Summer trip {Day 6}: Atlanta, GA!

Guys.
 
I have been the worst blogger in the history of bloggers. I'm so so sorry!!! 

I need to make blogging a priority in my life again. Because I miss it! And also, I have SO MANY PHOTOS to post. It kind of gives me an ulcer to think about. But I'm going to try and post my little heart out... and catch up. So here we go, back to our summer trip! (again) This is the last part of our vacation, I promise. Then onto the rest of 2014! (...I know. I am SO BEHIND)

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On a whim, we decided to extend our trip another day and drive up through Atlanta. Because, why not? We had some friends we wanted to see (Yay Kjars!), some friends we missed (next time, Dustins!!), and we wanted to explore Atlanta a little bit.

As soon as we got to Atlanta, we parked in a super shady garage downtown, hopped out, and headed for the splash pad in Centennial Olympic Park. Because guys, it was HOT. Like, so incredibly hot!! The boys were more than happy to be out of the car and running around in their swim suits. 

^^Cam was making friends left and right! I's the dimples. They get to everyone!^^

^^He's always got to have the mitt. Always.^^

After we were all splashed out (see what I did there?), we wandered around Centennial Park... and literally bumped into one of Jordan's dreams: The College Football Hall of Fame. And it just happened to be the opening day for the museum. It was a Christmas miracle!

We grabbed some tickets, tried to dry off our soggy children, and headed in! Jordan was like a kid in a candy store. And actually, so was Boston! They were both in heaven. If you're a college football fan (or even if you're not!), I highly recommend this place. It was awesome!

^^This photo was taken after we walked through the museum. Our children were obviously DONE.^^

^^The wall of helmets!^^

^^mesmerized by the interactive football wall^^

^^I think I should probably purchase a green outfit like this one. No?^^

^^Go Cats!^^

My favorite part of the whole thing was when Jord and Bost got to be sports casters for ESPN College Gameday. Jordan read off the prompts, and Boston sat there like the cutest little sports lover I've ever seen. It was stinking adorable.

^^watching themselves on T.V.!^^

^^Hey BYU fans, recognize this guy?^^

^^Is this not adorable?^^

^^Did I mention my boys were in heaven?^^

^^"Hey Bost, show me your football player face!^^

^^man, do I love him.^^

After the Hall of Fame, we were STARVING. So we checked out Atlanta's finest dining establishments and ended up at... the Steak 'n Shake. I mean, naturally. And you know what? It was quite satisfying. And I'm not even embarrassed about it. (Okay. Maybe a little. But sometimes you've just gotta eat, people!)

Also, their cookie dough shakes are unbeatable. For real. 

 

Then we met up with our friends from our BYU-Idaho days, the Kjars! We used to be neighbors in our apartment complex in Rexburg, so it was great to see them in Atlanta! We love them. And their darling baby girl.

^^Cam wasn't so sure about the whole baby idea.^^

^^Don't mind the low-quality phone photo. It was dark, okay?^^

We crashed after a long day at a random motel, and got up bright and early to finish our drive back to Kentucky. The boys did awesome in the car, but they were not complaining when we had to make a pit stop for some food and ice cream.

Look at their poor little sweaty heads! Have I mentioned how hot it was? Ok, just making sure.

We were about two hours out of Lexington, when suddenly our car started giving us a lot of grief. Like, shuddering, not shifting, etc. etc. We found out later that our transmission was going out (and would later need to be replaced... Ouch!), but in the moment, we didn't know exactly what was goig on... we were in the middle of nowhere... and we were pretty stressed about just getting home in one piece.

We said some hefty prayers, and went about 35 the rest of the way home, but by some miracle... we made it. Our car was literally shaking as we pulled up to our house. We said about a million more prayers that we made it safely!! What a crazy ending to our trip.

But you know what? I wouldn't change a single bit of it. It was so awesome. We almost didn't go, because of timing and finances and blah blah blah... but I am SO GLAD we did. We made about a zillion fun memories with our kids, explored new places, tried new foods, visited old friends, and met some pretty awesome people. It really was amazing.

Now, can we go back again tomorrow? Pretty please?

I'll leave you with one last nakie baby photo from a random hotel room. Because hey, what better way to close-up a blog series that spanned six months?

THE END.

(To watch the a video of our trip, go here!)