Atlanta with the Olsen's

Memorial Day weekend was spent with Myriam & Gary. We love these friends and hope to have many more fun outings with them. The last time they made the "Duncan blog" was in November at their wedding. They now reside in NYC and we miss seeing them as much as we used to.

We decided to tour Atlanta, which is only a little over 4 hours away from us. However, after delayed flights from overseas and NY, we finally got everyone back to the hotel around 2 a.m.! Earlier that day Chris and I dropped the girls off with some family in Suwanee. (THANK YOU Joel & Linda!...It would not have been pretty keeping them up that late. :)

We started with the Coca Cola Factory and a stroll in Centennial Olympic Park.

The tour of the Coca-Cola Factory was different from what I expected but very neat. This bear was by far our favorite part of the day. The polar bear was so life like.....and funny! It was even fun standing in line and watching him while waiting to get a picture taken.

(Gary, Myriam, Chantelle, Chris)

The ceiling and room were filled with marketing items from different time periods and from different parts of the world.





Centennial Park is a remaining legacy of the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia. Chris was in heaven! Four years later he would compete in the trials for the 2000 Olympics!

Next we went to a Brave's game! The atmosphere was so fun, it was perfect weather with lots of cotton candy of course!

Gary, Myriam, Chantelle, Chris

At Turner Field

After the game we went and picked up the girls. The girls had a fun movie night at the hotel.

The next day we headed to the Georgia Aquarium. It is the largest aquarium in the world with over 8 million gallons of aquatic life and lots more.

Daddy & Brooklyn

Katie, Brooklyn & Mommy after we enjoyed a front row seat at the aquatic show.

Katie and one of her cute poses
Aunt "Minnie" and Lauren. Lauren OUT OF THIS WORLD loves Myriam. If Myriam is in sight, Lauren is attached at her hip! Great for me! :)

Very very sad for Lauren every time Myriam leaves. :(
Katie and Uncle Gary

Thanks Gary & Myriam for such a great weekend!

Chattanooga

On May 22, Chris ran a marathon in Chattanooga, TN. It was in the mountains and the entire race was on a trail. (crazy!) We had never been to Chattanooga and have always heard great things about that city so we decided to drive and meet him there after his race.

The day before, Chris had just gotten stitches taken out of his knee where he had gashed it open. I can't believe he was even up for an afternoon of walking around. :) We all had such a fun time and started with lunch and the Creative Discovery Museum.

Brooklyn thought this "floating ball" was so cool!

Lauren, making a design out of rubber bands.

Katie & Lauren, inside the tunnel.

Lauren, Chris, Brooklyn & Katie, making music!

Brooklyn (pink), Katie and Lauren all playing in the kitchen. We were here for a LONG time! The girls all loved this part.

Lauren at the sink.

Katie in the tree.

Brooklyn really LOVED this car! She played in it most the time and had a hard time sharing it with the other kids until we showed her the kitchen. :)

Next we took them to Coolage park. It is a park downtown, next to the river that has fun water spouts and an old fashioned carousel. Katie jumped right in. She is so sweet and makes lots of friends wherever she goes. It took a little convincing for Lauren & Brooklyn, but once they got in, they had fun.

Fun in the water!

Brooklyn and her very cute "cheesy" smile.

Katie sitting on the Lion statue.

Daddy & Lauren (before she was brave enough to go in)

We also took the girls on a carriage ride. Our horsey, Snowman, took us around the block. The girls loved the co-pilot, a dalmation named Clarabell.

Katie, Brooklyn, Lauren

We finished the night with a movie, Shrek Forever After! This was Lauren & Brooklyn's first movie! They spent the first 45 minutes quiet with a tub of popcorn. They got a little restless in the middle, but we brought in blankies and the both fell asleep before it was over. Katie, Chris and I really liked the movie!

The next day, after sleeping in and a big breakfast, we went the the Aquarium.

Lauren & Brooklyn, amazed by the alligator.

This is the alligator the girls were staring at. It swam back and forth right in front of them a few times and then sat up with its head above water, just like we usually see from regular land. It was really neat to be able to see what he looked like underwater too.

Of course we had our bad moments too!

(Brooklyn, mad she is not being held)

Katie and the fishy's.

Playing outside the auarium. Good jump Katie!

Next we went to Rock City. I had seen the pictures and advertisements on the side of the interstate many times as we have traveled to Florida and back, but never really knew what it was. This was, by far, Chris' and my favorite part of our trip. It is on top of Lookout Mountain with massive ancient rock formations and gardens. You follow a beautiful path to the lookout point where you can see 7 states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennesse & Virginia.

Mom & the girls

Walking along the path

Brooklyn, Chantelle, Lauren & Katie

Lauren & Daddy

The girls patiently waiting for ice cream. :)

We made it to the top! We had such a great time with the girls and Chris and I are really looking forward to more trips with them. This was the first trip we have been able to take with no port-a-cribs, no bottles and no diapers! It was a success.

Preschool Programs

Katie, Lauren and Brooklyn all enjoyed preschool this year! Lauren & Brooklyn grew so much during the school year. Brooklyn LOVED the art projects while Lauren would rather not get messy. :) Lauren's favorite part of the day was music. Lauren loves to sing. They got really good at climbing on the playground, counting, coloring and playing with friends.

For their end of season program they sang "How much is that doggie in the window." It was so cute! It stressed them out a little though. :O Katie LOVED Miss Cynthia and especially loves her friends! She would go every day if I let her. Katie is very creative and made several art projects each day. She is starting to read and practices writing words daily. Katie is such a sweet girl and loves trying new things.

Kara's Graduation!

On May 1st, Kara graduated from SVU, Southern Virginia University!

Our family drove from Tennessee to Virginia on Friday night and got into Lexington where we were staying, at around 1:15 a.m. By the time we met Kara and let the girls cuddle with her for a few minutes, it was 2:00! Saturday Pres met us for breakfast and then we all went to the school for the graduation program. The weather was great and it was held outside, which is really nice for a family with 3 rowdy girls. Of course we sat towards the back, but Lauren and Brooklyn went to the potty 17 times, Chris was all over taking pictures and Katie made new friends to play with, so we never really sat in our seats. :)

Chantelle, Brooklyn, Chris, Lauren, Kara, Pres, Katie

Lauren & Pres

Katie & Pres

Brooklyn escaping again, yet looking very cute!

The graduate! Kara earned a degree in Business Management and Leadership. The next day she left for Spain and will be there this whole month. The girls ask for Aunt Kara every day and love to talk to her on the computer!

Kara and her roommate Ashley......soon to be Ashley HIATT! (My maiden name, for those of you who might not know) Ashley is marrying a distant cousin and Kara and Ashely will bee related....somehow. :)

SISTERS!

Another typical picture. One very happy and one very grumpy!

Lauren, Kara & Brooklyn

We are SOOOO proud of Kara and were very glad to share this special day with her. CONGRATULATIONS KARA!
Chris, Katie, Lauren, Kara, Brooklyn & Chantelle