On December 31st, Mark and I took advantage of the holiday and visited some Georgia attractions that are typically only open while we're at work/school. We started the day visiting the State Capitol. Since we were the only 2 people for the 11:00 tour, we had quite the VIP experience, and really had an interesting time. Our tour guide took us around for about 30 minutes, telling us the basics of the main rooms and statues, and then let us wander around for as long as we wanted. She told us to be sure to stop by the 
Governor's office, to sign in the visitor's book, and we ended up getting a tour of the office as a bonus. After leaving the Capitol, and being stuck in traffic for a solid hour (freakin' New Year's Parade!), we ate some lunch and then continued on with our touristy day. We went to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which was semi-cool. It was neat seeing how they transport the money from room to room (in little robots), but it was definitely a quick visit. Honestly, the most interesting thing was talking with the police officers who worked there, and learning about what is in the building, besides cash (like a shooting ranges, and a hospital). The also had some great stories, like the time a woman came in with a legitimate $10,000 bill, and tried to get change! One downer about the Fed, was the "No Photography" rule...you can't even take pictures of the outside, due to the security measures. So we don't have any pictures to remember it, but I did get a bag of shredded cash, so that'll have to do.
Under the Capitol Dome
Hanging out in Sonny's office
I do find it a bit odd that at 28 I still look forward to Spring Break...that's what being married to a student does to you, I guess. Last week was Tech's break, and I took Wednesday - Friday off to hang out with Mark. We went to the gun range (yes, I am an amazing shot), watched lots of movies of course, had our camping plans canceled due to rain, and traveled to Chattanooga with Amy and Todd. We had a great time visiting all of the touristy stuff I love (the Tennessee Aquarium and IMAX, the Incline Railway, Rock City, Ruby Falls) and really enjoyed the trip.
Mark's sister, Susan, and her family met up with us on their way from Nashville to Atlanta.
Of course I love the touch pools, but Caeli got a little freaked out when the sting ray tried to jump out at us.
I think he's waiving at us...
We walked through the art district and then across the bridge to see the carousel and lots of cute shops.
The steepest passenger Incline in the world
The entrance to Point Park (at the top of the Incline)
The famous See Rock City birdhouse
They called this Mushroom Rock, but I had another name for it...
It was a gorgeous, clear day, so I think I saw them all!
Fat Man's Squeeze...glad Mark made it through!
Inside the cave to Ruby Falls, with a giant stalagmite.
The falls were really cool! Glad we had all that rain, finally!
Ashleigh, Matt and Samantha
My parents came for a visit...about a month ago...and I've been meaning to post some pics of the fun times we had. We had a super busy weekend, starting on Friday afternoon. They got to town around 4, and we met at 
It was a pretty funny experience. It turned out to be the Kite Festival, which is apparently one of their largest holidays. We were approached by a few of the people, and they were very nice, explaining their worship and the building. We were able to go inside (where I think I was converted, since I gave an offering to one of their gods) which was insane...the marble was so intricate and just incredible. It's really hard to explain; just totally unlike anything I'd ever seen before. We didn't get to see the entire building because "the gods were sleeping" when we visited, so it looks like we'll be making a round 2 trip sometime in the future.
