair of shorts and a shirt for Tiger; a pair of sandals and a sweater for ME. And then we went to the Mall of Georgia for the remainder of our Camping Adventure. We had lunch in the Food Court. We wandered around in Barnes & Noble. We went to the movies and saw Herbie: Fully Loaded (everybody LOVED it!). We got home--wet, bedraggled, dirty, but happy--about 6PM, and unloaded piles and piles of dirty laundry and wet camping gear. It's good to be home.

The Prodigal Son Returns

Zach is home! After a week away at Camp Joan, he's back--and it's so good to have him home. How does a child grow so much in just a week? He admitted--out loud, even--that he's glad to be home. He had a GREAT time at the beach with his cousin and Aunt Joan, but he missed Tiger and Mom & Dad...NOT Haleigh, though. [parental sigh] She didn't miss him either, so I guess it evens out. People tell me these two will LOVE each other and be BEST FRIENDS when they are older...I'm wondering if we will all SURVIVE this sibling rivalry and competition until then...

Zach came home late in the afternoon, after we had taken the Tahoe in for service before our Big Trip to Florida next week. Haleigh & Tiger and I had lunch downtown with Daddy at Loca Luna, which is a WAY COOL restaurant in Atlanta, one of our favorites. We sat outside, in the covered patio area, next to the Koi pond. The kids got to feed the fish, which is always exciting. Loca Luna is not fancy or upscale--very laid-back, eclectic, funky, and child-friendly, too. The kids love the "french fries" which are Yucca (they don't know that), and they are THRILLED that they each get their very own little bottle of catsup with their french fries. It's the simple things in life...

Day 25 Total = $30 - lunch w/Daddy, our treat
Week #5 Total = $115
(Which is okay, since we were $20 under budget last week!)

A Really Quiet Day--

A quiet day--Camp Mommy taking it easy to allow the Camp Director to prepare for a financial meeting this afternoon. Tiger & Haleigh went to Camp Grammy to hang out, swim in her pool.

Total Day #24 = $0.00

More Movies - F R E E !

Regal Cinemas FREE Family Film Festival

I keep telling ya'll about this, and we finally made it up to The Mall of Georgia (one of our participating Regal Theatres)(I would link, but their website is down for maintenance!) for the Regal FREE Family Film Festival...it was GREAT! Kind of a long way to go for a free movie, especially one we've already seen (and have the DVD at home), Jimmy Neutron, but it was really fun. We got up there just in time to purchase our Kid Concession Packs (popcorn, small soda, small Skittles in a convenient tray for $4.75 each), and a $3.50 bottle of water, and made it into the theatre, which was packed with lots and lots and lots of kids. We had great seats--in the very first row!

We did have a great time--the kids loved seeing the movie (again) in the theatre (up close & personal!) with all those other children, and I had enough light from the screen to make some notes for a project I am working on...so I got some work done.

After the movie, we rode the carousel and had lunch at the Food Court. It is genius marketing to draw in the kids and the moms with the lure of a FREE movie, knowing that the residual sales of getting the family into the mall must be at least $20 - $50 per person in concessions, lunch, entertainments (like the carousel), and any shopping besides. I wish I could figure out how to make money like that!

After lunch, we went out to the car and the kids changed into their swimsuits--The Mall of Georgia has an outdoor fountain/sidewalk waterspouts for the kids to play in (a miniature version of the fountains at Centennial Olympic Park)--way cool.

Haleigh & Tiger ran in the fountain for about an hour, and then we got ready for the long journey home (about 45 minutes), with a lengthy detour/road adventure, exploring around Lake Lanier, which is less than 10 miles from The Mall of Georgia. We found several more great Day Use facilities, and a regular campground that would be fun to come back to, too, for a real camping adventure.

We got back late afternoon, and the kids went to Grammy's to swim in her pool with her, while I ran a couple of errands--it is nice having Grammy back in town! We are going to take it easy tomorrow, around the house--as long as no one wants to see it (busy lately!). Zach should be back in Atlanta tomorrow!

Day 23 Total = $35
(Movie - $13; Carousel - $5; Lunch - $17)

Day At The Lake

Daddy was up and out early this morning for a big presentation at work. I tried to let the kids sleep in, since they've been up later and later every night, which leads to more meltdowns during the day when they are so tired, because they usually don't sleep in any later--a bad summer trend.

We had to get going fairly early today, to get the house ready to show (again!), and we had planned to go to a program at the library, which started at 10:30am. We didn't quite make it out in time, so we altered the plan. Drastically!

Haleigh suggested a Road Trip Adventure, which sounded great--to get out of the city for the day! We were going to take Shaney (our 12-year-old lab/shepherd/collie mix) with us, but we couldn't get the back seat to fold down in the Tahoe, so she ended up staying home in the backyard, which is fine. Shaney is so old, deaf, and crippled with arthritis in her hips, she has a hard time. She always thinks she wants to go "bye bye" in the car, until I get her in the car (have to help her in and out)--and then she's ready to be home again! Which makes it very easy to make Shaney's day, and get her thinking she went somewhere, without ever leaving the garage...

We packed up the car with the Swim Bag, the drink cooler and snack bag, and we headed out without deciding exactly where we were going--all part of the adventure! We went north on I85, toward Lake Lanier, which is a huge Army Corps of Engineers dam project that resulted in a very large recreation area about 45 minutes north of metro Atlanta. There are dozens of campgrounds and lake access points all around the lake, as well as private facilities and cabins, houses and subdivisions. It would take several hours to drive all the way around Lake Lanier--very large.

We got up to Buford, Georgia, and stopped in at a Publix for some picnic supplies (bread, peanut butter, jelly, and a plastic utensil set). We also spent about $20 on toys for the lake: two inflated innertubes, two plastic balls, two mesh nets (bug or fish catchers), a new pair of sunglasses for Haleigh, plastic cups (very important, as we've learned!)(See CAMP MOMMY: The Perfect Toy For Summer 2005).

We were running without a map, which isn't such a great thing, but we managed to find one of the Day Use areas by following signs. We paid our $4 Access Fee, got a new map of all the recreation points on the lake (for next time). We were at a facility with a nice picnic area, playground, swimming area, beach, even a bathroom!

We had a great afternoon at the lake. The kids played in the water the whole time, coming out only for our picnic lunch of PB&J sandwiches, chips, fruit, yogurt and gummies--no french fries, no soda! There were other people, and plenty of kids, but not overcrowded. You couldn't even say crowded, really. It was wonderful.

We stayed for a couple of hours. I knew it was time to leave when Tiger popped his innertube, and then decided to hijack, or at least attempt to stowaway, on Haleigh's. When the screaming starts, it's time to go! About that time, the clouds had rolled in, and it started to rain a little bit, so it was a good time to go. We drove home through a rainstorm that had rocked Atlanta all day and was heading north. Fortunately the traffic at that time of day is also all headed north (we were southbound), so we made it home without getting slowed down too much. We are all ready for bed early tonight!

Day 22 Total = $25
(Lake toys & Access Fee)