Our Mini Family Vacation

We aren't able to go anywhere on the weekends very often because Paul works on Saturdays until 3:00pm. So when Paul took Saturday, May 5th off for the 5K, we decided it would be a great weekend to get away.

We decided to go to Helen, GA, which is about 1.5 hours away. Helen is a recreation of an alpine village. All of the stores, restaurants, and hotels are designed to fit in. It looks very cool.

Upon entering Helen, we drove straight to Anna Ruby Falls where we "hiked" about half a mile to see the waterfalls. It was a more intense walk than we anticipated since we (and by "we" I mean Paul) had to push the stroller uphill. At least it was a paved path. Olivia loved looking at the water and even enjoyed walking some herself. I pushed the stroller back down. While I admit that Paul had the harder job, please don't assume mine was easy. It was hard hanging onto the stroller, so it wouldn't roll away by itself. I was leaning backwards and walking on my tip-toes so I didn't end up running downhill with the stroller. Paul and I both got a calf workout. And Paul was extra sore since he ran a 5K that morning!

Olivia was thrilled to hear and see rolling water and she kept making this face

Olivia didn't like that we made her sit for a picture (Aren't the stone benches cool?)

All 4 of us made it to the top!

Coincidentally, Paul's mom and stepdad were in Helen that same weekend for their anniversary. They met us in the hotel lobby to say hello and helped us drag everything to our room. We instantly loved our room that overlooked the Chattahoochee River. We had a porch we could hang out on and watch people tube down the river.
We then parted with the promise of meeting up for dinner. We walked around the shops, which we were not impressed with. They were all very tiny and a little trashy. It was more fun walking around outside the shops rather than actually looking in them. Downtown definitely looks cooler on the outside than the inside. I did love the Hansel & Gretel candy store though. They had some very yummy fudge and truffles that we had to get!
After meeting up with Jayne and Otis again, we had a nice dinner outside, got some funnel cakes and ice cream for dessert, then walked the long, scenic way back to our hotel.

Olivia has grown up so quickly, don't ya think?

Olivia loves that Grandma lets her play with her phone

Like father, like daughter...both on iPhones

Picking a flower

"Must you always take pictures of me?"

Excitedly running down the hill (just before she fell and got very upset)

Olivia spotted a bunny, which cheered her up!

It hopped away from her and hid under the porch of a nearby shed

"Where's it at?"

We ended the evening with a dip in the pool. Well, Ethan, Jayne, and I hung out beside the pool while Paul and Olivia had a grand ol' time swimming. Olivia has no fear of the water. When she jumped into the pool from the edge, she tried jumping away from Paul because she wanted to be independent. Her lack of fear gives me lots of fear! We'll have to teach that girl how to swim sooner rather than later!She squealed with delight whenever Paul threw her up in the air. I tried to get a picture, but they were all blurry. This is the best one.

Poolside

We enjoyed a continental breakfast with Jayne and Otis on Sunday morning, snapped a few pictures with them, then Paul, Olivia, Ethan, and I went to church. We sneaked out after sacrament meeting because Olivia was super cranky and we were ready to get home.

We almost forgot about making sure Ethan was in the picture!

It was a quick weekend, but it was fun. We can't wait to go back so we can tube down the river and do other fun things there.