Our first "real" family vacation

Okay, so we went on our first "real" family vacation this past weekend. Yes, we have traveled places since the birth of Preslei but not just the three of us. It was only an overnight trip but we had the best time. My 26th birthday was this past Sunday (May 17th) and I decided instead of Keith buying some gift that I will never use and will just collect dust, I wanted to make it memorable. I decided I wanted to go to Atlanta to the Georgia Aquarium for my birthday. Ever since the aquarium opened, I had been dying to go. About a month or so ago, I bought Preslei a little fish tank for her bedroom. The kid LOVES fish! Every morning she wakes up and points to her fish and says, "Dat!!!" or says something that sounds like fish. If we have friends or family that come over to visit, I will tell her to go show them her fish and she will run to her room and point and say "dat!". So cute. So we "upgraded" and bought a 10 gallon tank for our living room with bigger and prettier fish. The kid is IN LOVE! So I thought, what better time to go to the Georgia Aquarium.

We wake up, well excuse me, I wake up at 5:30 Saturday morning and pack our bags and we are on the road at 7:30. Atlanta is about a 3 1/2 hour drive which isn't bad at all. I have to tell you, I love taking road trips but Atlanta traffic scares the bejesus out of me! I think I should have gotten a prescription for Xanax before leaving or something!!! Preslei slept a good portion of the trip and woke up when we were about an hour from Atlanta.

Give a kid a sucker and they will love you for life!!!

So we get to Atlanta and find the Aquarium and park and get in line. Let me tell you, I am SO glad I decided to purchase the tickets in advance. The line was incredibly long!!!! We zipped on through and made our way in. The first hallway had huge floor to ceiling aquariums on both sides and of course, Preslei was AMAZED and was like, "Ooohhhh dat!!!" This place is unbelievable. The had different exhibits like the Cold Water Quest, Tropical Diver, Ocean Explorer, River Rapids (or something like that). I personally could have cared less about the river thing because we see those type of fish and animals regularly since we live near rivers and lakes.

We stayed at the aquarium for about 4 hours and Preslei was in dire need of a nap so we walked across the street and booked a room at the Hilton Garden Inn. I have to say, for being a downtown Atlanta hotel and directly across the street from the aquarium and the Centenniel Olympic Park, it was only $99 a night! Wow! To my surprise, Preslei was WIRED when we got to the hotel. She was jumping on the bed acting like the silly girl she is! She was so wired that she fell of the bed!!! I know, I feel like a bad Mommy!!! It didn't phase her one bit! We had decided that we would all take a nap and head out for dinner on the same block when we woke up. We ate at the cutest little 50's diner called Johnny Rockets. Preslei had her first milkshake and you couldn't pry her hands off the cup!

This is my all-time favorite picture of Preslei!!! Milk mustache and all!

Isn't she just a little ham?! Melts my heart and makes me laugh all at once!

Preslei LOVED our hotel room. There were mirrored sliding closet doors that she would run in and out of playing Hide and Go Seek. I got her on camera a little!

So we decided that Sunday we would take her to the Olympic Park and play that morning and head over the Atlanta Zoo. Well the rain washed away those plans and decided to head home instead. We stopped at the Tanget Outlets and picked up some new clothes for Miss Priss. FYI- The Children's Place had some FANTASTIC deals! I bought a new skirt, some khaki pants, a cardigan set and a dress for Preslei for $4 each! Wow. I couldn't help but think about a blogger friend when I saw this place had a Gymboree Outlet! Miss Bella should seriously become a Gymboree model! :^) She is always decked out in the cutest outfits from that store and always a bow to match!

We finally got home around 7:30 Sunday evening after a day of shopping and driving.

This was the best birthday EVER! Being able to spend a wonderful weekend away from home with the two most important people in my life.