Georgia!

This morning we woke up in North Carolina and then spent about seven hours bopping back and forth between North and South Carolina because we were at Carowinds, an amusement park that is located on the line dividing those two states. It was a HOT day. The high was in the mid 90's, but the "real feel" was well above 100 degrees. Unfortunately, the water portion of the park doesn't open for another 8 days so we didn't have any opportunities to get wet. Thankfully, I had purchased a drink cup ahead of time for $16 which enabled us to have free refills all day long (as frequently as every fifteen minutes). We mostly asked for Powerade. Once we got lemonade, one time Hi-C, one time Root beer, and Paul got some other soda a couple of times. They also give our free cups of water. We didn't purchase any food in the park. I brought in a couple of granola bars and a few packages of fruit snacks for our lunch for the day. We were very ready for dinner at Denny's after we left the park because the grab and go breakfast this morning was very minimal.

Thankfully, the park was not crowded. In the beginning of the day the kids were able to walk right on to the major roller coasters. They did have to wait some later in the day to repeat some of the roller coasters, but in general the lines

were nonexistent or very reasonable in length. The majority of the guests were school groups. In addition to the water section not being open, there were some other major rides that didn't operate today, but the kids still rode quite a few rides. Ian now enjoys riding just about every ride in an amusement park, which is a big improvement for him. I am very proud of him! Nadia has always been eager to ride any ride a park has deemed her tall enough to ride. Oliver has a lot of room for growth in being willing to at least try something once before deciding if he does or doesn't like a particular ride. Near the end of our time at the park he finally rode one of the big rollercoasters. It didn't go upside down, but it went pretty high!

After we ate dinner, we drove three hours to Savannah, Georgia. This is Oliver's first time ever being in this state. Ian and Nadia drove through the state with Grandma and Pop Pop on their way to and from Florida, but tomorrow will be their first time doing something in the state. When we get home, I'll be able to add another picture to our map that is on our family room wall. Georgia is the 37th state the kids have been in - only 13 to go! Thankfully the kids and Paul were able to swim in the outdoor pool at this hotel, and

I think the breakfast will be much better tomorrow morning compared to what was in the brown bags this morning. It's supposed to be really hot again tomorrow, but since we're planning to spend the majority of the day at the beach, we shouldn't mind the heat as much tomorrow because we can get wet!

I checked in with our neighbors, and she said Milo is doing great! He's sleeping with Karyss, and Maddox has been feeding him and taking him out to go to the bathroom. We miss him, and we're relieved that he's doing well so far. That is an answer to prayer!