Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Last Friday my kiddie crew and I decided to check out another one of the museums Atlanta has to offer. I checked online and then called to confirm beforehand that since our family has a membership to the Carnegie Museums in Pittsburgh, we can get into the Fernbank Museum of Natural History for free through the ASTC Passport Program. Hooray for reciprocity!

As we pulled up the long drive to the museum, Kaiser kept asking whether it had dinosaurs like the natural history museum we've been used to going to for the past couple of years. Well, his question was answered before we even set foot inside the building... 

I spy three right at the entrance!

Once we had gotten our tickets and entered, we immediately ran into a gentleman holding a rather large snake in his arms, who offered to let us pet it. I was wearing Malone in the Bjorn and passed on the opportunity, choosing instead to fumble for my phone to snap a picture of the boys touching it. I don't remember what kind of snake it was, but I do know it was an 8-year-old female from Madagascar. 

No fear from these boys.

We walked straight into the Great Hall to see the "Giants of the Mesozoic" exhibit. I assumed that the dinosaur bones displayed were that ofd a T-Rex and Diplodocus, but after further reading learned they were in fact a Giganotosaurus and an Argentinosaurus. 

Same old story -- meat eater vs. plant eater.

We sided with "nice guy".

Kaisersaurus and Portersaurus.

Next we walked through the current traveling exhibit, "Extreme Mammals".

With Indricotherium, the largest mammal to ever walk the Earth.

Pit stop to watch a short video.

There were all sorts of cool displays about amazing mammals past and present, but I was too busy chasing after my own mammals to snap any pictures of them. :) Once we made our way through, we sat down at a table back in the Great Hall to eat our lunch. Then, we headed up to the third floor to visit the NatureQuest exhibit. We spent the remainder of our time here, and truly could have spent the entire day in this area alone. The boys loved exploring under the sea and the nooks and crannies of the huge treehouse -- crawling through tunnels, crossing bridges, climbing rope ladders. So much to do!

Spotting a turtle in the aquarium.

Fiddling with a microscope.

This chica was so relieved to be unstrapped from my chest for a few minutes!

Again, there was so much activity going on that it was hard for this momma to keep up, much less take any pictures of it. We weren't even able to experience all of the elements of the NatureQuest exhibit before Porter hit a wall and we clearly needed to head home. I promised the boys that we would return, though; from the looks of the museum map, we have a lot more of it to see, and fortunately our museum membership doesn't expire until the end of January. 

On our way out, Kaiser and Porter asked to take a closer look at the dinosaur fountain right outside the front doors. While I was trying to get them to smile for a picture, a nice lady came up and offered to snap one of all of us. Malone was clearly done by this point, but nonetheless I am thankful for the rare opportunity to be in a pic with all three of my babes.

Let's just pretend that's a smile on her face...

Thanks for a fun morning, Fernbank. If we have it our way, you'll be seeing us again soon!

Braly Boy Videos

It seems as if lately the handful of videos I've taken and posted have only been of Miss Malone; however, every great once in a while I convince her big brothers to stand still long enough to perform for me, too. :) Here are a couple of clips I've snagged in the last few weeks. 

Porter has had several favorite songs which he will randomly bust out when the mood strikes him. On this particular morning, he was feelin' Fun's "Some Nights". At first he clammed up when I grabbed my phone, but after a bit of coercing (and, of course, the promise of a treat), he belted out about a minute of the catchy tune. Quite the singer when he wants to be!

Right before we left our church in Pittsburgh, Kaiser cashed in all of the coins he'd earned at Kidz Church and got an Adventure Bible. Even though we still enjoy reading his and Porter's Jesus Storybook Bible every night before bed, we also love using this new, full-size NIV version. A couple of weeks ago, Kaiser asked to read his Bible together before he laid down for nap. He was doing some reading on his own, and thankfully didn't completely shut down when I started recording him. So proud of the progress our firstborn is making!

Last night Daddy was out with his attendings and co-fellows, so it was just Mommy and the kiddos. As we were finishing up in the tub, the brothers were singing some of their favorite songs from our new church. (They happen to be two of Brett's and my favorites, too.) First up, "Come to the Water":

Then, they followed up with some "God of Angel Armies":

Their post-bath worship sesh was a little silly, and a lot sweet. My heart turned to mush (twice!) when Porter spontaneously leaned in to give Kaiser a side hug in the first video. Feel free to go back and watch it again; I guarantee it will make you smile. :)

They can definitely be a handful, but life wouldn't be nearly as fun without these handsome, talented boys of mine. Their momma sure is crazy about them!

Stone Mountain

Please excuse me while I rewind a couple of weeks...

The Saturday before we left to go on vacation, we decided to pack our lunch and take it to Stone Mountain Park for a little picnic. I really didn't know much about the place, other than the fact that it had a gigantic stone mountain in the middle of it. :)

(I got this pic online; we didn't actually see the rock from this angle.)

As it turns out, there is quite a lot to do at this beautiful 3,200 acre park, which is just a 10-15 minute drive from us. It has its own amusement/adventure park, a train that takes you around the mountain, a skyride that takes you to the top of the mountain, full-size and miniature golf courses, Saturday night lasershows, and all sorts of seasonal festivals and special events. 

For our first trip, though, we kept it simple. After driving around for a bit, we found a place to park the van and hopped out to eat lunch. The ground was wet from all the rain we'd been getting, and it was sprinkling on and off, so we were thankful for picnic tables and a pretty dense covering of trees.

"I'm trying to eat my PBJ here, Mom."

After lunch, we got back in the car and looked at the map we'd been given at the entrance to try to find a playground for the kiddos to run around. We had to backtrack to get there, but it was well worth it; the large, mostly wooden playground was pretty awesome. Over the course of the next hour, I'm not sure who had more fun -- Kaiser and Porter or their daddy. Brett was jumping, climbing, and swinging all over that equipment like he was Spider-Man! The boys were loving every second of it.

Getting some assistance with the monkey bars.

Thumbs up for Little Bro.

Scaling the number wall.

"Yeah, that was a piece of cake."

If Porter can do it, Kaiser can, too.

Fireman in the making.

"Sliding" down the pole.

Oh, and just in case you're wondering, our family's tiniest member was having fun, too. :)

Didn't know why the ground was shaking, but she liked it!

"I could climb this slide if this darn dress didn't keep making me slip."

Comin' to get me.

"Take me home, Daddy!"

Besides coming back to enjoy this playground, I'd definitely like experience the park's lasershow and take the boys on the train ride, among other things. Plus, Kaiser kept asking if we could climb to the top of the mountain; Daddy and Mommy promised him that before our time in Atlanta was done, we would. I think I can say with certainty that this was not our family's last visit to Stone Mountain!

A Decade

I'll never forget what I was doing 10 years ago today -- anxiously awaiting the very last first date I'd ever go on. The Saturday before, an incredibly handsome, Godly guy with whom I'd just spent a week serving on a mission trip in Acuna, Mexico, had asked me to go out to dinner and to see Footloose with him. I came home that night, called my mom, and told her that I'd met the man I was going to marry. It felt crazy to say it out loud, but I just knew. However, what I didn't know was that man had come home from our trip and told his best friend the exact same thing about me. :)

I remember the skirt and top I was wearing. I remember him pulling up to my apartment in his Pontiac Trans Am. I remember how easy it was to talk to him over dinner at Bellini's, how little attention I really paid to the show, and how I pretended not to know what a Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha was so that he'd take me to Barnes & Noble afterward to get one. I remember knowing that I'd already fallen head over heels for him.

Keepsake.

I was surprised to hear from him so soon the next morning. Unfortunately, his text message wasn't to tell me what a wonderful time he'd had; rather, it was to check on me to make sure I hadn't gotten the same food poisoning he had. :( Thankfully, the 24 hours of horrible sickness that followed our first date didn't keep him from asking me out on a second...and then a third...and, well, you know what they say about the rest.

We'd only just begun.

On one hand, it is so crazy to me that it's been a decade since our love story began. On the other hand, I struggle to remember who I was and what life was like before this man showed up and changed it all. If you would have told me 10 years ago what all the Lord would have in store for us -- most importantly the blessing of three perfect, beautiful children -- I'm not sure I would have believed it. And yet, here we are. 

Thanks for working up the courage to ask me, Brett Braly.

I sure am glad you did.

(And I'm still really, really sorry about that food poisoning.)

XXOO

Cashiers with Cousins

So, I believe I've already mentioned a time or two that our family was looking forward to a little getaway after the hubby finished his boards, yes?? A couple of months ago, back when we were toying around with the idea of a short vacay, Brett suggested that we check with our Lewellen cousins to see if they would be interested in teaming up for some fun. Well, Mellie Mel jumped right on that idea, and before we knew it, she'd worked her magic to secure us a perfect spot in the beautiful mountain town of Cashiers, North Carolina. After checking out all that the Cashiers has to offer (including much cooler temperatures than both Atlanta and Charlotte) and hearing that it was only a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive for each of us, we were sold. The Bralys couldn't have been more ready for their very first legit family vacation! It was the boys' favorite topic of conversation for several days leading up to our departure. 

We were all set to go a week ago Sunday. Brett and I decided we'd attend church at 10:00, then afterward stop by the Leckies' house to eat our lunch and tend to their cats (they were traveling abroad for a few weeks), then get on the road. As I expected, it wasn't long before Malone dozed off and took a decent afternoon nap in the car, while Kaiser and Porter were happy to watch Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and part of The Lion King. When we arrived around 4:00, Lindsay, Mel, and their girls were already there. It was raining pretty hard outside, but when you're staying in a place as lovely as we were, you don't mind too much being stuck inside for a while. Allow me to take you on a little photo tour of "The Mountain House":

All tucked away.

Living and dining, and kitchen -- Oh my!

The rooms our family of five occupied.

(Malone slept in a closet that was almost as big as her nursery in PA!)

I think I speak for everyone who was there when I say that one of the most appealing parts of the house was this incredible screened-in porch that was right off of the dining room. It was great to be "outside" while still being protected from the rain and bugs. Lots of hours were spent hanging out in that daybed swing!

Take me back...

Okay, so back to the people who were on the trip. My kids were thrilled to see their cousins, and while we waited to eat the delicious chicken pot pie supper Mel was prepping, all six of them enjoyed exploring the place together. 

The first of many pics taken on that swing.

Sweet Wrighty Pie sharing her toys.

"Ping pong, anyone?"

Carter led the arts & crafts lesson. :)

Our lil gardeners busy "planting seeds" on the driveway. 

Fashionista Murphy rockin' those high heels. 

The Middles.

Nekked baby on the loose!

After a nearly napless afternoon, the parents voted for early bedtimes and enjoyed our own, kid-free dinner once they were down. Then we ventured out onto the porch to kick our feet up and relax and talk and laugh until we were so tired we had to put ourselves to bed.

On Monday morning the Braly Bunch was up bright and early. Kaiser was thrilled to head to the kids' day camp at the Sapphire Valley Resort down the road. Carter would sleep in a bit and join him later that morning, but our big boy was rarin' to go when camp started at 8:15. 

Bring on the fun!

Didn't go to camp, but wanted her pic taken, too.

After Malone's morning nap, Brett and I decided to take a trip to one of the waterfalls in the area. Silver Run Falls is south of Cashiers, just a short drive from the house. We packed food in the hopes that we could picnic somewhere along the way, but didn't end up finding a spot that was kid-friendly enough. Nevertheless, we had a blast walking the trail, viewing the falls, and wading in the swimming hole at the base. 

Ready for an adventure!

My buddy and me.

Beauty.

Thanks to the fellow falls-goer who offered to take our picture.

Getting his feet wet.

Maloney wasn't sure what to think about the rushing water.

My hunk.

Wasn't willing to join Daddy on the "big rock".

His response to Daddy showing him his muscles. 

Even though we rolled up his shorts, he left soaking wet.

Wish Kaiser would have been there with us!

When the four of us got back around 12:30, we ran into Lindsay, Mel, Murphy, and Wright, who were leaving to eat at a restaurant in town. We just ate the food we'd already packed, then Brett had to go pick Kaiser up at 1:00. While he was gone, my babies and I spent some time swingin' on the porch.

We heart vacation.

Our happy camper returned to tell us about all the fun he'd had playing basketball with the big boys, eating his very first Lunchable, and going down the inflatable water slide. We could tell he was worn out, so it wasn't too terribly long before he joined his brother and sister for naptime. That evening was super low-key for our entire group; I made dinner, and then afterward we all spent some time playing outside. 

Attempting a swing shot of the girl cousins. 

"No boys allowed!"

The oldest two take their jobs as baby-holders seriously. 

Always prepared for a potential rainstorm.

Look at that girl go on her training wheel-less bike!

That tree branch had it comin'.

C'mon, try to be a little cuter, would ya? ;)

That evening after all of the babies had been bathed and the youngest four had been tucked into bed, our firstborns stayed up to watch a show together on the iPad. 

Wind-down time.

Later that night, Lindsay and Brett pulled out their guitars for a jam session. For the next couple of hours, Mel and I got to enjoy listening to some Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Mumford & Sons, and Eric Clapton, courtesy of our talented husbands. We also might have gotten started talking about how excited we are for Breaking Bad to start back up, and then ended up watching our fair share of bloopers from the show on YouTube...

Tuesday my guys were, once again, ready to roll early. (Miraculously, Malone slept in each morning we were away -- quite a treat for her momma!)

Rise and shine!

Since they had plenty of time to kill, I suggested that Brett take the boys to Silver Run Falls. We knew for sure that we wanted Kaiser to experience it, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. I stayed home with napping Sister while they went on their "special mission". Though I was sad to be missing out on the trip, Daddy did a great job taking pictures so I could appreciate the fun they'd had.

 Clearly they're not familiar with TLC's song about chasing waterfalls...

Bestest buds.

Kaiser didn't enjoy himself one bit. :)

Brett reported that our boys had had a blast climbing the rocks, splashing in the water, and standing in the mist that came off of the waterfall. They came home happy and ready to get even wetter at our next much-anticipated activity -- SWIMMING! As renters of the Mountain House, we were able to pay a small fee to have access to the Sapphire Valley Resort pool. Our whole group decided to head down there for some fun in the sun just before lunchtime.

Best pic I got of my trio from the trip.

Maloney B was happy as a clam in this baby float we borrowed.

The pool is a prime place for people-watching.

Pumped about the water squirter we bought at Target on our way to NC.

We took up an entire corner of the pool.

Murph joined Malone and me for a snack in the shade.

Such a good helper. :)

Loved my time with these beauties.

The girls were spinning around in the water playing "Princess"; we adapted the game and called it "Superhero". :) 

Porter preferred to hang in the baby pool.

Kaiser recruited Mel to play "Superhero", too.

Some seriously sweet kids right there.

Around 1:30, Brett and I decided it was time to round up our kiddos and take them home to rest. The sun had really taken it out of us, and all three of them crashed pretty hard for a couple of hours. Upon waking up, they were all about playing with their cousins. The babies mostly stayed entertained inside:

"She stole my Mum Mum."

"I stole her Mum Mum."

Not sure Porter was 100% awake yet.

Meanwhile, after eating their dinner, the bigger kids burned some major calories by racing and exercising and racing some more out in the driveway.

Leaving their sibs in the dust.

Punch it out!

Pushups + heavy rock-lifting.

Jump up, jump up, and get down!

You go, Murphy Girl!

Lining up the speed racers.

And they're off!

The body positions, the facial expressions -- Love. It. 

Competitor Carter was undefeated.

Cooling off afterward with freezer pops. 

That night Lindsay and Mel had offered to stay with the kiddos so that Brett and I could sneak out for a date. We wanted to wait until after Porter and Malone were already in bed for the night, so we made 7:45 dinner reservations at Cornucopia. We absolutely loved the atmosphere of the old, open-air structure, and the crab cakes and steak salad we ate were delicious, too. On the drive home, we pulled into Lonesome Valley to admire the gorgeous view from Canyon Kitchen, a restaurant that was recommended to us by our homeowner, but is only open Wednesday through Sunday (and also costs mucho -- mucho -- dinero). Though we didn't dine there, it was easy to appreciate why it gets such rave reviews, based solely upon its location in relation to the canyon.

Picture perfect.

It wasn't terribly late when we got back, but all of the grownups were exhausted, so we only chatted for a short while before declaring it was our bedtime. We're old like that.

Wednesday morning Brett and Linds left early to go play a round of golf. Kaiser and Carter were headed back to camp for a half and full day. While he waited for his cousin to wake up and get ready, Kaiser did some light reading out on the porch.

Nothing like some Froggy to start your day off right.

Someone was ready to get goin'!

While Mel drove the campers down and checked them in, I stayed with the rest of the munchkins in the basement. 

These kids and their iPads.

Baby loves.

After Mel got back home and the littlest girls laid down for their naps, I spent a bit of time out in the backyard with the middles. The two of them played together extremely well with Porter's construction trucks, shovels, and bucket.

Teamwork.

"Well, we filled our bucket. Now what??"

We really just hung out around the casa for the remainder of our morning. The golfers returned around lunchtime, and shortly after that Brett went to pick up Kaiser. It had been "Sports Day" at camp, and they had also had a pizza party, so of course we enjoyed hearing about that. 

While most of the minis rested that afternoon, Brett and Linds stayed home, thus enabling Mel, Wright, and I to go on a girls' outing to check out Dusty's, a tiny grocery shop in a nearby town called the Highlands. It was old-fashioned and sweet, but unfortunately we weren't really in need of a lot of food, seeing as it was already our last full day of vacation. We did have fun browsing the aisles and ended up leaving with a bottle of Cheerwine (a Southern soft drink) and some gigantic frozen cinnamon rolls for breakfast the following morning. On our way back, we swung by to pick up Carter from camp. She had helped her team win "Capture the Flag" and had a miniature trophy to show for it!

That evening was another low-key one for our gang. We let the kiddos eat dinner and play hard outside before cleaning them up for bed -- pretty standard.

Thanks to Linds for snapping this pic!

Littlest + biggest pieces of my heart.

That night we insisted upon repaying the favor to Mr. and Mrs. Lewellen by sending them out on their own dinner date. Like us, they waited to leave until 2/3 of their offspring were down. Murphy joined us for bedtime reading, then she and Porter got in a few more minutes of silliness before lights out.

That look on her face.

Lots of sweet laughter in the room.

Again, Kaiser and Carter got to stay up a bit later to play. We had to remind them not to scream couple of times, since there were a couple of babies asleep on the same floor, but they did a decent job controlling their volume.

"Gimme a kiss!"

Once all non-adults were officially in bed, Brett and I camped out on the porch swing with a half-gallon of Blue Bell Caramel Turtle Cheesecake ice cream (dangerous!) and talked, talked, talked about this upcoming year, as well as the huge decisions to be made for the year after that. Another new job, new city, new home, new schools -- so many stressful exciting things on the horizon. Can't wait until some of them are finalized! Like us the night before, Mel and Linds didn't burn the midnight oil. When they got home, we chatted for a short while and then eventually threw in the towel and went to sleep. 

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to the Mountain House on Thursday afternoon. The mommies spent most of the morning packing up each of our families' clothes and gear and food. After their yummy cinnamon roll breakfast, the four biggest kids were taken down to the rec center by their daddies so that they would be out of the way could enjoy as much fun as possible until the end of vacay. Brett took Kaiser and Porter to play putt-putt golf, while Lindsay, Carter, and Murphy played games in the arcade. They all returned with huge smiles on their faces and a few cool prizes to show for their time there.

When they were all back, we ate some lunch before hitting the road. Of course, we couldn't part ways before taking some final photos. Considering all the time we'd spent out there and how conducive it was to picture-taking, it only made sense to do this on the screened-in porch. 

The lovely Lewellen Ladies.

Love this good-lookin' crew.

My new favorite of our family.

Though I didn't think to bring my tripod, Brett was able to get the camera set up on a storage box + books so that it was the right height to get a shot of our entire group.

Kaiser setting a good example in the "test shots".

All things considered, I think it turned out pretty well!

Once the photo shoot had wrapped up, we spent a little while going back through the house, making sure we hadn't left anything behind, everything was back where it should be, the doors were locked, etc. Finally everyone was ready to climb in their vehicles and head back to their respective homes. As I hugged each of their five necks, I can't tell you how grateful I felt to know that it truly wouldn't be long before we'd be able to see the Lewellens again. Hooray for the doable 4-hour drive between Atlanta and Charlotte!

A tiiiiiiight squeeze for the road. 

Our drive home went as smoothly as can be expected; we got back shortly after 3:00 and were thankfully able to get all of the kids down (eventually) for shorter-than-normal afternoon naps. 

All in all, our trip to North Carolina was a fantastic time away for our families. The location was perfect, though we agreed that if we were to return we'd love to take advantage of more of the outdoor activities (maybe when we don't have babies' napping schedules to work around?) that were available in the area. We all knew going into it that vacation can only be so relaxing when you're on it with half a dozen little people, but the kiddos were well-behaved and had a blast with each other, and I think it's fair to say the parents had their share of fun, too. :) 

Cashiers, thanks for providing a wonderful place for us to make some very special memories with some of our very favorite people! Hope to visit you again sometime.