Start your engines!!

My weekends during the summer time are usually filled with birthday parties, cookouts and an occasional trip to the beach to Savannah to visit my brother. Well, last weekend I thought I would have a moment to rest my feet on a lazy Sunday afternoon... That didn't happen!

Instead, I ended up burning rubber on the track at Andretti Indoor Karting (sans kids, of course). Talk about adrenaline rush! On first sight of the building I wasn't sure of what was in store for me behind those doors. I thought it would be the standard run of the mill go-karts that you find at an outdoor festival or carnival. These badboys were no where near that description! The superkarts simulate a speed of up to 50 mph!!! What!?! Yes, that's right and its all indoors! The cool part was signing up with a racer name and getting fitted for a helmet. My first thought was, "oh, there is safety equipment involved?" LOL! I donned my helmet and step out onto the platform. I see the previous heat in wrapping up their 10 laps and they are flying by! "Is it my turn yet?" Now I sound like my kids! This place will do that to you though. It's an indoor adult playground for adrenaline junkies. During my first few laps, I was cutting the corners cautiously but that soon changed. I was burning out and gliding around the corners. And to think Mike was concerned. Once my heat was over, I checked my best lap time, which was 40.3 secs.

After all that fun, I had to cool off, literally. I was covered in sweat. So we played games and climbed the cosmic rock wall (this was a first for me). I made it to the top by hitting the buzzer and realized that what goes up must come down... by just pushing off the wall. Are you kidding?! I crashed into two of the crew members on my way down. Occupational hazard, I guess.

Aside from the racing action, there is a zipline (which is above the track), rock climbing, and an extreme rope course (above the arcade area).

I survived the cosmic rock wall!

We redeemed our tickets on our way home, which are stored electronically the reloadable cards, and selected a few things for the girls. I was exhausted but my day wasn't over... I still had to make it to a wedding invitation stuffing "party".

Now word to the wise, this is not the kind of place where you get all fancy and jazzy with your attire. Because most of the attractions are extremely physical, it is best to go in comfortable clothing and closed toe shoes. I am still wondering how the lady in the short mini kirt and 5 inch heels felt when she walked in? Someone should have warned her. Tsk, Tsk.

TTFN!

Cool Parks = Cool Mom

My girls are 3 and 5, so what makes me cool at this juncture in our relationship is a cool activity where they are free to be their age. What gets me a lot of points during the summer time is finding a place where they can play in water and keep cool! I think we have officially hit the "dog days of summer" with daily temperatures exceeding the high 90's. 

Here is a list of my top 5 places to keep cool in Atlanta. All on the list are budget friendly with the exception of number 5, but there are coupons available to help with that. Now, keep in mind there is no particular order:



Mak @ the Historic Fourth Ward Park



1. Centennial Park Fountain of Rings

2. Historic Fourth Ward Park Sprayground

3. International Beach
4. Piedmont Park Aquatic Center
5. Lake Lanier Waterpark

It may be hot outside but that is no reason to stay in the house... get outside, have some fun and keep cool!

Mission: Summer Break!

We have had a lot of fun 3 weeks into summer break. The girls have enjoyed a puppet show, a few water days, outdoor festivals and picnics. I had a bright idea today... I should note every fun activity that the girls and I do week by week, just in case someone else needs some inspiration. I have found that my days go alot smoother when I have a schedule of activities and lots of interesting opportunities to learn something new.

So this week fresh off of Memorial day, we stuffed ourselves with an impromptu Pizza Picnic on Wednesday. The weather on Thursday called for hot weather and high humidity translation: Find some water to get into! Our first stop was story time and crafts at the library. Next, we headed over to Centennial Park for a music during the Music @ Noon series and then the girls cooled off by jump in and through the Fountain of Rings. I plan on keeping this outing in my back pocket, in case I run out of ideas or fall behind schedule for another event.

After all of my errands were complete, I rewarded the girls for good behavior with a free donut in honor of National Donut Day from Krispy Kreme. Believe it or not, we were able to pick whatever doughnut we wanted, not just one of the original glazed. We loaded back into the car and headed to the library so that Makenie and Payon could turn in their reading logs for a prize as part of the Clayton County Dream Big - Read! program.

Stay tuned for our next installation of Mission: Summer Break!

Who knew a rooster could be so friendly...

Petting the miniature horse.

Last weekend, my daughters and and I enjoyed the Sheep to Shawl event at the Atlanta History Center. During a prior visit to the museum, one of the docents convinced me that it would be a great event for the family but I had no idea what to REALLY expect. I had no idea how hands-on the event would truly be. I really enjoyed myself! Makenzie took a few of the items that she made to school to show her classmates. The event is only once a year, so mark your calendars for next time.

She didn't want to just pet the rooster she wanted to hold it!

 

 

Since we are members, we had the opportunity to preview the petting zoo earlier than others, which was cool. As we walked through the petting zoo, in my mind I had already guessed which animals both of my girls would be excited about independently based on their personalities. For Payton, I knew she would enjoy the miniature pony and the rooster. Makenzie is a big fan of rabbits and cows, that is exactly where she spent most of her time. Mak would love a pet rabbit but our dog, Coco Chanel, is too territorial for another pet to come into our home. After all we have had Coco for almost 9 years and I can respect that.

The wool was very smelly!

After enjoying the petting zoo, we moved on the main event... the sheep shearing. The whole purpose of the exhibition is to learn how about all the steps involved from cultivating the wool from the sheep and the by-products of the wool on a plantation. So we gather around the barn to watch the shearing of the wool from the sheep. I have a new respect for my wool clothing items. The process is very labor intensive. The farmer sheared the sheep then he passed out the wool to the children in the audience. At this point, we took the wool to washing and carding station where we met women dressed in clothing from the 1890's. Remainder: the wool is fresh off the back of a live sheep. Translation: this stuff is smelly! There were several basins to wash, rinse and card the wool.

Payton carding the wool.

Carding the wool involves two large brushes that we used to soften the wool and remove any matting and twigs. Then from there the wool is spun using a spindle. We didn't actually do the spinning but the was a demonstation of how it is done. The final fibers can either be dyed to whatever color and then used by the lady of the house to create a shawl, towels or blankets.


 

One candle after 9 dunks in wax and water.

The girls also had an opportunity to enjoy making pottery and candles. Let me talk a little about the whole candle making process.... So considering that there wasn't electricity during this time, plantation families had to make their own candles using animal fat. The docent tells the crowd before we make our own candles that the family would make all the candles that they needed for the YEAR in ONE day! That figures roughly includes 400 candles so that is just about 1 candle or so per day. Here is the punchline, to create one candle, the wick has to dipped in the wax and water 400 times. Huh?! My girls only dunked their candles in the wax and then water a total of 9 times and they were worked up because the candles was as thin as PJ's pinky finger. Thank you Edison and I won't complain about the GA Power rate hike again.

All things GA or bust!

Recently, we were sitting around talking about our weekend plans and I realized there are so many places that we haven't been to in Georgia considering how long we have lived here. We have been married 9 years (that is another blog post for another day) this August but we have been here longer if you include college. So we decided that we would theme our excursions as "All things GA." This essentially means we are going to use our weekends and other miscellaneous down time to enjoy everything that Georgia has to offer. We have seen majority of the "mainstream" attractions here in Atlanta but not very many attractions off the well-worn tourist path. It is actually a bit pitiful that we have not been more places that speak on the rich history of GA. I can't count the number of weekends that we have complained that we had nothing to do! I can spend a whole afternoon talking about other states and countries that I want to visit but I haven't even played in my own backyard yet. What a shame?

So in order to get prepared I had to acquire a map (of course!) that included all historical landmarks and State Park and I printed a list of museums and other attractions. We made this pledge on New Year's Day and so far we have visited the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum, Callaway Gardens, Atlanta History Museum during to the last 3 weekends. Let me just say, I have been pleasantly surprised (to say the least) at each place that we visited. Next on our list will be Sweetwater Creek, Panola Mountain, Etowah Indian Mounds, Red Top Mountain, Amicalola Falls and Tellus Museum. That list should keep us busy for the next 6 weeks. I need weather contingency plan for the outdoor activities just in case we get rain, which is not a surprise here in Georgia.

Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum

So this past weekend, I wanted to go somewhere new. We researched some ideas and decided to go to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. I have lived in Atlanta since 1997 and I have never been to the Jimmy Carter Museum. I have really been missing out on a jewel because the place is beautiful. The design and layout are impeccable. There are picnic benches outside of the building surrounding a small lake and wonderful gardens. I plan to experience that fully once the weather warms up.
First off, children 12 and under are free and adults are $8. After paying a nominal admission price, you are encouraged to enjoy a short 15-minute documentary covering the life of former President Jimmy Carter, which was very insightful. Upon leaving the auditorium, we moved into the museum portion that charted Jimmy Carter's life chronologically from birth, to his time in the Navy and all the way to the White House and beyond. The best part of the whole exhibit, outside of the breath-taking rotunda, was the Oval Office replica. As an added perk to Carter's biographical exhibit, we had an opportunity to enjoy a small temporary exhibit on the research and life of Dr. George Washington Carver. This was a real treat for Makenzie because she just learned about him at school.
With all that being said, I highly recommend the visiting the museum, it definitely exceeded my expectations and I am a little upset that I hadn't visited sooner. So, what are you waiting for? Go find out for yourself...

What I love about the Fernbank Museum...



Since my membership will be up for renewal soon, I thought that I would take the time to talk about what I love about the Fernbank Museum of Natural History to be sure that I renew it ;). First off, the membership is really worth the price of $95. (For the record the membership was previously $89) That price includes 12 months of admission for 2 adults and up to 4 children (under 18) to museum exhibits, invitations to members-only gatherings and discounts on IMAX movies. I could just stop there and say, "Nuff said!" but I will continue because I have more to say. My girls really enjoy playing in the NatureQuest children's interactive play area. The coolest part of NatureQuest, for me, is the life-size treehouse. 



Identifying inhabitants of a cavern in NatureQuest.



Creating a huge bubble in a bin of soapy solution.
Sounds like Physics to me!



Another positive is the themed Princess and Pirates weekends, where children can arrive in their favorite princess or pirate costume, make a craft, meet "real" pirates and princesses and participate in a interactive story time.  The museum calendar is filled with lots of great activities outside of the giant dinosaur in the rotunda.

The membership also includes reciprocal gratis admission to partnering museums 90 miles as the "crow flies" from the home museum, as well as admission into the Fernbank Planetarium programs. All in all the value of the membership works for us because we have somewhere to go on lazy weekends, rainy days or chilly afternoons all for free, plus my girls might learn a thing or two. Just to be sure that I get extreme value out of the membership, we go at a minimum of once a month. The membership pays for itself in 2 visits for the Braswell Crew and its tax-deductible... What more could a parent ask for?



The girls are wearing turtle shells in the
Wildlife Preservation exhibit.



Payton is creating shadows
with different light sources.



Wildlife Preservation Exhibit