Time away...

Nick and I are blessed that he is part of a company that has an annual weekend (spouses included) where we get away for a few days. Much of the time is meetings for Nick, but the wives get to do lots of relaxing stuff like swim, take walks, chat, eat good food and get massages. The evenings are for large dinners with all spouses and lots of talking. I really enjoy my break each year and am so thankful to have 2 sets of grandparents that help watch our kiddos so we can go.

This year, I was able to go with Nick for all 3 nights, so the kids spent 2 nights with Joe and Deb and 1 night with mom and dad. Of course, this is quite an exciting and fun treat for the kids to spend so much time with grandparents and Nick and I don't have to worry about a thing. :)

I love getting to spend time with my precious husband and not having to think about laundry, cleaning, meals, school, chores or other people's needs for a few days. BUT, neither of us can hardly wait to get home to pick up our babies and hear all about their super fun weekend!! :)

What have we been up to??!!

Since the last post, we have been up to A LOT! From finishing up a fun summer, to starting school, we've been keeping ourselves quite busy. We stained our front porch floor, painted the exterior of our house (ourselves) and only lack the back of the house plus Nick's shop to be finished, Nick fell off a ladder while painting the house and thankfully, didn't break a bone or kill himself (but has had an injured leg for 3 weeks!); we celebrated the 4th of July, went to the Laser Show at Stone Mountain, celebrated Pop's 67th birthday, did small projects around our house, spent lots of time with cousins and good friends and finally...took sweet Rachel to get her ears pierced!

the cute cousins trying on fashionable specs

Rachel's beautiful new earrings!

Nick, Joe and the boys went to the Braves game, so Rachel, Julia and I had a girl's night out. Rachel had attempted to get her ears pierced one other time a few months ago, but didn't quite feel ready (after we drove to the mall, went in, and watched another child scream in pain as she had her ears pierced), but she really wanted to get her ears pierced with her sweet cousin, Juj. So, we went to the mall and this time, watched a sweet 10 year old girl get it done before her. Rachel was much more confident this time and was even cracking jokes with her favorite cousin. There were 2 ladies working at the store, so they were able to simultaneously pierce both ears, which helped the process go very quickly! Rach did great and hasn't complained a bit about her ears hurting.

After we left the jewelry store, we walked up to Bath & Body works to smell lotions, perfumes, hand sanitizers, soaps, etc... We left with a special smelly lotion and the girls were thoughtful enough to put on a generous amount in the car, which left the whole car smelling super fruity! :)

The girls decided they wanted to eat at Logan's Steakhouse, so we went there and had a delicious meal. The girls giggled and chatted and I was more or less like a "third wheel" but I didn't mind because they were so precious and so sweet. It is so fun to watch them enjoy being friends AND cousins.

We came home and watched a funny movie and waited on the boys to get home to hear all about their fun time watching the Atlanta Braves take a beating. :)

More fun Milligan family updates to come...I promise!

Our first family camping trip

Brad reading in the tent

the kids enjoying their supper

taking a break as we explore Unicoi (deep thoughts by Nick)

the boys wading in the creek

mine and Rachel's tent

hotdogs anyone?

Brad's mean camp face!

Trent rolling down a grassy hill

the gun show

Our precious little boy

lovely campers

our campsite

our pretty girl in the stream

Trent's pile or rocks and sticks that he collected next to this tree

Anna Ruby Falls

halfway up to AR Falls

the beautiful falls

Our first camping trip was a success! But, we did learn some things that we want to differently next time.
1- I need a better sleeping mat/cot, etc...
2- Camping food can/should include easy meals like cereal and ramen noodles
3- Camping in the summer is HOT, but the fall would be more comfortable
4- it'll be more fun if we can park directly next to our campsite so that we don't have to haul heavy coolers to our site
5- the kids will have fun no matter what the circumstances/conditions
6- I am the biggest complainer in the family :)

So, we really did have a great time, even if this list looks like I'm focusing on the negatives here. Unicoi is a beautiful state park not far from Helen. It's huge and has a swimming beach, playground, hiking trails and a large campground. The swimming beach was very nice and the water was clear (unbelievably), and we had fun swimming in it. We only played on the playground once, but the kids enjoyed it. There was a cold stream that ran right beside it and the kids had fun playing in that too. We didn't try out any of the hiking trails this time because of the heat, but they would have been fun, I'm sure. The campground had RV and tent sites. There were over 30 tent sites and even though they were clustered in the same area, we didn't feel like our neighboring campers were all over us or anything. We were able to choose a shady, tree-canopied campsite that was perfect! We took 2 tents: 1 for the girls and 1 for the boys. :) The kids enjoyed every part of camping, from carrying stuff to the site, to setting up, to sleeping on the hard ground, to catching fireflies at night, to whittling sticks. They are at an awesome age/stage where this adventure was just lots of fun! Nick was way more content than I was and didn't mind the hard work that was involved in hauling, setting up, cooking, cleaning, etc... I didn't mind working hard, I guess I was just surprised that it was MOSTLY hard work with little time to relax. But, I think that can be remedied with a few easier meals and perhaps picking a park next time that has parking next to your campsite so you don't have to remove every item from your vehicle. Also, not sleeping well the first night due to the heat and discomfort of being on a sleeping mat on the ground, left me feeling pretty grouchy that next morning. I slept better the 2nd night because it had cooled off considerably and I might have been a tad exhausted. :) Everyone else slept great both nights, with zero complaints. :)

Since we were so close to Helen, we decided to go tubing while we were there. Tubing is so much fun even though the water was a little low in several spots. Rach and I were able to strap our tubes together and the boys strapped their tubes together. I thought it was very relaxing and we pretty much let the river move us wherever it wanted. At one point, we even knocked over a man who was looking for lost valuables in the middle of the river. It was pretty funny even though I'm sure being knocked out at the knees and slamming into rocks didn't feel very good. I had a hard time controlling my laughter about that poor man's face as he went down. But, I have no idea why he would stand in the middle of a tubing river, with 100s of tubers floating by in intervals and have his back turned to us. I didn't think that was very smart and he probably learned his lesson the hard way. ;)

We also hiked up to Anna Ruby falls one day. It was beautiful and cool and very impressive. It rained on us on the way up to the falls so everything was overcast and cool.

We spent 2 nights camping at the park and had a really good time! We packed up and left early on the 2nd morning there and only had a 2 hour drive back home, which was nice. There was plenty to unpack, wash and put away over the next week. One thing is for sure, camping is fun, but it takes lots of planning, preparing, setting up and cleaning up. :)

Till our next camping adventure...

Best Daddy Ever!

 

We love this man! He is such a great daddy! We enjoyed celebrating his birthday in May and Father's Day in June. The kids made the most creative cards for him and each picked him out something special. We are so thankful for Nicholas Brad Milligan!
Love you babe!

Bowl-a-rama

prettiest little bowler ever

what a serious pose!

this is kinda heavy!

ready to roll

Milligan boys

having fun!

me and my sweet girl

A few weeks ago, we had a rare family day. Nick had taken the day off and we decided to hang out and do some fun stuff. The kids had several "reasonable" suggestions: go to the beach, go to Disney World, etc... We finally all agreed that bowling was the best and most practical activity for the day. :)  We had lots of fun and Nick and the kids bowled really well! I am, by far, the worst bowler in the family. But, it is lots of fun and the kids get such a kick out of it! Who knows, maybe one day we'll join a league! ;)

Snow Day 2014!

the kiddos with the doggies

our road

snowball fight

building a snowman

Buddy!

Sammy- braving it!

our house!

the kid's snowman

Nick and the kiddos

icicles!

Well, we were one of the many Georgian families who were able to enjoy our snow day! We weren't stuck in traffic, schools, buses, stores, etc... We were in our nice, warm home and got to see the snow fall and then play in it at every opportunity! The kids made a small snowman, had several snowball fights and made snow angels. All the kids had a chance to throw snowballs at each other's faces, so there were plenty of tears and screams and general unhappiness. I can only imagine how we sound to our neighbors (do they wonder if we're dying, hurt, lost forever??!!). The only downside of the snow was the increase in laundry as we constantly had to re-wash and dry our few appropriate snow clothes.

All the animals thought it was pretty cool too. Dixie thought it was just another adventuresome day...trekking thru the woods and visiting her neighborhood friends. Buddy loved the snow, ate the snow and carried any of his favorite toys thru the snow willing us to pet him, love on him and admire his toy. Samson (Sammy) was not impressed with the snow at all. He spent his nights in our laundry room, but he went out during the day. He walked thru the snow, but didn't particularly enjoy having wet paws. He tried to stay on any dirt/snow-free areas.

We were very pleased with our wintry-weather treat and are now ready for some spring weather to head our way! :)

Darn good dog

Buddy is a darn good dog. We are so happy to have him in our family. This precious boy fits every characteristic of a sweet lab. He LOVES people, loves playing fetch and loves to eat! The other night, I was cooking dinner and letting in some fresh air while the kids played in the backyard. Sweet Buddy just sat at the door and watched me. He was very good about staying on the deck. But, if I spoke to him, he took that as an invitation to come inside. ;)  We love this adorable dog!

Bye Bye Couch!

We said goodbye to our old, comfy, sinky, cushion-missing couch a few weeks ago. We enjoyed that couch for many years and the kids properly abused it. :) The boys helped Nick take it to the recycling center and pay a small fee.

Buddy

Buddy is such a sweet doggie and has such a fun and playful personality. He loves to carry around a toy, like this Princess ball. He loves to play fetch and he loves belly rubs and he loves the kids! Trent spends the most time with him, making him sit, fetch or whatever else he thinks he needs to do. I call him "Polar Bear" because he is so white and makes these adorable grunt noises. He is a great dog!!!!

Best Friends

So, one of the coolest things about Gege and Papa living in our yard is that they brought their sweet dog, Buddy, with them. He is a huge, yellow lab with the sweetest retriever personality and (thankfully) he seems to enjoy playing with kids. Trent has claimed him as his Best Friend. He loves playing with him, tirelessly throwing his toy (even when Buddy no longer retrieves it), and laying on or near him. Buddy has definitely gotten more exercise than he's ever wanted thanks to Trent's high energy level.

Buddy and Dixie have gotten along extremely well! They are both respectful of each other's space and sit in separate locations. Dixie claims the back porch and Buddy prefers the garage. He has his own huge bed in the garage, but he prefers to put his large body on top of Dixie's tiny bed (which is actually a cat bed!!) and he looks hilarious!

Anyway, we are thankful that Buddy and Dixie have adjusted well to their new arrangements and have definitely enjoyed having a silly dog around--Dixie doesn't have time for games and nonsense like "fetch". And, one of the coolest things about having Buddy here is that Bradley (our non-dog-lover) has gotten more used to him. He still doesn't want to pet or be around Buddy, but he feels comfortable enough walking around with him in the same vicinity. That is a win-win all the way around!

Hurry home hunny!

Today, even though Nick's only been gone 4 hours (not even overnight yet!), I'm missing my man! Nothing's ever as simple when you're by yourself. Little things like taking the trash can to the end of the driveway, making sure all doors are locked at night, getting the kids ready for bed, just being in charge of everything, seems bigger than usual. Because we're a Team. We share the load. Even if I end up doing these things when Nick is home, I know he's looking out for me. I know he's doing something else that needs to get done. He's there. He's my solid, hunky, helpful, loving husband. I am thankful for him. And, right now I miss him.

These random trips are only a couple of times a year and I know I'm lucky. So many wives have husbands who travel weekly or who live overseas for months or years at a time. I know I wouldn't handle that well. I am thankful for such a wonderful husband and father to our 3 precious children. I hope Nick's able to enjoy his trip...away from the humdrum of everyday...in a new and exciting environment...and out of the office.

Till then, we'll just keep trucking along and look forward to Saturday, when we get to have Nick home again.

Be safe babe. We love you!

Nick and all 3 kiddos

Nick & Bradley

Nick & Rach

Us!! Love!! (A few years ago)



Nick & Trent