One the way back from Arkansas we stopped at the Talladega Superspeedway and took a tour. We are not NASCAR fans but Andrew loves race cars, he even pretends he is a race car and his shoes are his tires.  He went through the museum and pointed out which Cars character each race car looked like.  He also thought is was really cool that we got to ride around the race track.  I thought the museum was a little boring and needs an update but Andrew liked it.

While we were in Arkansas we asked Jason’s cousin Lauren (Crossroads Photography) to take a few pictures of the boys for their birthday party invitation. These are some of our favorite from the afternoon, two of which will be featured on this year’s invitation.  If you live in the south Arkansas area and need a photographer, she is your girl!

While we were in Arkansas we visited MawMaw’s shop so she could give Brian his first haircut. She was able to give Andrew his first haircut when he was about the same age so we wanted to make sure she got to give Brian his first one too.  Thanks Sissy!

Last year we were not able to make the trip to Panama City for July 4th so this year we made sure we could go.  My Aunt Lee and Uncle Larry’s house is one of my very favorite places to go to relax and have a great time. Andrew’s first beach trip was during the July 4th week when he was about 9 months old so we wanted to take Brian before he turned 1 too.  We had a great time visiting Aunt Lee and Uncle Larry with Pops, Nana, Josh and Isabelle. We spent a lot of time just relaxing and swimming and hanging out.  Uncle Larry has quickly become a favorite of all the kids, he probably slept for a week when we left   Andrew is NOT a fan of the ocean but he did like the pool once we made him get in but Brian loves water. Andrew loved playing in the sand but Brian was only interested in trying to eat it and got mad when we would not let me. All in all, it was great trip. Thanks Aunt Lee and Uncle Larry!

We have had a busy July. First, we went to visit my family in Panama City at my Aunt Lee’s beach house. We had a great time. The day we were leaving I started having horrible back pain and the next week I had to have my gallbladder taken out.  The surgery was not that bad but I was very sore, so my mom came and stayed for a week so Jason could finish his last week at work. Thanks mom!  Then, three days after the surgery we packed up and headed to Arkansas for a visit. We were able to go to the lake house and Andrew finally got to catch his first fish!  The boys also did lots of swimming at Granny’s house (I could not get in the water), riding on machines, and playing with cousins. I think Andrew probably wore poor Kristyn out. We also did a little photo shoot of the boys with Lauren, she is very talented and is on her way to becoming a great photographer.  I will post more about all our trip happenings later when I get the photos edited.

In other news, there are lots of changes happening around here in the next few weeks. For starters,  Jason and I both have new jobs!  After a lot of thought, discussions, and consideration Jason and I decided that it was a good time for him to look at his job and see what was out there. Turns out that even during a week economy there are many awesome positions for highly technical people, especially with degrees from schools like Ga Tech, and he had a lot of interest.  After several interviews and a few offers he decided to take a job as a Director of Interactive Development at a marketing firm in Buckhead.  Although he hated leaving Cobb it was just a smart move for our family considering we both worked for Cobb and school system budgets in Georgia are not stable.  I also am going to have a new job when school starts next week. I am one of the few lucky people in Cobb who were able to transfer this year and I was able to secure a position at a school much closer to our new house. I will miss my Lindley 6 family and ESOL, I am going back to regular ed, but I will not miss the 45 minute drive to get to school everyday. Since I am no longer going to be going to south Cobb everyday that also means changes for Andrew and Brian. They will both be starting school next week for the first time. It will be a HUGE adjustment for Andrew but I think he is ready. So, that is what is happening around here. Check back later for more pictures from July.