A Peek at Life as a Natic

Last Saturday we made plans to leave the kiddos at home and head out for an adult dinner at Maggianos in Buckhead.  Alisha’s birthday and Ryan’s birthday are only a day apart and we always make an annual trip to Maggianos – and this year was no exception.

In the afternoon I had tried to get all of the guys together for a good game of football.  We had about 10 people that were in but most of them backed out due to a little rain.  Four of us showed up and we said “screw it, lets play”.  We played for a while just as a QB and one receiver taking turns trying to make it into the end zone.  It was fun on its own, kept us active, and made for a good time.  We were soaked, but it was still so worth it.  Afterwards, we headed over to Taco Mac for a quick beer and then headed home to get ready for dinner later in the evening.

We made plans to leave little Preston with Alisha’s mom and head out with friends.  Bobby and Courtney came over to our house and we headed out to Buckhead to meet up with Mike, Aubree, Ryan and Andrea.  We had an excellent dinner and had a great time.  It was very nice to see everyone again and as always the food was spot on.

Saturday morning was a big day as Hector and Reagan were heading back to the 3d/4d ultrasound studio to get their gender confirmation and I was excited to watch the UGA Auburn game with Lin.  It was bound to be an excellent day!

So in the morning we woke up, got ready, and headed out the door to meet Hector, Reagan, and Geni and the ultrasound studio on Marketplace blvd to do their gender confirmation.  This was the same place that helped us out when we were in need and I highly recommend them to EVERYONE trying to get a 3d /4d ultrasound done.  See the bottom of this post for a full shout out.  We went back and confirmed…. ITS A BOY!!!  Looks like Preston is going to have another partner in crime to hang out with just like I did with Hector when we were young.  It is going to be great for these two to grow up with another family member their age.  I know it was huge for me.  After the ultrasound we headed over to ihop for breakfast with Hector, Reagan, and Geni.  We had a delicious start to the day and then headed off to go shopping at the outlet malls while they headed up to North Point Mall to do some shopping of their own.

After brekfast we headed up to the Dawsonville Outlet Mall to check out Baby Gap and pick up a few things for Preston.  I have fallen in love with that store and before anyone gives any lectures, I’ll be sure to mention that we buy things when they are on sale and they are no cheaper than any other place we look for clothes and they are much cuter and nicer.  We use coupons and watch the sale racks and love every bit of it.  I can’t wait to dress Preston!!!  We then grabbed lunch and headed back towards the house to meet up with Kara and Lin before the UGA Auburn game.

As you know I am a UGA fan and Lin is an Auburn alumni and huge fan as well.  Well… today was the day.  UGA was playing Auburn in Athens and it was bound to be a great game.  Before it all got started Lin and I headed out to Home Depot to pick up some double sided sticky tape and then over to Taco Mac to grab a few beers and watch a little bit of the games on the tvs there.  We had a some good guy time and then headed back to the house to meet up with the ladies.  We caught some shit about disappearing for a while, but hey… we had some bonding time right?  When we got to the house Jason Lucas had come buy on his way home from work to drill a hole in a keg for me before having to head back up to his house to get things done preparing for his move back to MD… damn you Jason…. we will miss ya buddy!  Courtney was also there as she was in the area to work for the night and stopped by.  I did not get to see her much but it is always great to see her.

We had Bobby, Danny, Kelly, Kara, and Lin over to watch the game and had a blast doing so.  Auburn took an early lead and then after the half it was a battle to the end.  UGA pulled off a HUGE win over the Auburn Tigers making my weekend!!!  GOOO DAWGS!  It was a great day full of things to do and excitement.  Congratulations to Hector and Reagan!  We are so happy for you two!

I want to recognize A Window to the Womb on Marketplace Boulevard in Cumming GA for helping us out when we were in need and providing such a great service to people.  It was a beautiful studio with a huge screen and amazing technicians.  If you are in the market for this type of ultrasound, please support them!  Window to the Womb

On Thursday I had no plans to head to Taco Mac and we were having Courtney come over to have some dinner and chill at our house.  I had a rough day in the Kennesaw office and was exhausted and was eager to get back to the house to unwind.  As I got home, I called Alisha who reminded me that I needed to grab some food so that we could cook dinner.  Damn!  I had to pull back out of the driveway and head back to Publix to grab something for us all to eat.  On my way home, I am pulling into the neighborhood when I get a text message from Bobby who was stating that he was drinking Terrapin’s new beer which was just released for the first time.  I had not had it and was extremely jealous.  I sent him a damn you text, brought the groceries inside, and headed off to Taco Mac to taste this new deliciousness!  Damn was it good!  Everything they make is ridiculously good!  I love that brewery!

I grabbed two drinks and headed home to meet up with Alisha and Courtney.  As a matter of fact, I was there before she even was!  That was the plan of course .  We had a nice dinner and chilled and they showed me the awesome gift that Courtney had made for Alisha’s shower.  It looks great!  I was quite impressed!

Thanks Court!  We love it!

Closeup to see detail of each letter

Dont forget to check out our photo gallery for pictures of Alisha’s baby shower here

Last Saturday was the friends baby shower that Aubree and Andrea threw for her.  The ladies planned to come over for the shower while the guys headed out to tour the Atlanta Brewing Company. 

Andrea and Aubree came over to setup and get things ready for the shower and that was the perfect time for the guys to get the hell out of there.  Bobby, Hector, Mike, Spence, Brett, and I headed out to head to Atlanta Brewing Company which are the brewers of Red Brick beers, the beer for Mellow Mushroom, and the house beer for Jim and Nick’s BBQ.  This is the first time that ABC was open on a Saturday so the crowd was quite small compared to what I normally hear about the weekday tours.  The brewery was a lot cooler than I thought it would be.  It had a nice calm bar atmosphere up front with a TV (which had the college games on) and the bar with their beers on tap.  The brewery was connected to this bar area and was open to walk back into where there were plenty of other tables and stuff to sit at. 

The brewery tour there was probably the most informative of any of the breweries that I have been to although it was a little lengthy and drawn out.  They also seem to somewhat cater to home brewers a little as they had a $4K + homebrewing system setup in there on a stand and the employees certainly mentioned that they brew on it as well.  The beers were pretty good but seem to be the most mild of the other breweries in the state.  For some this may be more enjoyable but I do enjoy when breweries push the styles with their beers.  All in all they have great beers and a great atmosphere. 

On the way home from the brewery I was reminded how fragile my stomach is and reminded me that I need to be very worried about being there for the delivery.  Hector was pretty hammered and had to pee really badly so jokingly we told him to pee in a 24 oz cup that was empty and in the car from an earlier fast food stop…. well obviously he had to go!  He peed in this cup in the back seat of the van and was like oh shit… it is filling up.  we definitely didnt believe him but we were quickly corrected.  I pulled over to verify but he opened the lid and the sight of 23 ounces of pee and the smell of it hit me at ounce.  I threw the door opened, eyes watering and all, and gagged out the window nearly throwing up.  It had the best of me for sure.  I am just such a wuss

Alisha's Baby Shower Cake

Well… onto the ladies… yeah I have no clue what they did… so let the pictures tell the story LOL.  Click the link above above to check them out.  yeah…. so … now that i have gone through the pictures many had to be left out… most you could see almost straight up Alisha’s dress and others had the funniest of expressions on people’s faces so they had to be left off of the internet LOL. 

Spence and Envy

After the shower and the Atlanta Brewing Company everyone came back to the house to hang out for a little while.  We ordered pizza, had a few beers, and called it an early night.  Damn we are all getting old LOL!

Saturday was the day that I was looking forward to for months!  Motley Crue was in town doing Cruefest 2 with several other bands (including Godsmack Drowning Pool, and Theory of a Dead Man).  Before the concert Bobby, Dan, Courtney, Hector, Kevin, and I all went out to Sweetwater Brewery to have a few beers and to try out the beer that we picked blueberries for several weeks ago called Big ol Blue Balls.  It was a great time at Sweetwater as always – until Courtney broke her sandal walking out LOL!!! 

We took a side trip to Target to get a replacement pair for her and then went into Atlantic Station to eat a quick dinner and head to the concert.  While we were out Alisha hung out with Kara to pick out the dress that they are going to get for Denae’s wedding next year.  She tried to meet up with Ash as Kevin was out with me, but schedules did not happen to match up.  We’ll catch you next week girl!  Reagan was also free because Hector was with me so the two of them did some shopping and hung out for a while.  With Reagan being pregnant, they have been spending a lot of time together and talking a lot.  Its an exciting time for both of them and it gives them so much in common to talk about!

The concert was awesome – for me at least ha ha.  Not too many others knew much Motley Crue stuff but I loved it!  They played the entire Dr. Feelgood album cover to cover.  I bet they may have been kinda bored, but whatever – it was awesome!  Aside from the music, I have never seen so much trash in my entire life.  These people must live in the woods or something.  Within 10 minutes of us getting there, two fights broke out with multiple people fighting the security staff and all kinds of crap.  It was CRAZY!  90% of the concert goers must have just come from a Meth party or something.  These people were cracked the hell out, dressed like total trash, and just nappy!  While we were there we also ran into my old boss from Publix.  That was pretty crazy too.  Hadn’t seen her in like 7 years plus. 

We got home at about midnight and spent some time talking to Alisha before we headed off to bed.  Unfortunately Courtney woke up with flu-like symptoms and left before being able to go to Andrea’s baby shower.  Hopefully she does not have the flu, but it sure sounded like it.  Alisha headed out to Douglasville to celebrate Andrea’s baby shower today while I just killed some time at the house.  I started trying to paint the nursery but unfortunately I really need another set of hands to get any of it done.  Trying to just mark off where the chair rail was going to go was nearly impossible and I just got too pissed to continue.  Another day – ugh… I really want to get it done!

Don’t forget to check out our photo gallery for pictures of  Courtney and Auggie’s visit at pictures.neilnatic.com  or here.

Envy, Alisha, Auggie (hard to see) and Courtney

On Saturday morning we headed over to Edwin’s office to take some pictures for GSA’s website.  Susan and Hershey (with AnnaMarie of course!)were our photographers while Joe, Edwin, Philip, Geni, Alisha, Kim, and I joked around the whole time.  It was pretty fun.  After our photo shoot we went to a hole in the wall restaurant in Alpharetta that Geni and Edwin swore by… there was good reason to.  This place had excellent food and bagels.  MMMMM  I want some now!!!  While were there we ran into a old friend of ours Chris.  It was really great to briefly catch up with him there. 

After eating lunch we headed back to our house where shortly after Mike and Aubree came over.  Aubree was going with Alisha to meet up with the ladies for Krystle’s bachelorette party while me and Mike stayed back to work on his motorcycle and grab some beers at Taco Mac.  At about 6:00 or so Bobby came over to the house as well to hang and then come to Taco Mac with us.  Shortly after Courtney called to let us know that she was on her way to our house.  We had her drop her new puppy off at our house before going out.  We all went up to Taco Mac for a few hours and eventually the ladies and Spencer met us up there as well.  They stuck around for a little while longer before heading off to grab some dessert and head to the house. 

Envy and Auggie Playing

The guys stuck around for a few more drinks and then also headed to my house.  We just chilled and talked before heading to bed.  It was great to have Courtney around again and her dog was SOOO cute!  Be sure to look at the photo gallery for more pictures of Courtney and Auggie!  That dog is SOOOOOOO CUTE!

Don’t forget to check out our photo gallery for pictures of Oktoberfest and S’mores with the Raygor’s at pictures.neilnatic.com  or here.

 Saturday was Edwin’s annual corporate Oktoberfest!  We had been looking forward to this for quite some time now and is always a great way to start the great fall weather.  Courtney was in town for the weekend and we took her along with us so that we could spend time with her before she headed back to Mobile AL.

We had a great time eating, hangin out with friends and family, jumping in the bounce house, and of course watching the UGA vs TN game.

After the Oktoberfest, we headed to the house to pick up Envy and headed over to Alisha’s parents house to hang out and roast marshmellows and make s’mores in their backyard fire pit.  When we got there, we realized that Jason and his family and Stu and his family were there as well.  We all had a great time just relaxing, eating, and talking.

It was a busy day but we had a great time!

On Friday night we met up with Courtney and Joey for Jason’s birthday party at the pool.  We met a lot of new people and really had a fun time while we drank, talked, and cooked out. 

By the end of the night Jason and Courtney were nothing short of trashed.  Especially Jason!  ha 

It was really great to see Courtney and Joey again.  We dont get to see them often as they now live in Mobile AL.  That is where Joey is now stationed with the Coast Guard.

Hope to see you guys again soon!  :cheers:

Tonight me, Alisha, and Courtney took a trip up to Netherworld Haunted House for some frightening fun.  As we got to the haunted house, we were greated by everything from demons to people with masks.  Some were peaceful and just stared at you while others would get a running start and slide on their knees as they passed by creating sparks with their gloves and boots. 

As we got into the haunted house, we were scared every 30 seconds… well … let me rephrase that.  ALISHA was scared every 30 seconds and screamed so much her throat hurt. 

 All-in-all it was a great night!  That place gets better and better each year!!

Be sure to check out pictures at pictures.neilnatic.com or here.

On Sunday we took our annual trip with Andrea and Ryan to Burt’s Farm in Dawsonville GA.  This time we decided to add some company as others either wanted to come of were going to be up there anyway.  In total we had me, Alisha, Courtney, Ryan, Anthony, Matt, Jessie, Tiffany, Danielle, Paul, Anne, and Paul. 

When we got to Burt’s Farm we all had lunch outside on a picnic table by a little creek that ran through their property.  After eating, we went inside to grab a wheelbarrow and started to pick out pumpkins from the thousands they must have there.  Alisha went crazy with Andrea’s camera grabbing shots of Anthony and the many pumpkins (we need those so we can put them on our site too Andrea ) he tried to lift up on his own.  He shortly resorted to rolling pumpkins over as he was successful with that.

Ryan, Andrea, Anthony, Matt and Jessie left a little early as Anthony was in a blah mood so me, Alisha, and Courtney decided to meet up with them later for dinner at Ryan and Andrea’s house.  We stayed at bert’s for a while longer and went on a hayride with Anne, Paul, and Tiffany.  This took you to other areas of the farm where you can see pumpkins growing as well as characters setup singing and talking to the riders.  While we were at Burt’s Farm we had to enjoy the treats that they had on site.  Alisha and Courtney got some of the Apple Cider and brought me back a red Slush Puppy… i was in HEAVEN.  In addition to the refreshments, Alisha bought one of their amazing pumpkin breads.  These things are to die for… and they are priced accordingly

On the way there we got lost (of course) and ended up stopping at a gorgeous lookout.  You could see out for like 40 miles or so (see our pictures site for pics).  On the ground at the lookout was this:

Apparently Ron is giving it to Donna well and they wanted to share with the rest of us.  Thanks Ron!  We added to your writings with shadows to back up your claims.  Thanks to Alisha and Courtney for the wonderful shadow castings to ensure that people got the message properly.