Trip to LEGOLand Atlanta

So I have this new “take advantage of Atlanta” resolution that started with our trip to Tellus on Monday.  Along with the Tellus trip, I planned to stop by Fernbank Natural History Museum on the way back through Atlanta on Friday.  My resolve was buoyed when we got some coupons for Atlanta attractions in our Nashville Sunday paper a few weeks ago.  However, when Luke saw the coupons, he noticed not the one to Fernbank, but the one to LEGOLand.  I thought that maybe we could do both on Friday—make it an Atlanta day. 

However, the more I looked into it, I realized that Fernbank is actually more expensive than LEGOLand!  And I hated to cancel “the fun one.”  Plus, my mom shared that it is really hard to get to Atlanta early from Macon because the traffic south of Atlanta has gotten so horrible.  So…we scrapped our dreams of doing Fernbank and LEGOLand, and settled on just LEGOLand.  Not as educational, but the kids were pretty excited!

We got our tickets, and then hung out in this little area, waiting for Professor Something-or-‘nother to give us a tour of a “LEGO factory.”

We didn’t have long to wait.  He came out and showed us through various displays of how LEGO bricks are made.

The kids also found out how much they weighed in LEGO Bricks.

Next, we went on a fun ride that is kind of like the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney World, except, of course, it’s LEGO’s.  The lighting made it a waste of time to take pictures, but my kids were way excited about it, and ended up loving it.

Then, we walked through “Miniland,” which was full of Star Wars LEGO displays:

There was also a room with Atlanta-themed displays.  I loved the gold dome; my kids are obsessed with spotting the gold dome on their way to Macon!

And here’s Stone Mountain:

From Miniland, we exited into the main play area.  There was another ride, called Wizard’s Apprentice, that’s akin to the Dumbo ride at Disney:

It was really hard to get good pics of the kids on the ride, but suffice to say, they were fans.

Then, Luke went to build and test cars…

…while Anna played in the play area right beside him:

Anna also built some in the LEGO Friends’ house.  And then we went to countdown until the 4D movie started:

It was a Chima movie, and we all liked it.

Afterward, I rode the Merlin’s Apprentice ride with both of the kids separately while the other played nearby.  Then, alas, it was time to leave.  Luke was ready, but Anna?  Not so much:

Afterward, we went to Johnny Rockets for lunch, mainly because it was right at the exit, and we were starving!  While we waited for our food, the kids showed off their purchases, compliments of Gaga (who had told them to get something, via Luke).

They got hats to decorate, and I wanted to get a picture of them wearing their hats, but Anna had other ideas:

Mission accomplished:

It was such a fun stop.  Afterward, however, we had to battle through major traffic, and it took a longer than normal time to get home.  The kids did great, although I know we were all glad to finally get out of the car in Nashville!

3rd Annual End-of-Schoolyear Trip to Macon

The kids and I love our little tradition of wrapping up our school year with a trip to Macon.  It’s so nice to see Gaga and Granddad, and get a little swimming in before the craziness of our summer visits:  Camp Canaan and the 4th of July.  During this trip, there is really nothing on the itinerary but “have a good time”!

Which includes, of course, building with LEGO’s:

And lots and lots of SWIMMING:

We got there late Monday afternoon.  On Tuesday morning, our friends, the Hubbards, came over to swim.  We all spent a fun morning in the pool…

…before heading out for an afternoon boat ride:

Of course, we fed the geese:

And then we headed to the beach, where most of the time was spent trying to catch minnows.

Funny story:  there were TONS of fish behind them.  We kept trying to get them to turn around, to no avail.

They don’t show up well in the picture, but trust me:  TONS.

Finally, Anna caught a minnow!

Tragically for the kids (but not for the minnow), the first minnow got inadvertently dumped back into the lake.  However, Anna and Luke each went on to catch other minnows, which we enjoyed looking at and petting for awhile before we set them free.  Luke, in particular, was very concerned that they would die, and wanted to let them go before that happened.  I love his tender heart.

Once back at the pool, Anna worked on her back dive:

That evening, we all just relaxed inside.  I was on the computer in “my” rom when these two came wandering by:

On Wednesday morning, Sierra came over.  The girls play so well together.  They swam for awhile and then played a game of croquet:

Strangely, I don’t think I got any other pictures from Wednesday, although Sierra and her mom stayed most the day, and Luke’s friend, Evan, came by in the afternoon and went to church with us that evening.  It was a really fun day, filled with the typical water activities.  The kids had a blast.

By Thursday morning, Luke was wanting a change of pace, so he and I went to Barnes and Noble to browse.  Of course, Gaga knew he wanted a LEGO set, and told me to let him pick one out.  So he did, and came home to build happily throughout the day. 

Thursday was our last full day at Gaga’s, so we made sure to swim some more, as well:

When I got in, I wanted to swim laps, which inspired Anna to join in.  I told her she could set the number of laps we swam.  Her original goal was five (mine was ten).

She ended up doing fifty.  Crazy girl!

I did thirty before getting out and taking a picture of her craziness.  Then I rejoined her until we both got up to 43, at which point her friend Sierra came over again to play.  Anna stopped to play with her, but got in her last seven laps later that afternoon.

On Thursday afternoon, we took one last boat ride.

Shenanigans:

We went to feed the ducks, and then Anna convinced us to go jump off the Noe dock.  We are glad she did because on the way, we had to stop and help a three year old little girl and her mom, whose kayak had overturned.  The mom didn’t have a life jacket and wasn’t a very strong swimmer, and seemed to be in some kind of distress/shock.  We were able to pull them (and their kayak) out of the water and return them to the campground dock from whence they came.  It was a reminder that the lake can be dangerous if you aren’t prepared.  I was just glad that we happened to be passing by!

Then…it was onto the dock.  Luke had been unsure of whether he was going to jump, but I think the presence of some teenage boys at the dock bolstered his courage and determination.  He was the first one off!

Then came Anna…

…and Sierra!

Sierra and Anna tried to get tricky with some spins, and that was a mistake.  Anna went off once like this:

It didn’t end well.  She ended up slapping her thigh on the water and had to have some recuperating time with Gaga:

However, she recovered enough for one more jump off the dock, and to swim in from the cove with the other kids:

As always, it was a wonderful trip to Gaga and Granddad’s house, filled with great fun, great food, and great memories!