As of yesterday, the Braly Bunch has called Georgia home for two full weeks. Among many other things, I've learned that when you move to a brand new city with three small children, there really isn't an opportunity to take things slowly and gradually get accustomed to the area; you must immediately find places to run and play and eat and get the heck out of the house so that everyone doesn't go nutso! (Not that I would know anything about that...) :)
After taking a break from studying during our move, Brett needed to shove his nose back in the books to prepare for his orthopedic boards exam, which is now just 4 days away. Knowing that he should spend as much time in study mode as possible, we asked my daddy if he would be able to come visit us soon after our arrival. He flew in on Monday, June 24th, and stayed for almost a week; needless to say, having Pops around to go on outings with us was a great source relief to me and a great source of joy to his grandbabies.
So, if you were to have gone lookin' for the new kids on the block sometime in these past 15 days, here's a few of the places you might have found us...
Preschool
Early last week, we decided to drive into downtown Decatur so that I could show the boys the school they'd be attending this fall. As we were walking by the gated playground, we noticed that there was a large group of kiddos playing there. It just so happened to be a group from their summer camp, and the preschool's director was outside with them. After all of the emails we had exchanged, she and I were so pleased to finally meet each other face-to-face. She invited Kaiser and Porter onto the playground to play, and the brothers happily took her up on her offer. They had a blast playing on what will soon be their new stomping grounds, while Pops and I enjoyed visiting at length with Mrs. H and the teacher's aide who was with her, Mrs. R. We stayed for probably about 45 minutes; by the time we said goodbye, I felt even more excited about our school choice for the year. I know the boys are looking forward to it, too!
Got to work diggin' in the huge sandbox.
Sharing popsicles with the camp-goers.
Content to hang out on Pops' lap in the shade of a tree.
Hit up Chick-fil-a for lunch afterwards.
Community Playground
As you can imagine, finding playgrounds is of utmost priority to this momma. While Pops was here, we scouted out a new one right next door to our town's swim club. We were fresh off of a rainy morning, so we all got to experience the intense humidity which I'm sure we'll come to know very well during our stint here in Atlanta. Despite the mugginess (and the muddiness), the kids had a great time, and we will definitely be back sooner than later.
Piggy tails are a must in this heat!
Pops giving Kaiser a ride on the see-saw.
Mommy hopped on and got a legit thigh workout!
Trying to make friends with a squirrel after lunch.
She's got him wrapped around her finger.
Lovin' life!
"Are you sure you want him in charge???"
Granddad/grandson heart-to-heart.
Aquarium
I can't tell you how many people, upon hearing that we were moving to Atlanta, told us that we absolutely had to go to the Georgia Aquarium. One of Kaiser's preschool teachers had been a few years back, and she had him all pumped up about seeing the whale sharks when we got down here. When I made a comment about needing to go shopping for some summer clothes, Brett decided he and Pops should take Kaiser and Porter on a guys-only outing while Malone and I had some girl time. Though I was at first reluctant to miss out on this first trip, I figured there will be many other opportunities to go and knew that it would be a special memory for the boys. From the pictures I received via text and what I heard when they got home, the aquarium was all that it had been cracked up to be. Brett ended up purchasing memberships for himself and for Kaiser; I'll do the same for myself when I go, as it sounds like it's well worth it for the year. I'm especially excited to go see the dolphin show!
Their send-off.
Porter making friends with a turtle.
Whale sharks!
My grownup boy.
Wrangling his bro for a pic.
While our menfolk were having undersea adventures, Maloney and I headed to the mall in Buckhead. We hit up Madewell, Banana Republic, J. Crew, and Gap, where we had some decent luck finding some cute tops and shorts for me.
Skeptical about the whole "shop til we drop" thing.
Timeout for a mirror makeout sesh.
"Maybe shopping isn't so bad after all!"
Splash Pad
In an effort to keep cool, we ventured down to the Historic Fourth Ward Park, which has an awesome splash pad and fantastic playground, too. The boys had a ball running around and getting wet. Malone was still not sure how keen she was about playing in the water. I managed to get her a little closer to the fountains than I did at the spray park in Pittsburgh, but she was still consistently making her whiney "I'm not at all comfortable with this..." noise. The Leckies live right down the street from the park, so there's no doubt that this was the first of many visits for us.
Super soaked.
The only thing that got this one to stop movin' was lunch.
My Georgia Peach.
They don't come any sweeter.
Air drying on the "circle swing".
Lil Sis takes a turn.
Lots of climbing opportunities!
Farmer's Market
Another place that we've heard several people rave about since moving here is the DeKalb Farmer's Market, which happens to be less than five minutes from our house. Pops and I decided to take the munchkins to check it out last Saturday morning. Of course, it was insanely busy, which I expected, but I was surprised by just how gigantic it was (140,000 square feet!) and the wide range of items available -- from fresh produce, to live seafood, to a wide array of cheeses, to all-natural baked goods, to a large selection of spices, and everything in between. There is even a restaurant inside, where we ate a delicious hot lunch and salad bar. Interestingly enough, pictures are prohibited in the building, but I did sneak a couple. (You know, just to prove we were there.) :) We left with a few bags of goodies, and you'd better believe I'll be making pit stops at the market at least every week or two.
Blissfully unaware that she's missing out on the fresh bread samples.
Satisfied customers.
Date Night
Yes, you read that right -- Brett and I had an actual date night! We were happy to take advantage of my daddy's willingness to hang at home with the kids while we got some adult time. We waited to go out until both Porter and Malone were down for the evening. When we left, Kaiser and Pops were just getting started on what looked to be a serious game of Candy Land.
"Why don't you guys hurry so we can play?"
We decided to head toward -- where else? -- downtown Decatur for a light sushi dinner at Green Ginger, followed by dessert from The Yogurt Tap.
Sadly, we did not love this "Love Story" roll.
Nighttime on the Square.
He's my favorite.
New Resaurants
In addition to Mommy's and Daddy's night out, we tried out a couple of new-to-us local restaurants while Pops was in town. First up was dinner at Native, where we had some killer fish tacos.
Malone thought their kid's cup of water was pretty tasty, too.
Last Sunday, the boys had another "no girls allowed" outing (well, we weren't banned, but Malone needed to take her morning nap before church, and I volunteered to stay home with her) to Thumbs Up Diner. Kaiser and Porter were on cloud nine at the news that they were going out to eat breakfast with Daddy and Pops. I texted Brett to ask if the food did indeed receive a thumbs up, and was sent these pictures in response:
Yep!
I'm gonna count that one a yes, too.
Finally, the night before Pops flew home, we ate dinner at Raging Burrito. Brett and I had both passed by this restaurant a handful of times and always commented about how menacing the name sounds. However, upon looking at reviews, we decided we needed to give it a shot, and we're certainly glad we did! We had a lovely evening eating out on the patio. Brett's already talking about returning to enjoy their Pineapple Jerk Chicken Burrito again.
Tickles to get this boy smiling.
This quesadilla-eater was crabby.
Kaiser looks like he's trying to give this place a thumbs up, too.
Porter the party-pooper.
Me and my best girl.
Snapped this a split-second too late to catch a huge Maloney smile.
Library
When we lived in Pittsburgh, we visited the Shaler Library on a regular basis to check out a handful boatload of books and to let the kiddos play in their children's area. We also occasionally went to storytimes and other classes offered there. A few days ago, the boys and I went to check out the DeKalb County Public Library, which is just down the street from their preschool in downtown Decatur. I forgot to bring along a utility bill in order to show our address and apply for a library card, but we were able to pick up information about available activities, as well as sign the boys up for their summer reading program. We also pulled several books off the shelves to read together while we were there.
Snuggle bug.
Brother shot.
Unfortunately, this particular library doesn't have an indoor area for kids to play (might be taking a look at other branches because of that); however, the Decatur Recreation Center right next door has a playground, so we hopped over there to eat lunch at the picnic tables and run around for a while.
Lil monkey man.
Don't even think about it, Kid.
"Arrrrrgh!"
In case you didn't already know, she likes to swing.
Caught Kaiser in the middle of his "exercises". It was....interesting.
Oh, to have his JOY!
That about wraps up (most of) the new places to which we've ventured so far. We've only just begun...
