Ryan's Atlanta conference goes from good to bad

I (Ryan) had a conference in Atlanta a few weeks ago that I was totally looking forward to for months. I was looking forward to great food, fun places to visit, catching up with friends, and enjoying that nice southern weather. I landed at the airport and was given this sweet rental car:

I was able to meet up with the Thompsons and the Johnsons and play some board games which was great. Then as I got ready to leave for my hotel the snow started. I drove through the snow just as it was hitting and arrived safely at the hotel where my conference was held.

Atlanta has like one snow plow and a few inches of snow and freezing weather turned the city into a hockey rink for the next three days. Gas stations were closed. Grocery stores were close. Even Mcdonalds were closed. I wouldn't be writing this right now if it weren't for the determined management and workers at the Waffle House next to my hotel that provided sustenance. For you readers that haven't been to the South, Waffle House is a hybrid of a Dennys and tiled truck stop bathroom.


My Father in Law Stan stopped by for a night and it was fun to visit with him. WE made it out to a cheesecake Factory about a mile away that was still open for some reason.

The next day, just as the sun started to melt the ice I decided to go try some Georgia BBQ and use some per diem at Jim and Nick's. It was so tasty and I loved it but four hours later I was wishing I had eaten at the Waffle House again, because the next two days were spent trying to get over mild food poisoning.

The next day I tried to go to the Coke Factory but the roads were still closed in parts and the traffic was bad so after driving for an hour I turned around as the attraction had closed. By this time I was missing Cheyney and Sam, tired and cold, and sick. I made it through the conference sessions in the day time. I love you Atlanta but it was a rough week.

On the way home I did have a great 4 hour layover in SLC where I got to see my Parents and Wendy and Justin's family.

Weekend Trip to ATL, GA

We have been so lucky to have family close to us, ok seven hours away and of course Cheyns parents 10 hours away. It makes for lots of trips and lots of visitors. Sadly for us, my sister and her family are going to be moving to the intermountain west. So that short trip is about to get longer.

We made a quick trip down to Atlanta to visit them over the weekend. We also got to see our friends Julie and Ruby. We played Beatles rock band, card games, guitar and ukulele. We also got to watch Elizabeth play basketball and we got to eat out. We love each of our nephews and nieces and they are just great kids, wonderful in their own way. Justin and Wendy are super cool too. I think Wendy is fulfilling that part of her that really wishes I was a girl and that she had a sister. When I went to sleep Saturday night, Wendy and Cheyney were still chatting away.

Here is to family. We love you Justin and Wendy and we love all of the rest of you no matter what state or country you are in. We also love our friends who visit this blog. We do not love the Anonymous people who post comments and links about enlargement or antiviruses. You people I don't really care for.

Painting with the Nephew and Nieces

We were down in Atlanta area over the weekend to see friends and family and for Cheyn to do another triathlon. We'll save the recap on the triathlon for another post, and continue with another post on our new pot painting hobby.

We got Friday off from work so we drove to to Atlanta on Thursday night. The next day Wendy was nice enough to let us take her kids out of school and go to the pottery painting store. We spent three hours there, so naturally the kids created masterpieces under our beneficent tutelage. Here are a few pics of the painters and Alexander's finished product.



Were excited to see how they will look after they get fired up.

Thanksgiving at the Hills

We spent Thanksgiving with the Hills and Thompsons down in Newnan, Ga near Atlanta. It's great to be around family during the holidays. The Webb's and Harpers are on our good list for Christmas, so we'll get to spend more time in Georgia with friends and family in late December. All these Georgians are pulling us towards Georgia and making it seem like the place to be, though were happy in NC (for now). We went Ice skating in downtown Atlanta. The night before we made ginger bread mobile homes, on display here.





I was not as diligent as a I should have been photographing the Thanksgiving dinner and everybody. Here is a sweet compilation video the Hills made that video and pictures from the thanksgiving festivities near the end.