Happy Halloween!

Despite the cold, rainy weather, we got all dressed up and made it down the street and back for some trick-or-treating. Margo Anne came up with her costume idea all by herself...the Tooth Fairy! Clay was Optimus Prime, his favorite Transformer!


Clay helps light his jack-o-lantern...




Trick-or-Treating at our favorite neighbor's house...Mr. Tex and Miss. Holly. They had some yummy treats for us!





We ended up at our own house, with PaPa, giving out candy for us. Thanks, Pops!

Punkin' Patch and Fall Fun

We made it up to the pumpkin patch a little later this year than we had originally planned, due to all the rain and flooding and such. It was a little more crowded than we are used to, but it was still a great time. An added bonus, we discovered that Amacolola Falls is just five minutes down the street from the pumpkin patch! We had a FULL day...pumpkin patching, picnicing, hay riding, then a big hike up to the falls, and ended with a dip in the creek for the little ones! THIS is GOOD STUFF!






Decisions, decisions...


Found the perfect ones...


I was itchy all day after Clay decided that a hay fight was a good idea!


Clay, enjoying the hayride...


Here's our girl, taking a break and snacking on real kettle corn!


The choosing of the pumpkins...couldn't get this one into the wheelbarrel!




On the hike up to the falls...


We made it to the base of the falls...this was all we could handle on this busy day!


Whew, that water was COLD!




What a fun, refreshing day! We'll take a day in the mountains anytime!

Flood 2009

Well, it has been quite an unusual (putting it lightly) week for us here in Georgia! It has been raining and raining, and flooding and receding, and now more rain! We are very thankful that everyone is safe; however, please keep Dave's parents in your prayers, as their home was flooded...almost up to the second floor...they lost everything on the lower floor of their home to the flood waters. Thanks to everyone in our family who jumped right in and showered them with support, they are now settling into a rental home. A special thank-you to Carolyn's dad, who found a rental home and worked his magic for a move-in, in less than a week! Thanks, also to my home-away-from-home family at school...they have been so gracious and have kept a non-stop supply of the most AMAZING meals in the Griffin home! Another thank you to our many incredible friends who have kept us in their thoughts and prayers, sent gift cards and clothing for Dave's parents and provided so much moral support. This has allowed us to focus our attention on Dave's parents and their immediate needs. Here are some pictures of what a bunch of rain does to our drought-stricken land here in Georgia! The picture above is of the front of Dave's folks home early Tuesday morning...the water level was starting to go down...you can see the line above the front door where it reached its height.




Here is an aerial view of the neighborhood, courtsey of the AJC, it shows Dave's parents' home (the ninth home from the bottom of the picture, on the right...bluish colored siding). You can also see Dave in his canoe on the top, left, as he was going out to the house on Tuesday morning.



Here is their car...it had been totally submerged in the water.



This is a picture taken from Dave's canoe, early on Tuesday morning, as he was going to the house to try to salvage some things from the second floor.

Road Trip...Destination ~ Chattanooga

Now that the little ones are getting a touch older, we thought it would be a good time to test the "Road Trip" waters and boy, do we have the travel bug now! We had such a fantastic time in Chattanooga, Tennessee! We started out at the Craigshead Caverns (a.k.a. "The Lost Sea") with a mighty dim, 58 degrees cool (nice amidst the summer heat!), bumpy, rocky and sometimes rather steep hike down into these incredible caverns...ending up at a natural underground lake, where we took a boat ride and tried to spot the ~rather large~ rainbow trout...had to hold Dave back from breaking out his fishing pole! Of course, Clay didn't much care about the $500-$1,000 fine for touching anything in the caverns...need to keep this picture under wraps!









We then headed to the Incline Railway...there were a few sweaty palms in the group towards the top of the mountain...and on up to Point Park, on the top of Lookout Mountain...what a beautiful place!

















We finished off the weekend with a visit to the Children's Discovery Museum...two thumbs up from Margo Anne and Clay! We WILL visit again, or we'll never hear the end of it! A very cool place, indeed!

Swimming With Our Coolest Neighbor

We have the best neighbors...Mr. Tex and Mrs. Holly...and Margo Anne and Clay just can't see them enough this summer! We finally were able to get together with Mrs. Holly for TWO (hooray!) pool dates...last week and this week. As always, we had a blast!

Fire Museum and Fun at the Square

PaPa found the coolest Fire Truck Museum! We made a day of it...met Daddy, Grammy and PaPa for lunch, watched all the big trucks work on a huge construction site, visited the Marietta Fire Museum and played at the Square. We have been enjoying the most fabulous weather in July and it was perfect for a day at the Square in Marietta!