Tag Archives: christmas

What a Winter Break!

Posted by SniperBear on February 22, 2010 No comments

I have had the last week off of work and it’s been B.L.I.S.S. With a sick day AND a snow day prefacing it…it feels like Christmas Break all over again. There is SO much to blog about! SB took care of our Vday weekend with his previous post. It really was a magical weekend for us. It was our first Vday that counts, but I truly hope we continue to have weekends like that for a long, long time.

When we got home SB was off for President’s Day. We stayed pretty busy in Chattanooga so it was nice to have him home to rest up and unpack from the trip. We also realized though, that if we were going to try to go car shopping together, today was the day. So off we went to Gossett VW in Alpharetta. I had my sights set on a Jetta…but drove it and just felt….meh. Next was a Passat and as soon as we got 1/2 a mile down the road we look and each other and just knew. This was the car! I’ve had it for a week now and I love it! Old Greg is gone (for $500!) and the new car needs a name. One will find her soon.

The rest of the week stayed pretty busy! My break’s usually fly by, but honestly I usually spend them being lazy as ever. I got a LOT done! My new driver’s license is on the way with my maiden name and I found a new doctor in Dunwoody and the whole office is awesome. Wednesday we planned on going to Snow Mountain, but waited too late to realize they are only opened on the weekends. doh! SB had the day off anyway so we enjoyed some family time at home. We went to dinner with SB’s parents for his dad’s bday and had some delicious food at Red Lobster. Our week of getting shit done continued on until the weekend rolled around and BAM! We were hit with some beeaauuutiful weather! Blue skies, slight breeze, sun shining in the 60’s. Chase and I drove around to look at schools earlier in the week and came across an awesome park that is literally around the corner from our apartment.

Saturday morning we got up, I went for a run, then we picked up some lunch and headed to the park! You would have thought they were giving away gold! People were just as in love with the weather as we were and it was packed. As we sat in the sun, ate our lunch, and watched the families, dogs, and our Chase, play and swing….it was just a great way to end the week.

But wait!! We have one more in us!! We were going to Snow Mountain dangit!! After two failed attempts (saturday time slots were sold out), we finally got a time slot at 6pm Sunday night. It seemed late for a school night, but it turned out perfectly! There was a small crowd at first but by 7:00 we were going straight up to the slides and tubing away! I was so nervous for Chase b/c I’m telling you…those things went fast! He loved it though…and I learned again that I need to let go just a little bit and let him be a boy. We have some great pics from the week. Now…if the next 9 weeks would just fly by so we can have Spring Break!

Tags: chase, chattanooga, christmas

On top of Stone Mountain

Posted by SniperBear on December 31, 2009 No comments

Our family adventure begins

A few weeks ago Jess and I decided it would be nice to take Chase to Stone Mountain to see all the Christmas decorations, the laser show, the Atlanta skyline at sunset, and the building of the Snow Mountain area. Despite living in Georgia my entire life, I have never been on top of Stone Mountain. I know…it is a shock to me too! We packed up the camera, got bundled up, made a quick stop to get a snack, and we were on our way.

The park was NOT crowded at all. Then again it was a Monday afternoon and people still had to work I reckon. We walked around for a bit, checked out the Snow Mountain area, snapped a few photos, then decided to take the sky bucket thing to the top. I was pretty excited. I mean, it’s the top of Stone Mountain! I had heard how beautiful the city was from up there, but I never imagined it would’ve been as beautiful as it was on that day.

Got'cha!

Chase pretty much took off running as soon as we got up there. Jess and I just took our time and enjoyed the view. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. Yeah it was cold and the wind was kickin just a bit, but the sky was perfect and the view was amazing. There were a good deal of people up there, but not too many where we couldn’t just sit down in a nice cozy spot and enjoy it all. Chase had fun jumping over puddles, climbing on trees and rocks. However, he got a little ambitions and slid off the side of a big on. Luckily, Jess was there to catch him. Using her Super Mom abilities, she pulled him to safety! To celebrate, we decided it would be a grand idea to walk down instead of take the lift.

I had always wondered what it was like walking up/down the mountain. I mean…where did it go? How steep was it? Were there steps or was it just huge rocks you had to navigate around? Would there be bears or timberwolves? Perhaps there was a great chasm that one could fall victim to if you stepped in the wrong spot! Unfortunately there was no such thing, instead it was a gentle walk down a steep graded rocky mountain. Don’t get me wrong though, the walk down, far outweighed the ride up.

The sun never sets on happiness

Neither one of us were really prepared for the mountain excursion we had just embarked on, but we weren’t going to let some mountain get in the way of our fun. So we took off and every once and a while would stop, take it all in, enjoy the view, holler at Chase for going to fast, slip on a slippery rock, or race each other to the next tree before realizing we were running down a mountain…and there were slippery rocks all around. About half way down we paused at a clearing and watch the last few moments of the sun set. It was beautiful to see the sun just slowly move out of view before saying goodbye and dipping just below the horizon. It was definitely one of the best sunsets I’ve witnessed.

Once we got to the bottom we realized we were now standing in a random parking lot on the other side of the mountain. The train was no where in sight and there didn’t appear to be any easy way to get back to where we started. Never fear, Jess and I are not one to let a little diversion stop us from having a good time. So we pulled out our map and decided on the best course of action, which was simply to walk back around to the front of the park. Chase was tuckered out from all the scurrying around, but that was nothing a quick piggy back ride couldn’t alleviate. We finally made it back to the front and were all set to walk around the shops, get some hot chocolate, and fill our bellies with what ever wonders the great people of Stone Mountain Park could come up with. Unfortunately, the only thing they could come up with was an additional $26 PER PERSON to just walk into a shop. Wait…what?! Yeah. In order to walk around the “towne” we had to pay MORE money. If we wanted to go into a shop and buy a glass blown ornament of a fat Santa snoozing in a chair or a snow globe of Stone Mountain it would cost us about $80. Even if we DIDN’T buy anything, it would still cost us. We couldn’t even walk around the village and look at the lights!

So rather than hang around any more, we chose to pack up the kiddo and head on back home. After a stop by Garcia’s for some delicious Mexican food, we got home, got warmed up and settled in for a long winter nap. Well, more like a few hours, but still.

And there you have it. Our first trip to Stone Mountain. I have to say that it is an adventure that I’ll not soon (or hopefully ever) forget. There were so many “ahhhhh” moments that I can’t even begin to recount them all. Despite the fact that we had to walk around the mountain to get back where we started and the steep price to pay for some extra fun, we found our way. We got back to where we needed to be. We made our own adventure. We made the trip ours.

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Thanksgiving break-2009: Sniper Style Part 3 (The next day…)

Posted by SniperBear on December 15, 2009 No comments

Not just 1 or 2, but 3 dancing machines!

Our week of thanksgiving bliss was trucking right along. I had good food and traditions with the Turner’s and lots of rest and cooking in Dwood with the boys, so the only thing left was turkey time with the Birney’s (Sniperjess’ family). For those of you that know us…the Birney house is always an interesting experience. It’s untraditional, and slightly unorthodox…but it’s always a good time with genuine intentions from all. My growing time in Dwood lately lead to what I would call a “catch up” session when we got there. The adult beverages were poured and we chatted about the previous week and just life in general. SniperBen had leftovers, but I was somewhat tired of turkey so I passed (which I would later regret…aLOT). SniperBen got yet another look into the life I grew up in. Our holidays are about celebration and believe me…we celebrate. There was laughing and jump roping and Madonna tunes blaring and dancing. I won’t sugar coat it…things get a lil crazy. It’s a lot for a person to take in if they are not accustomed to the Birney house, but SniperBen held his own. (and later held my own….blegghh). I will admit I may have over done the turkey day festivities, but I was still very thankful to have my guy there to load us up and take us home at the end of the night. (Sorry you had to tomtom your way back to my apartment babe…I owe you one! ..or two.)

Aww, we found our perfect tree!

The next morning (after some much needed Tylenol on my part), we had plans to get our tree! Going to the tree farm and cutting down the perfect tree is tradition I have always had and I could not wait to share with the boys. Believe it or not, this was the first time SniperBen had experienced this tradition! That made it all the more exciting for me. Chase ran around pointing out his favorites, and we scoped the place for the best tree. Of course…we found it! Ben cut down his first tree like a pro and we headed home to watch some football and trim the tree…sounds simple, right?

Um… no. We got to my apartment and fought with the #$*& tree for about an hour (at least). We put it in the stand, everything looks great, let go and…wait for it…lean. Try again! Loosen this part…tighten this part..wait for it..it looks great!…wait…lean! GRRRR! This is a classic scenario where SniperBen’s patience is just what I need to keep me from throwing the damn spruce out the back door and getting another one.

Merry Christmas from the Snipers

A deep breathe, and big ol’ hug, and that smile of his and I was laughing about it with him. He suggested dinner and a new, snazzier tree stand. While we were at it…I decided to switch up my boring ol’ theme and have a multicolored party tree!! And that we did…in addition to jazzing up the outside of the apartment too! I love our Milner tree and I love the decorations. We finally rested that night in a warm, cozy apartment filled with the glow of our hard work from the day. It’s the first Christmas I’ve had in a few years now that hasn’t felt like a chore. It’s an absolutely awesome feeling and I can’t wait to make more Sniper adventures this holiday season! (and believe me…stay tuned b/c they are coming!!)

You know we can’t do anything with out taking a ton of photos. So here’s the rest of the photos that help tell the tale of our very first Thanksgiving week together.