Chattanooga, Again!

The girls and I had so much fun with our friends on our last trip to Chattanooga back in the spring. So, we decided to go again and squeeze in some waterfall and fountain swimming, too.

We checked into our hotel first. Of course, Sarah immediately finds this little black note pad holder with paper and pen and decides she must keep this with her for the rest of the day. So, during the Aquarium tour, she looks like she's taking notes or something.






After touring the River side of the Aquarium, we took a break to have icecream and then cool off in the water feature just outside. Then, we finished off the Ocean tour of the Aquarium and ended the day with some more splash fun in the waterfalls that run down those big stone steps (you may have seen this in the "Tour Chattanooga" commercials.)












The next morning was spent at the Creative Discovery Museum where the kids made Japanese kites, played with musical instruments, painted each other's faces, and all sorts of other activities.

Sydney was trying so hard to keep going eventhough she was worn out. Every so often, I would find her just laying down on a bench, chair, or even the floor. Anywhere would do for a quick rest. I would ask her, "Sydney, are you tired?" and she'd reply, "No, I'm just resting."

Needless to say, when we headed home after lunch, they both slept for the entire 2 hour ride. More pics at www.thepewitts.shutterfly.com

POOL DAYS ARE WINDING DOWN

Of course, the hot weather will be around a bit longer, but the pools will be closing their doors in just a few weeks. So, I took this opportunity today to get some final shots of the girls swimming. They've really come a long way this summer with regard to their comfort level in the water. They've always loved the water but now they explore a bit farther from the pool edge and test their boundaries. In May, Sydney was barely willing to put her head under water. Now, she's jumping off diving boards into the deep end of the pool and swimming or treading her way to the edge or something else to grab a hold of. As for Sarah, she floats and paddles here way all over the pool as long as she has that styrofoam noodle to hang on to.

I am definitely excited about Fall weather coming, but I'll really miss these summer days with Sydney and Sarah at these ages.

This picture was taken just before sunset on Little St. George Island off the coast of Florida. Originally in color, I converted it to b/w and played around with a few other filter effects in my new Photoshop program. It's been 3 years since I've used Photoshop and even then I was using the pro version. Now, I can only afford the cheap-o consumer version and I'm disappointed in its limitations. Better than nothing, though!