I have been MIA for a while. It is such a busy time of year. Between work, the end of the kid's semester, wrapping and decorating and everything else - the time has just sped by. It's Christmas Eve already and I still can't believe it. It doesn't feel like it should be here this quickly. But ready or not, Santa is coming tonight.
We spent this past weekend away in Helen, GA which was so nice. Helen is this little German-inspired village in the mountains of Georgia.
I became a little obsessed with Germany after we ate at a German restaurant at Disney so I was soooo excited to go. It's like the poor man's Germany. Originally, we just planned on just taking the kids but it turned into a family vacation with my siblings and mother renting a cabin. We got there after dark on Friday. We turned off the main road to this tiny dirt road in the middle of the woods. It was straight up and it looked like we were going into a tunnel. My 7 year old was freaked out and crying. "This is a scary place. I don't want to die." Which made me laugh. Bad Mom Award. We drove to the very top of the hill. I was surprised any car could make it up, it was so steep. But we made it! We had dinner and relaxed and settled into bed.
Unfortunately, the weather called for rain ALL weekend. I was a little disappointed but we never let the rain spoil our fun. The next morning we went to the hardware store and got ponchos and braved the rain. We decided that we wanted to take a carriage ride. My mom arranged for the ride while we got hot chocolate for the kiddos. This carriage ride was a comedy of errors. It was a 9 seater carriage but the driver said he could fit all of us on. Eight adults (5 of whom are 6 + feet tall) and 4 kids aged 9,7, 4,1 and a baby. We looked like we were in a clown car. Legs were hanging over each other, kids were on laps.... We looked so silly. It was a riot. Then the horse's harness broke half way through the ride and the driver turned around and asked, "Are there any handy men in there?" haha. What the hell? So my brother gets out and tries to fix the harness, then my mom gets out and tries to fix the harness. Finally, we just decided to just get out and explore from there. It was an adventure.
We went to this supermarket that was cool and old fashioned and had all kinds of imported German stuff. We went to Charlemagne's Kingdom which was this huge model railroad thing.
It was really cool, but very weird. The guy that put it together was this 80 year old man from Germany, with sparkling blue eyes and a very good sense of humor. It really was amazing detail. There were hot air balloons that moved. Whole towns, with people, farms and amusement parks. There was a bungee jumper on the bridge. There was a lot of tragedy too - car accidents, a hot air balloon crashed into the side of the mountain, a house on fire. There was random stuff hanging on the wall. A lot of flags but then a puzzle of the Statue of Liberty thumb tacked to the wall. It was weird.
We had lunch at a German restaurant. Brats and saurkraut, yum! It was so kitschy and touristy - I loved it! We went back to the cabin and the kids insisted that I join them in the hot tub. It wasn't warming up very well, so it was only 90 degrees. It was like bathwater. But it was huge so the kids swam in it. It was on the second floor balcony, over looking the mountains, so the view made up for the fact that the hot tub was like bath water.
The next day poured even harder than the first, so we went to the Bear Park and fed apples to bears which was very weird and fascinating. The bear stood on his hind legs and I-sh*t-you-not - waved to us. The kids were amused. Then we walked next door to the Hansel and Gretel candy shop. Everything looked so good. The kids kept asking - mom, can I get this? Do you know what I said? I said, "Yes, get anything you want. Get it all." I was thinking I was in the Willy Wonka movie. We got truffles and peanut butter cups and gummies and peanut brittle and jelly beans and chocolate covered pretzels.... I spent $50 at the candy store. It was out of control. That night we ate at this German restaurant that was sooo yummy. Our table overlooked the Chattahoochee and was so pretty. My 7 year old was adventurous and had schnitzel. We had a feast of German food. Brats, knockwurst, schnitzel, sauerkraut, cabbage, noodles.... For dessert we had apple strudel that was flown in from Munich. Literally, to die for. We left happy and full.
Of course, the day we had to leave - the sun finally came out. After we left the cabin we took the girls to Anna Ruby Falls. I had never seen a real waterfall before, so I was very excited. My brother and sister and her family came along. We drove up this mountain and then needed to hike half a mile to the falls. As soon as we got out of the car we could hear the whoosh of water running over the rock. We paid for tickets and made the hike. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Even the kids were in awe. They were like, "Mom, look at this - take a picture." The weather was perfect. It wasn't warm and it wasn't cold. They are a slight chill in the air that was perfect. It literally was the perfect day. The trail was next to the water and the forest towered above us. The trail was steep but the kids didn't complain once. We finally made it to the top and it was so much more magnificent then I imagined it to be. The kids stood at the edge of the platform and the mist from the falls splashed their faces. It was absolutely incredible. I am so glad that we decided to make the stop before we headed home. I will remember it always.
Then we made our way back home. Not before stopping at the German-inspired Wendy's for lunch. It was a 4.5 hour ride and we had planned to have dinner and go to the Christmas light show when we got home. It was 6 by the time we arrived. I was so tired so I didn't cook dinner. Instead, I let the kids eat bowls of Fruity Pebbles for dinner. Bad Mom Award. It was pouring rain when we got home and my husband was feeling kind of iffy about the light show. I was insistent, "We can't let rain ruin our time, it's a TRADITION!" I checked the weather on James Island and it looked like the rain we were having wouldn't make it to that area for an hour and a half. We told the kids to get in their jammies because we had to go NOW to beat the traffic. It's a popular event and we always wait at least an hour in line to get it.
We sang Christmas carols all the way there and were shocked to discover that the rain kept everyone away. We literally drove right in - which NEVER, in the 7 years we have done the lights, has happened. It wasn't even raining. The lights were magnificent.
The light display is amazing. Is always ranked in the top 10 in the US and never, ever disappoints. They had a few new ones this year, which was cool. As a bonus, there were such few people there that we went through twice.
We came home and lit a fire and watched a movie together. My husband and I feel asleep in the middle of the movie. Somehow, I wound up asleep in the middle of the living room floor. haha. When it was over I tried to wake my husband, but he was out for the count. So I left him on the couch. I told the girls they could climb into bed with me, which was a special treat. They were excited. I don't think I have many years left of that.
They each put a head on one of my shoulders. My 7 year old said, "Tomorrow is almost Christmas. Santa will come." My 9 year old said, "Yeah, and we can celebrate Jesus' birthday." Her sister replied, "That's my favorite. Night, mama." We fell asleep like that. A deep, wonderful sleep. It was just an amazing few days.
Well, the kids are up now. Breakfast must be served, the house cleaned, Santa tracked and cookies to bake. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
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