WFMW - Three-Day Weekends

We've been fortunate that our children have been willing to plan their baby blessings around 3-day weekends if at all possible. Since none of them live nearby, that helps minimize the vacation time needed to visit, and that works great for us. We had a long weekend this week (and actually did take a vacation day to turn it into a 4-day weekend) and had a wonderful visit to Atlanta. We had so much fun - which translates to "I took a lot of pictures" - that this will probably turn into two posts!

Once we arrived, the first order of business was to meet baby Adam and watch the girl cousins get reacquainted. Savannah's grown a lot since the last time they were together.

Wayne likes to do something "touristy" when we visit our kids, and this time his choice was to have dinner at the iconic Atlanta landmark - The Varsity. The reviews we read said you really go for the experience and not the food, but the food itself was better than I expected - I tried an orange frosty and a chili slaw dog - and it was a fun place to visit. The line to order was long, but there were plenty of places to sit and we were able to get our group of fourteen in adjacent booths. It was a bit on the noisy side, but we were there with little kids so that was actually a plus.

Robyn was fascinated with the giant gumball machine, and fortunately was easily distracted when she wasn't allowed to get a piece for herself.

The Varsity is a place suitable for the young and the old, although it may be best for the college-aged crowd, which really was its original target market.

Atlanta is a college town, and Brad is a student at Georgia Tech, so Wayne had to take advantage of getting a picture with the Rambling Wreck.

After dinner there was time for a quick swim at the hotel pool, and then Brooke got to ride the elevator to the 8th floor for a quick look out the window. I was surprised that the window could be opened! Fortunately, it could only be opened a few inches, and that meant Brooke could surprise her parents down in the parking lot.

The next day was Sunday. I'll have to add the "whole group" picture later because there's not one on my camera, but it was a beautiful day, and I do have some pictures to share now. 

Here's the whole group - 

one set of Adam's great-grandparents, an uncle, aunt, and cousin, immediate family, and both sets of grandparents!

I missed being in our home ward, but we've visited the Atlanta Ward several times and it was great to feel at home there as well. We enjoyed our mini miracles of seeing Wayne's cousin and Elder Parker (who visited our stake conference a couple of months ago) and the opportunities we were given to serve ourselves. The testimonies and lessons were great and spirit-filled. I'm so grateful for our world-wide church!

We had a nice afternoon relaxing and visiting (sorry for the glare in the pictures), before enjoying a delicious dinner (curried chicken, rice and creme brulee).

Boys and their toys!

Then our wonderful day was over, but not before a pleasant walk back to the hotel with an exuberant companion. 

I hope Adam remembers his special day, or at least we remember to share it with him in the future. We're so glad he's a part of our family now!