beautiful georgia mountains

in mid-july we headed to helen, georgia for a week. helen is a small german town in the georgia mountains. we had a great time relaxing, enjoying the sights and spending time with family. eric and i even got a chance to go tubing down the chattahoochee river - a must do whenever you're in helen!

downtown helen georgia.

at fred's. the best place to get boiled peanuts! oh, and peach ice slushees too!

just takin' a dip in the pool to cool off from the georgia heat.

way down yonder on the chattahoochee...

(see the people in the pink tubes in the background? this is what we did for two hours one morning).

ella and luke hammin' it up at dinner.

anna and luke feeling the sand between their fingers - this was luke's first time in the sand!

needing to cool off yet again!

luke is 9 months old! 7.6.10

9 months in, and now 9 months out! it is crazy to think that he has been in our outside world as long as he was in his inside world! it's also amazing how i can't get him to sit still for his monthly pictures any more. gone are the days where i could plop him on the red couch and he'd stay in one position. i miss those days, but i'm also thrilled with all the things he's doing now (and so is he!)!

happy independence day!

we had a pretty quiet july 4th weekend this year. it's always so nice to stay in chicago while the entire city goes other places. it's almost like we have the city to ourselves.

luke celebrated the day by playing some music on his favorite toy these days (the Leap Frog Learn and Groove music table - this is the first place he goes in the morning during playtime).

and then we headed out to visit the bowman family in their new home in oak park for a little pool time. grant and luke had a great time splashing around and staying cool.

and it wouldn't be a weekend if we didn't head to the swings and splash pad!