May 2025 Georgia exploration and a visit to Grandma Flick

May 4 - Sunday dinner to celebrate Grandma's birthday. It became a hedgehog dinner (no hedgehogs were harmed in the making of this dinner). Local goat cheese formed into a hedgehog and lined with sliced almonds and Melissa decorated this cute hedgehog cake.  The kids helped grandma bake it a few days earlier. 

May 11 - Sunday, after church we hit the road to drive to Grandma Flicks.  We had a tire blow out on the back of the van on the way, so that certainly added to the drive time. It was mother's day so Dale and Susan hosted a big dinner at their house.  Grandpa and Grandma Aurich had been staying with Grandma so we all got to enjoy the evening together. 

While waiting for dinner, the kids and I went rock climbing around the house.  They live in such a beautiful area, Williamson, AZ. 

Happy Mother's Day 2025, 4 generations. 

Monday the 12th we flew to Atlanta, Georgia and Tuesday May 13th we visited the Georgia Aquarium.  Melissa and the kids loved the dolphin show and we spent several hours exploring and learning. 


After lunch, we went to the Olympic park, from the 1996 Olympics.  There was a dancing fountain and we had fun watching the show, then getting a little wet in the spray. 

May 14 - Wednesday we hiked to the top of Stone Mountain. It was about 1.5 miles up the trail. 

At the top of the mountain we found puddles with tadpoles and road the tram down from the top!

Everyone enjoyed the ride down and nobody ended up with knee pain. 

May 15 - Thursday.  We were driving to our next stay in Savannah for my conference.  The kids wanted to stop at a McDonald's but we convinced them to buy a stuffy at the gas station and eat at this yummy BBQ place in Soperton, GA.  It was a great decision. 

That night we enjoyed some swimming at the roof top pool at our Homewood Suites on the Savannah River. It was fun, we even saw a few container ships loaded with cargo coming up the river. The bridge of the ships was as high as our 9th story pool.

May 16 - Friday, after my first day of the conference we went to lunch at the Pirate's House.  The kids enjoyed their meal and loved the gift shop!

We then went to Tybee Island, GA to see the beach.  The weather was great and the water was a wonderful temperature. 

I don't think these people are ever happier than when in the water.  Why do we live in the desert? 

In a wonderful coincidence, it was the annual Beach Bum Parade!  A giant water fight parade.  We spent the whole afternoon and evening in Tybee Island.  It was so much fun. 

May 17 - Saturday we walked through Savannah. We visited Forsyth Park

We visited the cathedral and loved the couple of old brick lined roads. 

After dinner, we went on a Savannah River Dolphin Cruise.  The kids got to handle a megalodon tooth, we saw dolphins, lots of water birds and eagles.  It was a fun evening. 

5/19 - Monday we drove back toward Atlanta.  This afternoon we visited Starr's Mill to see the waterfall and found turtles, snakes and birds.  

We had lunch at a crepe restaurant in Senoia, GA.  The town was so small and beautiful.  We couldn't believe how old fashioned it seemed.  However, it was also the only place in the trip where we ran into any racial issues.  A couple of young women in the restaurant accused the workers of racism because they didn't get a hello when they entered.  It was a beautiful week in Georgia and interesting that almost all of it was fun and kind. 

May 20 - Tuesday. We stayed in Fayetteville in a nice AirBNB.  There was a banana plant in the backyard and we found a small frog in the leaves.  While the kids were looking at it, it jumped out on Finn and everyone got to hold it briefly.  

That evening, we were back in Arizona to have a "birthday" party for Lily and Great Grandma Flick. Lily wanted to be home for her birthday, so the next morning we drove home.

May 22 - Thursday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILIAN!! Wild cats cake.

Lilian's cute new kitty climbing set. 

May 26 - Monday, Melissa went riding with Lynette and Nikki. They also hiked to get a better view.  


May 30 - Friday, mud kitchen playdate with the Laws kids. 





 

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