Ahhh... fresh air

I don't think it's possible to describe how thrilled we were to arrive in Georgia and spend three full days in high-sixties, sunny weather. We have had the most unpleasant winter, so trust me, close to 70 felt like our version of heaven. But let me back up...

We arrived in Atlanta late on Monday afternoon, after an uneventful flight, other than the extreme turbulence and resulting vomiting. (Yes, we've pretty much realized we won't have a truly uneventful travel experience for a very long time.) There were all sorts of storms and even tornadoes threatening in Georgia as we flew in, and Zach's little stomach wasn't quite up for the challenge of the dips and dives. And it turned out Delta wasn't really ready for the challenge of Zach - there wasn't a barf bag to be found in our three seatbacks.

I won't gross you out with the details, let's just say it was fortunate that the flight attendant hadn't come around for our trash yet, and Scott was done with his cup of Diet Coke. And, I am happy to say, this flight once again reminded me that people are good. We booked our flight somewhat last-minute, so the only available seats were single middle seats. The gate agent was able to get Scott & Zach's seats together, with Charlie & me in the middle of the row behind them. Needless to say, I wasn't optimistic that someone would give up their aisle seat in order to move back a row for the always-pleasant middle seat. Luck was in our favor - the individual in my desired seat was a mom, and she volunteered to move before we could even ask, and didn't bat an eye at being wedged between two fellow passengers. The flight experience would have been very different if we hadn't all been seated together. So incredibly nice woman, thank you.

And to all of our neighbors who quickly passed us their barf bags as soon as they realized what was happening in our row - thank you too.

Needless to say, we were happy to arrive at the Bergums in our rented minivan. Their new house is gorgeous, and it was fun to catch up in person. And as I mentioned before, you would never have guessed that Zach, Brady, and Isak hadn't seen each other in over 6 months - they were off having a great time immediately.

We spent the morning of our first full day of vacation running around taking care of the practical stuff - buying diapers, baby food, etc etc. Then the adult guys went golfing and the boys spent the entire afternoon playing OUTSIDE - without coats, hats, mittens, gloves or boots. Zach even got a little bit of a tan line on the back of his neck!

Charlie was quite intrigued by the grass and leaves, since he's never had a chance to examine it before. I think he only ate a little. And Zach got to partake in one of his favorite outside summer activities: t-ball!

Dinner that night was a funny experience. We went to a hibachi-style Japanese steakhouse, thinking the action on the grill would keep the boys entertained. We were right, but we also discovered something I hadn't thought about... babies have an instinctive fear of fire. Especially big bursts of flames that come at you so you can feel the heat on your face. I've never seen Charlie afraid before; he spent the rest of the dinner expressing his displeasure any time the guy in the white hat was flashing his knives and spatula around. Lesson learned.

A big thanks to the Bergums for allowing us to invite ourselves down and crash at their house. We had a very fun time exploring the area, but also just hanging out, picking up old pastimes like pinochle. It was a great trip!