Birthday Week

Ben and my birthdays are just 5 days apart, so we choose to celebrate the birthday week. For his birthday, we were in Louisiana. His Aunt made him jambalaya and cousin made a delicious chocolate cake. We also had gumbo and shrimp poboys during the week, so he was a well fed, happy man. For my birthday, we decided to have a relaxing family day back in Athens. We started by going to the local farmers market and buying this week's veggies. They are really beautiful and yummy. Esther loved the corn.
We dropped off the veggies at home then walked to our local park. We took Esther to the pool for the first time since her swimming lessons last year. She loved it! She wanted to swim like the big kids and kept pushing us away. We let her play in the baby pool so she felt like she had some independence.
Then, we went to our small zoo, Bear Hollow, which is a frequent stop on our walks. Esther will give tours, pointing to where the bears and otters live, then telling the noises that each animal makes :)
The rest of the day was spent lazily around the house. It was perfect after our long trip to just relax and settle back in.
On Sunday, we went to the Georgia Nature Center for the Solar Festival. All the music was powered by the sun. They have two huge solar panels and a wind turbine. The owner also built his home on the property using green methods. I did a project on their Education programs and field trips for a class last year. It is a really neat place. We also got a big plate of jerk chicken and spicy cabbage. It was SO good!
A big storm came towards the end the festival. Esther loved dancing in the rain, splashing in the puddles, and getting muddy.
On the way home, we were gifted with the most beautiful double-rainbow I have ever seen. We stopped on the side of the road to get a picture, but I think this one taken from the car is cooler. The picture still does not do it justice. The colors were so vibrant. What a great ending to our birthday week!