Graduations, Birthday Weekend, & Trip Prep

The last two months have been both busy and routine.  I’ve gotten back into the swing of work a bit more and it has meant some extra time a the office.  We’ve been pretty active on weekends though.  Here is a summary of what we’ve been up to.
At Amanda’s friend’s birthday we played some giant Jenga.
Avery had her first birthday party.  We got her the book Rainbow Fish, but don’t worry, I wrote a note in the cover explaining how it is a bunch of communist propaganda.  

We had a great time at an Art Festival called Artisphere in downtown Greenville.  This Ray Charles painting was painted upside down in about 5 minutes and was a lot of fun to watch.

Steven graduated from Law School, and got a job at a small firm that does police advocacy work.  We are incredibly proud of him.
Amanda’s brother Matthew graduated from culinary school.  He’ll be headed to Charleston soon.  Maybe that will give Amanda and I a good excuse to head back that way, we’re so excited for him and can’t wait to taste some of his food… plus, last time we were in Charleston the best thing happened… Clemson beat LSU in the Peach Bowl!!!  Just kidding, the best thing that happened that night was that we got engaged.  
My birthday weekend Amanda and I headed to Atlanta and had this awesome view from our hotel.
We enjoyed the Brew at the Zoo in Atlanta.

Amanda took a moment to capture the view from Olympic Park.  Our hotel is the one on the left.
… and while she was doing that, I enjoyed a much more beautiful sight.
While in Atlanta we took in a game at Turner Field.  The defensive battle yielded a 2-1 Braves victory.

Amanda saw this photo op and lit up like a Christmas tree.  31 years old.  Maybe we’ll make a tradition of taking a picture of Amanda next to John Smoltz’s plaque.
We had this idea while having lunch at the rotating Sundial Restaurant on top of our hotel.

And were so happy with the results we did it again at dinner.
Amanda and I rented bikes and spent an afternoon riding on the Swamp Rabbit trail with Christopher and Megan.
One weekend we stopped by one of Greenville’s premier craft brewerys for samplings and a tour.
My parents are downsizing from the house we all grew up in;  we were having a garage sale in advance of putting it on the market.  All the kids came home to help, but Steven and I mostly goofed off and entertained ourselves.  I highly suggest zooming in on this photo.
We got our first chance to sit in the Fluor luxury box at the Greenville Drive last weekend.  
We leave for Italy & Greece in 4 days.  We’ll be sure to take lots of pictures and will share them with you, if we decide to come back.