A few days in Orlando...

We had plans to do several day trips while staying in Orlando, FL. We wanted to go to St. Augustine and do some other things we had never done before. When we arrived at our resort tho, there was so much to do and we were so tired of being on the road, we ended up staying right there and only left the property for groceries.

We stayed at the Marriott ????? Resort that my mom traded using her time share she bought many moons ago. There were activies going on all day and night and they had a fantastic pool and activity center.

Other than all the walking we did around the resort property, mom and I also tried out the yoga and pilates classes. We are both so out of shape. I loved the aqua fusion class. It's a mix of yoga, water arobics and pilates. It was really nice and not too hard on your body. If you can find some water weights, it's the best way to go and using a noodle was a good workout as well. These classes really inspired us to get movin' more.

Guy came down for the week to stay with us and we all enjoyed playing ping pong, shuffle board, pool and walking the beautifully landscaped resort grounds. The girls and I also sang karaoke one night. We really need to find a song or two to practice before we do this again.

Friday night Shannon came down to visit and we met her new beau, Asher. Very nice guy and is so good to Shannon.

Tomorrow off to Miami for the cruise!

Etowah River, North Georgia

It's such a beautiful drive from Louisville to North Georgia...through the green rolling hills with grazing horses of Kentucky to the curvy, narrow mountain roads of Tennessee and North Georgia. While visiting Guy's brother and his family, we took all the children to the Etowah River where we walked along a nice boardwalk path lined with Mountain Laurel blooms and wildlife until we came upon the river pools filled with tadpoles, in between the rocks and rapids. The kids love playing in the water pools there, sliding down the rocks and hoping from one rock to the other. From what we were told, the water was unusally high in the river due to all the recent rains. This made the rapids more powerful and exciting.

Ben and Abby slid down a rock into a water pool and Shelby followed. For whatever reason, Shelby got stuck in the under current and could not pull herself out. After seeing her bob up and down in the water a few times, we were able to get Ben's attention and he pulled her out. Only God knows just how close she was to drowning. I have never been so scared. All the adults were on another rock about 100 yards away with only the raging water and more rocks between us and her...there was NO way we could get to her. I felt totally helpless. Thank the Lord for a 6'1" older cousin and Abby who sat with her afterwards while Shelby caught her breath.

Even with all the trama and anxiety of the day, it was wonderful to spend time with family that we had not seen in about 3 years. The kids have all changed so much and are growing way too fast.

Panama City Beach, Florida

Mother's Day weekend was a treat. After not seeing my husband for 3 weeks, he came to Florida to see Tiana and I. We spent the weekend at Emerald Beach where my mom has a condo... go here if you need a place to stay in Panama City Beach, FL... http://emeraldbeach1028.shutterfly.com/.

It's a great resort and very near Pier Park with lots of restuarants and shopping. Tiana and I spent 2 days between the pool and the beach. When the water was calmer and the yellow flag was flying, we would dig for sea shells...for hours. Oh the treasures we found. We decided we would only keep the near perfect shells and we found plenty...Olive shells, scallop shells, cats paws, augers, jingle shells...so fun!

Me relaxing by the pool on Mother's Day!

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Here is Tiana sorting her finds.

She is OBSESSED with sea shells right now.