Countdown

Well, a week from today, Dee will be leaving for a year. So far, we are doing OK. I know it will be tough once he is gone. Jessie has CRCT's all next week, so I hope she can focus. The first part of his trip is to Camp Atterbury, Indiana for 50 days. We are hoping for at least a 4 day leave for us to go see him. I have a very faint hope that it may be more than that, but I'm not counting on it. I only say that because I know someone else in the Army that got 2 wks at HOME before deploying overseas. Of course, we won't know until last minute. We don't even know where and what time he leaves on Monday!

We had a wonderful Easter. We took off Friday headed to Newnan. We went shopping for Easter clothes and then stayed in a hotel with an indoor pool. The girls loved swimming, their favorite pasttime! We had a scare when a tornado warning was issued just a few miles from the hotel and lots of hail rained down! But we were just fine. We went out to eat at an amazing Mexican restaurant and had a wonderful evening. We asked the Easter Bunny if he could come see the girls on Saturday, instead of Sunday. We just felt that it's always so hectic on Sunday, trying to get ready for church. The girls never have a chance to really enjoy their Easter baskets. Plus, we thought we could do Easter Bunny on Saturday, and make Sunday all about Jesus. It worked out great! The girls enjoyed their candy and toys all morning at the hotel, we checked out at 11 am, went shopping for shoes, then headed to Moreland, GA.
Dee's grandmothers siblings (there are 9 total...or were at one time)had a Easter Family Party with lots of food and a huge Easter Egg hunt. There are lots of little cousins so the girls loved it. They hit 675 easter eggs! Jessie found the most and won $40! (family took up money to give 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes) We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with all the family. This also freed us up from having to travel between families on Sunday. Later in the afternoon, we drove to Fayetteville to Dixieland Fun Park. The four of us had such a blast riding rides, laughing and just enjoying being together. Jolie is so much like me......NO FEAR. And Jessie is more like her Daddy. More cautious. But both girls rode the zip line and screamed but loved it!

We didn't leave there until close to 10 pm! The girls slept in the car and went right to bed when we got home. I had to make a congealed salad, but quickly got to bed as well.
We got up and got ready for church. We were dragging but we made it! We had an incredible morning at church, came home, took Easter Pictures, then I finished cooking. Then we headed to my brother's house for Easter, at 4 pm. The girls enjoy being with my neice Callie, who is 22 yrs old. And then my great nephews were there, who are 3 and 4. So they did another Easter Egg hunt and then rode bumper cars. (the boys brought them) We had a wonderful time with family.

Last night, we had dinner with my Mom and Dad, Josh and his girlfriend, and the four of us. We played Wii and had fun.

Tonight, we ordered pizza and watched Bolt! Just enjoyed being at home and being lazy. Dee had to work today with the Army and tomorrow, but was home by 4 pm.

This week, we have a lot planned. Thursday, we are going to Noah's Ark to see all the animals. That should be a wonderful experience. We might go bowling later.

Friday, we are going to Stone Mountain later in the day to stay at the Evergreen hotel. They also have an indoor pool so the girls can swim. The hotel has a package deal so we can stay and get breakfast and 4 tickets to the park for a really good deal! All day Saturday will be Stone Mtn park, then the laser show that night. The decision is....do we stay Saturday night at the park and drive to church Sunday or do we go home Saturday night? Verdict is still out!

We are trying to use our time to build memories for the girls, take pictures and just enjoy our time left.