Six Flags Over Georgia

Today we went to Six Flags!

The girls all got free tickets through their school (including Anna), so we only had to pay for me to get in; otherwise it would have been somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 (which would have meant I wouldn't be writing this post at all, or else it might have been about another day at Stone Mountain or the zoo).

We got there right when the park opened, and started the day riding the sky buckets across the park. Then we went to Thunder Canyon, which I rode once, got thoroughly soaked, and decided I'd had enough. The girls, on the other hand, rode it two more times.

We also spent an hour at the wave pool in Hurricane Harbor, rode the Hanson Cars (which Elyse drove), and took a spin on the Riverview Carousel. There was also some ice cream at one point.

It was fun, though I'm not sure I'm eager to do it again anytime soon. It's an hour away, and there's lot of people, and you wouldn't believe how sunburned I got. (Note for next year: When Anna offers you sunscreen, take some! Also, wear a shirt with a collar and a hat.)

When I was a kid, way back in the 1970s, Six Flags was a magical place, a kind of Kid Heaven. Frankly, I might still have that affection for it if they hadn't done away with the Tales of the Okefenokee ride, but they did in 1980.

None of us took a camera or anything that can take pictures, so I don't have any pictures of our day to post, which is kind of liberating in a way. I am posting a few pictures from my visits to Six Flags in the 1970s, for nostalgia's sake:

(This is me and my father on the carousel, forty (or so) years ago.)

(Sadly, H.R. Pufnstuf no longer roams the park.)

(Me and Dad on the Hanson cars.)

(The last three are B'rer Bear and B'rer Rabbit and some other rabbit from the Tales of the Okefenokee ride, circa 1975. Or 1978. Or 1973. I really have no idea, but I don't think it changed in the 14 years it was there.)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today, Anna and I have been married for fifteen years!

Elyse at Tree Top Quest

Today, Elyse's Girl Scouts troop went to Treetop Quest in Buford to climb around amongst the tree tops. Here are some pictures from her adventure:

Elyse's Class Field Trip

Today Elyse's Kindergarten class went on a field trip to the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center in Buford. I couldn't go because I had to teach, but Granny and Pa met the class there to help out. Here are some pictures Granny took of the trip:

The Last Couple of Months

I haven't been very good about updating our blog this year, but we have actually been doing things. Rather than trying to create individual entries for our various adventures during the last couple of months, I am instead going to post twenty pictures here in this one post, starting with this:

Back in February, Elyse did some "old-timey" portraits with Portraits International. The prints we bought were sepia, but I think I prefer the color versions from the CD:

Jessica took this picture on our back patio in early March:

Elyse got her face painted for Easter:

Jessica and Pa in Granny and Pa's hotel room in Chattanooga on our Spring Break trip:

And now several pictures from that Rock City trip. In the first, right in the middle you can see Elyse and her mommy crossing the swinging bridge:

Jessica took this self portrait (or "selfie" as the kids these days say) at Rock City:

A few days after my 49th birthday, I set up my backdrop and camera and took some self portraits, and also some pictures of Elyse (Jessica didn't want her picture taken, but she helped Elyse with her outfits):

Vines Gardens

The girls didn't have school today, so we went to Vines Gardens to walk around, play, and take pictures:

While we were there, a local art club -- or something like that; I didn't actually ask any of them for an explanation -- was there painting landscapes. There were four painters that we saw; there might have been others in places we didn't see. I only got three of them in pictures, though:

And of course, there were geese:

After we got home and had lunch, the girls went outside with their easels and brushes and paints to paint our backyard!