The Bensons and Boo at the Zoo.

We are so blessed to have great friends! Last week we made the trek to the Atlanta area to see our friends the Bensons once again. Richie had training in Mississippi (yeah, not sure why exactly they're still training him...) and since I am a baby and I'm scared to stay alone he dropped us off at the half-way point which just happened to be where our great friends live! Dawnelle was a wonderful hostess as always, and Carter kept Isaac quite entertained for me. Little Ellie is so much bigger since we last saw her which was less than 2 months ago, and for the first time, I actually saw Abby pay attention to a baby and not give me death looks while I got the chance to hold the sweet little girl.

On Friday we went to the Atlanta Zoo for what they call they're "Boo at the Zoo." It took us a couple of hours to get there thanks to rush hour traffic, but honestly, I didn't mind too much because I actually miss being in a big city :) The kids had a lot of fun getting dressed up. I kind of feel like I'm cheating by posting these pics of their costumes early but let's be honest, my picture taking skills aren't very good, so I put these up in hopes of getting some better shots next Friday when we take them trick-or-treating. I will also have to say that my camera was not cooperating so I'm not the only one to blame, plus the kids were so busy pumping themselves full of sugar that they could care less about posing for some pictures. But look at the little ladybug...isn't she the cutest??

Our sources for costume shopping are limited to Walmart here so we didn't have a wide variety of choices. Abby was Tinkerbell, the cutest costume at the store, and Isaac was Jeff Gordon, the NASCAR guy. Yeah I know, we've only been in the south for a few months and already...well, you know...Isaac doesn't really know who he is but through a mix up we had a NASCAR online gift card so this is what we got, plus he loves ANYTHING having to do with race cars. Next year I will definitely be a better mom and spend more time finding the perfect costume for my kids! Well at least that's the plan...Thank you Bensons for making our week a whole lot brighter! And of course, we miss you already :)

Our first night there we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express because we had a free night with them. The Bensons came over for HIE's famous breakfast, here are the kids relaxing in the lobby after eating.
Isaac and Carter doing dishes and getting water everywhere, Dawnelle is such a good sport!
Abby's reaction when I told her to smile for the camera

Isaac and Carter

A rare picture of mom and Abby, yes, she still sucks her thumb when she's tired.I love this pic...she totally has him wrapped around her finger!
For a $16 costume, she sure was one super cute Tinkerbell :) TheLadybug and Tinkerbell, future BFF's.

Isaac and Carter with Curious George, Carter's favorite.