Happy Birthday, Eric!

I mentioned that we would be traveling to Atlanta with my parents to visit Eric and his family. I didn't elaborate on the We part, since Eric didn't know the true reason for our visit! Jo Ann wanted to really surprise him for his 40th birthday, and the first step to doing that was to throw a big party a year early! My mom and dad, Christian, Andy, Andrew, myself, and some other very special guests all descended on Atlanta to help celebrate!

First, our flight out... my parents had to go on a different airline than me, and were limited with flight times, so we took a 2:00 pm flight. Smack in the middle of Andrew's nap. I was afraid he would be so overtired and crazy, but unwilling to sleep due to cool new things. Then the plane broke, and we were an hour late taking off. He ended up passing out before we even left the gate!

Saturday, we did nothing but watch Cameron cheerleading, hang out and get ready for the party. Eric was definitely surprised! It was a challenge for my dad to keep him out of the house in the afternoon so we could get ready. Christian had spilled the beans about him and my aunt coming from Mississippi earlier in the week, then Cecilia called to "cancel" that morning. He was surprised to see them there. He had an even more surprised reaction to Andy being there though, I think! Poor Andy was holed up in the hotel all day working :(

Sunday, the other out of town guests were leaving, so we all had breakfast at Eric's in the am, then they left around noon. At this point, it was Andrew's naptime, so he and my dad napped in Genevieve's room. While he was asleep, and Andy worked in my brother's office, my mom and I went to the mall with Genevieve. My mom paid her Discover bill at Sears. On vacation. weirdo. I ran to Gap to get something long sleeve, since Eric's house is an ice box. The mall has an American Girl Store, so we went in there. I am not sure who was more excited, me or Genevieve. Probably me :) I told my mom how badly I still wanted to complete my dolls' collections, and she said I had to wait so my future daughter could experience the excitement. I said, she can get her own damn dolls. Hello! That is my plan for collecting them all! And yes. I am nearly 30 years old, and love my dollies.

We stopped at Starbucks on the way home (which was conveniently between the hotel and his house, bad for the wallet). Genevieve picked out a baseball cookie. Then after we paid, she says "I love you Aunt Katharine". MELT.

Sunday evening, they'd invited a few friends over for a BBQ.

Monday, I had to take Andy to catch the train to the airport at 5:30 in the morning. In the pouring rain. In the dark. It was so scary!
My mom and I were bound and determined to do something touristy, so we went to the Georgia Aquarium. I thought Andrew would love it, but only sometimes. He was tired and hungry, so was in a mood. He wanted to run around, then get picked up, then down, up down, up. He found it necessary to climb onto every bench. He most liked the aquariums that were floor to ceiling and chock full of fish. And the penguins. oh, and this sea lion that was swimming in circles underwater, with his eyes closed. he just kept going back and forth by the window, and Andrew loved it.

Our flight home was at 8:45. Well, mine was. my parents flew a different airline. So, we were supposed to be there at 6:45, return the car beforehand and drive there. The plan was to leave the hotel at 5:30. IN THE MORNING. Omg, it was hell. Andrew woke up, and only slept briefly in the car. Also, we didn't leave until closer to 6, because my mom takes forever to get ready. They landed at noon, and we were home around 1. Andrew napped over there, I layed around and read, then we headed home a bit after 4.