Siblings, Six Flags, and Sports! Oh My!

The challenging part about having a great weekend is writing about it the following Monday. In fact, I found the past weekend so packed with fun that I had to take Columbus Day off and write about it on Tuesday. The Remlers took a road trip to the metro Atlanta area for a fun weekend with siblings, then took a side trip to Hawkinsville before heading back to the coast. It was a fun-filled weekend of siblings, Six Flags, sports, and shotguns.

Siblings
Dawn and Jim Taylor graciously hosted the Lawsons, Neffs, and Remlers for a dinner and sleepover at their lovely home in Lawrenceville. We played corn hole and ate hamburgers while we enjoyed catching up. We couldn't believe how much Hannah has grown up! Such a lovely young lady. And Gretchen is just as precious as ever. She and Sydney stayed up until the wee hours, then got up for more fun at 6:30. Dawn and Jim were so generous to host the gathering on the eve of their 17th anniversary, and we hope they enjoyed their romantic dinner out on Saturday.

Six Flags
Suffice it to say that we all had a great time. The weather was perfect, and while the park included sufficient rides to keep us entertained, I was especially amused by the people. For instance:

We encountered this man while standing in line for the mini mine train. It's a kiddie ride. But he chose to go on it. If you can't make out the tattoo on his head, it's a fuel gauge. It's set at almost empty. At least he chose an appropriate graphic.

This woman paid good money to have her hair done this way. And then she walked around the park like that all afternoon. Nuff said.

Okay, let's just set aside the fact that the hat looks stupid. It was eighty degrees outside. Why did she need it?

But the most amusing person I saw at Six Flags was seated two seats behind me on the Dahlonega Mine Train. I couldn't tell if he was having a good time or scared to death.

Maybe a little bit of both.

Sports (Otherwise Known as Football)
After a full day in the park, Sabra and Martin invited us to their house for pizza and a comfy place to view the Georgia game. The Dawgs beat Tennessee. That's good. I did not write down the score. I think it was 20-12. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

My opinions about the game might seem a little strange. That's because I was watching the game with Sabra. Much of the time, I had my eye on the TV, and I kept up with the score, but I was also talking to her about kittens, Weight Watchers, and knitting. Watching football with Sabra; is pretty fun, though, because it makes me feel a little better about my football naivete. For instance, I'm starting to recognize the players. I know that the offensive #1 is Isaiah Crowell while the defensive #1 is Brandon Smith. I know that #7 is Orson Charles and #22 is Richard Samuel (who actually got some more field time this week. Yea!). I think that's pretty good. Sabra, on the other hand, has sports dyslexia. During the second quarter, Aaron Murray threw a pass to someone (I think it was Isaiah Crowell, but I'm not sure), and the pass was incomplete. The official ran out into the field and gave us this signal:

And of course, we were all disappointed at the result of Murray's attempt--everyone except Sabra, who said, "I don't understand why everyone's so mad. The referee said he was safe!"

So you see why the game was so much fun. Unfortunately, because of the lively conversation, I didn't pay much attention to the third quarter, and I should have because that's when the Dawgs earned six straight penalties for holding. And they were at what, first and 54? I think that was right. Anyway, it was a crazy quarter, but I was busy trying to explain to Sabra that she should be interested in Richard Samuel because he reads. So to comment on that third quarter, I'll just quote my father:  "For two years, we thought Georgia's problem was DUI's. Now we know it's holding."

That sums it up.

Do you know what else Georgia has a problem with? Helmets and chin straps. I know. I seem to have a complex about it. But every time I watch the Dawgs play, they've got something going on with the head gear. Last year it was all about the mouth guards. They couldn't seem to leave those things alone. They're in the mouth; they're out of the mouth. In, out, in, out, until I saw one player tuck his mouth guard behind his sweaty, grimy ear. Gross. This year, for the first several games, the Dawgs had trouble keeping their helmets on. And I was glad to see that for the Tennessee game, they'd finally found their chin straps. That is, until I saw a shot of Blair Walsh chewing on his like a piece of white beef jerky. Mark Richt, if you ever happen to read my blog, will you please tell your players that they are on national television, even when they're on the sidelines? There's enough happening on the field for sports writers to point fingers at. No need to give them more fuel for ridicule while standing on the sidelines. I can see the headlines now: "Hungry Dawgs Eat Uniforms." 

And that's all I've got to say about that.

Shotguns

The next morning, the Remlers loaded up for the ride south, with a midday stop in Hawkinsville for lunch with Hugh and BB at the Steak House. During our tasty lunch, Hugh said, "I know what we can do after lunch. Let's go move a piano!"

We all thought that sounded like big fun, so we went to his house to do just that.

 

Then we all went out to the farm to help Lawson set up his science fair experiment. His topic was the difference in the spray of shot when using different chokes on the gun. That's Greek to me, but it makes sense to Lawson. He conducted the experiment. Stephen set up the targets. I took the photos. Hugh pointed his finger for clarification.

That was an especially big help. Thanks, Hugh!

We arrived home Sunday night, tired but satisfied with a fun weekend. Thank goodness for the Columbus Day holiday. We needed a day to rest up from all the fun.