Cartersville Meet

A couple weekends ago, Sophie Grace had her first meet of the season. She's repeating level four, so she's had a year of strength training and polishing her routines from last fall. She and two other girls from her team from last fall stayed back and joined a new group of girls coming up to level four. We're very proud of Sophie as her coach has made a point to brag on her for stepping up as a "team captain" encouraging the new girls and helping the new team gel together well. She only has three meets this fall, and the bar has been raised to make it to the state competition in December. She has to have an all around score of 34 to move on. She had a 31.975 at this meet. Hopefully, the jitters are out, and she can knock it out next weekend.

Sophie with her buddy Shanna. They've been on a team together now for four years.


Sophie took third place on the bars! Highest place so far for her.




The dreaded beam dismount... Sophie's working to overcome a mental block on this skill. She goes off to the wrong side. ARGH! So hard for me to watch. Her coaches tell me that it will come when it comes. A gymnast's body is strong, but sometimes the mind is stronger.




This is another cutie that has been on the team with Sophie for a couple years.




Coach Megan with some of the girls.


Coach Megan had Sophie lead the team in open warm ups. It's been very encouraging to see her growth of character through this great sport.

The Fair Comes to Town

Last Thursday the girls and I joined friends for dinner and the county fair. The girls had a blast. I've taken them before, but it's been so long they didn't even remember it. You would think I had sprung for a surprise trip to Disney they were so excited. Ten tickets apiece and a monstrous amount of cotton candy provided enough fun for a month!

Sophie gets friendly with a heifer.


Take a look at this sheep. It looked like it had a spiral perm.


Reagan with the miniature horses


Sophie and Gracie visit with the goats. I hope she wasn't trying to share her cotton candy.


There were some of the coolest chickens ever!





Hayden, Gracie, Sophie, and Ethan


This ride went in an oval, but at the ends it would sling the kids around. I LOVE the look on the girls' faces here.


Grace and Sophie- I just had a flash forward eight years from now!


Grace, Heather, me, Nina and Mandy


Reagan rode this ride with Cassidy, and Sophie rode it with Ms. Charlotte. Looking at it now, I can't believe I let my kids on it. Holy cow! They were on the thing for about 8 minutes.


Look at Sophie's face. She doesn't look so sure about it.


Sophie and Ms. Charlotte


Reagan in the Fun House


Gracie, Reagan, and Sophie on the monster slide


What fun!


This rocks!

First Day of School

The first day of school this year brought BIG changes in the Brinkley household. Romeo started his new position at Arlington as high school principal. After much prayer and deliberation, we decided to send Reagan to ACS a year earlier than planned. Sophie Grace is a big third grader at my school, and I'm back in the classroom teaching again after spending last year as a mentor teacher. We're excited for all the adventures this school year will hold for all of us.

Beach Trip

We enjoyed a wonderful trip to the beach this summer. My parents and niece and nephew and our family went to Fort Morgan just outside of Gulf Shores for a week. The kids LOVED the ocean and never wanted to spend time at the pool, except for the one rainy day. The waves were amazing, so we all tried our hand at boogie boarding which became quite addictive. I can see how people get a rush from surfing. We enjoyed great fresh seafood from Lulu's, Tin Roof, and Wolf Bay Lodge, and of course had to let the kids spend one evening shopping in the tacky souvenir shops where they came away with such trinkets as t-shirts, shell necklaces, peace sign bracelets, snow globes, and henna tattoos! One guess which of my children wanted the tattoo. A sign of times to come? I hope not!

BEACH PICTURES







I don't think I've ever been to the beach without spending one evening at the putt putt course and driving go-carts. My dad would never have allowed anything otherwise. This week was no different. He is so funny out there. He gets really serious about keeping score which we gave up on early on, and he gets the biggest kick out of watching the kids drive. So sweet!

PUTT PUTT and GO CART NIGHT





We had a great dinner at Lulu's which is Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant. There's a huge pavilion for shopping, a tiki hut, beach volleyball, and a marina to explore while you wait for about an hour and a half to get a seat. But, it proved to be worth the wait. I had a crab melt that was AMAZING! Romeo had a cheeseburger in paradise, and the girls enjoyed fresh shrimp.

DINNER AT LULU'S

Savannah and Tybee Island

We enjoyed a wonderful trip to Savannah and Tybee Island this past week with my parents and my niece and nephew, Morgan and Garet. We stayed at an awesome hotel right in the heart of the historic district on Bay Street, took the Oglethorpe Trolley tour and the Sorrel-Weed haunted tour, hung out and shopped on River Street, and ate fantastic food at The Cotton Exchange and The Pirate's House. On Tybee Island we climbed the 178 stairs to the top of Georgia's oldest lighthouse, enjoyed a ride on a Dolphin Boat tour, and ate the BEST, fresh seafood at The Crab Shack.

The kids at the top of the lighthouse


the view of the Atlantic Ocean


The Tybee Island lighthouse


Captain Mike's Dolphin Boat Tour
















Dinner at The Pirate's House - A portion of this haunted restaurant is the oldest standing structure in Georgia. After our dinner, a "pirate" gave us a tour around the restaurant to give the history of the place. It was really pretty cool. There is a tunnel underneath that was used to shanghai young sailors many years ago. Once they woke from their druken stupor, they could either become pirates or swim five miles in shark infested waters.






After our trolley tour, we went out sight seeing on foot to Forsyth Fountain and the many squares that make Savannah famous. A part of our tour included about a thirty minute torrential downpour. We ended up having so much fun in the rain and had the park to ourselves as a reward for our persistence.






Soaked to the bone...I do have clothes on. It's just strapless.




At the end of our trolley tour, we went shopping at Paris Market. The kids had so much fun in the basement of the shop looking at fun antiques like hundred year old bicycles (and playing with a few too). Wonder who wore this hat? Laurel or Hardy perhaps?






Some of the sights on our trolley tour...
The Catholic Cathedral of St. John-Baptist


The Waving Girl










The Sorrel-Weed haunted tour...the only scary part was how much our tour guide has spent in the tanning bed. YIKES!


River Street at Sunset
Mimi and Poppy




The kids on a VERY steep staircase leading from River Street to Bay Street










Garet and Sophie cooling off in the misters at the River Street Market


Morgan and Reagan doing the same




Mimi and Poppy are smitten to have all four grandchildren with them.




The kids loved watching the container ships and tug boats come down the Savannah River.