A Day at Stone Mountain

Last Saturday we went to Stone Mountain. We really weren’t sure how the day would play out with a 4 year old, a 2 year old and an infant (all without naps) but we went with the mindset of “let’s go and if the kids start melting down we’ll leave before the laser show.” Starting out with this in mind helped us relax knowing that our day was flexible (even though, the planner I am, I really wanted to do w, x, y, AND z).

As soon as we got there we headed for the sky lift - buckets that carry about 20 people at a time on a tiny string of a cable way up to the top of the mountain. It’s exciting to watch the people and trees shrink away and the birds fly by you as you rise higher and higher! Of course there were a few other passengers who were a little less enthusiastic as they stood glued to their spot, eyes clamped shut, knuckles turning white as they held onto their seat, praying for the ride to be over soon. The kids thankfully were not scared at all but had their noses glued to the window with huge smiles on their faces all the way to the top and back down again. Once up top, the kids had a blast running and jumping around on top of mountain (making Mommy and Daddy very nervous). The kids excitedly pointed out a crow that was flying around high in the sky below where we were standing. Rachel, bless her heart, was just hanging out, along for the ride in the Snugli attached to my front. Poor thing! She was way too hot in that Snugli but she never once complained. After we enjoyed our ride back off the mountain we met up with John’s mom, my sister, brother-in-law and their boys and Wayne’s brother’s family. We had all agreed to wear red so that not only were the kids easy to spot in a crowd but we too would be easy to spot should the kids get separated from us (I was terrified of losing the kids in the big crowds at the laser show.) After we all met up, we rode the train around the mountain. I think the kids really had fun on the train. And finally we claimed our spot on the grass, laid out our blankets, set up our lawn chairs (and Rachel’s pack n play), and waited for the laser show to begin. The kids played and ran and colored and blew bubbles. Ah, the innocence of childhood! Meanwhile, we parents were keeping a hawk’s eye glued on them to make sure they didn’t slip away or get too wild and bother any of the other hundreds of people around us. We bought a mosquito net to drape over Rachel’s pack n play so that she could have the freedom to play (without eating grass) and/or sleep without worrying too much about bugs. The laser show was awesome! I hadn’t been in years. The music and fireworks were wonderful and the kids were glued to their seats (Thank God!). We all had a GREAT time! And all week long, the kids have been asking (over and over) “when can we go back?”