Rocket (our Jeep) has been in the shop for four weeks now. Rocket is on its last leg. We have been told by three mechanics that we need to replace the engine. Wes and I are thinking we need to get a new car entirely after all of the fixing we have done. In the meantime, we have been driving my Oma's car around town. In her older years, she has become a bit paranoid, so when it came time for our trip to Atlanta (I bought Wes Braves tickets as an anniversary gift) last Friday, my parents, Wes and I all decided it would be best if we took my mom's new car and left her here with the kids with Oma's car.

So mom came to our house to spend Friday and Saturday with the kids and Chesska. Wes and I got ready to go. We ended up leaving an hour late because we had to have an appliance repair person come to our house to check why our washing machine quit working last Tuesday. It turns out, we blew the transmission on our washer. It would cost more to replace it than to buy a new one. As those of you with kids know, you cannot NOT have a washing machine!

Off we went on our way to Atlanta...late from the start. Wes had wanted to spend the day in Atlanta before the game to have some quality time with me. We decided to not stay in Atlanta the night, but to drive halfway home and stay in Anderson, SC, so that we could spend Saturday at our hotel together, too. After all, we haven't had quality time one-on-one in five years! Around lunch time, we were coming up on the exit for Anderson, SC, so I pointed it out to Wes that that was where we were going to stay that night. Wes wanted to see it really quickly, so he decided to pull off there to get lunch. As we started down the exit, my mom's car's engine decided to quit. Not only did it quit, it would not start again. Would NOT. So, we were stuck in Anderson, SC, for three hours trying to get her car towed to a good repair place that worked on VW's. We also had to find a rental car company that wasn't rented out considering it was Labor Day weekend. Praise God He had us breakdown in the same unknown town that we were to be spending the night!

We did rent a Chevy Malibu, and finally got back on the road, after a million phone calls and waiting on tow trucks. We got to Atlanta and found out that the rumors about Atlanta traffic were entirely true. I have personally driven through Atlanta at least 50 times, and have never had a problem. Apparently, I was overdue. It took us an hour and 50 minutes to get four miles down the road. Wes was absolutely beside himself. We made it to Turner Field 30 minutes before gametime. We went in and got Abigail and Aiden each a Braves stuffed animal. We found our seats and watched the game. The game was actually worth all of the yuck we went through to get there. We had such a great time, even if the Braves did lose. We walked around during the 9th inning, and just enjoyed our time.

Leaving the stadium was as bad traffic-wise as getting in, so Wes went from joyful to over-stressed again, but was fine once we got out of Atlanta and found a place open for dinner at midnight. We got back to Anderson around 1:30/2am and drove around the town a bit to find out where things were for the next day. Once we got to the hotel room, I absolutely passed out. I have never been so tired in my life! And, believe it or not, I actually slept until 10am. I haven't slept that late in years!

After spending the night in the hotel, Wes and I had some quality alone time before checking out. We then went out to lunch at Olive Garden and ate like we hadn't seen food in years. (I seriously recommend their pumpkin cheesecake!) Once we were miserably full, we returned the rental car and tried calling to check on Mom's car, which is still being fixed in Greenville.

My in-laws drove down from Boone to pick us up. We spent much of the afternoon tagging along with them as they shopped their way back to Boone. Just as we hit the state line, Wes got a text message telling him that all SWAT members were to be at the office at 10pm...it was 7:30. Ten minutes later my sister-in-law called to let us know that Appalachian State University won the game that day. It was the first game of the season. Not only did our little home team whoop a #5 ranked Div 1A team, but it was MICHIGAN, Ohio States rival. (I was born on OSU's campus, so I am a big Buckeye fan.) Michigan actually paid AppState $400,000 to come up there so that they could cream them for their first game. Big schools do that to start their ego off right for the season. It backfired. We are thrilled here! App is growing by leaps and bounds after winning the past two years' Championship games, so after Sat., I'd be willing to bet that it will triple size next year and bump us up a division. ESPN called it the biggest upset in college football history! Go App! So Wes, along with the other SWAT team members, were out from 10pm until 5am dealing with all of the crazy football fans, the parties, and the utter wildness going on in our county.

Sunday came and we spent the afternoon buying and installing a new washing machine. Monday morning, the kids and I met my mom in town at the new park for a couple hours, then spent the afternoon doing a week's worth of laundry. Today, mommy is setting up the kids' pool and we are going to just have some lazy outside fun. I will download and post pictures as soon as I can. I hope you are all well and happy! Have a happy day!