We met some of Ron's friends for a walk at Arabia Mountain this morning. It was so cool...temperature cool. Luckily I bundled Ella up but Ron and I only had short sleeves and burrrr it was chilly! I love the cool weather, I just wish we had bundled up a bit more.
This afternoon, I slept the entire afternoon away. It was so nice to be lazy! Grandma took Ella for lunch with her girlfriends and Ron went over to the house to get a garage door opener installed (they ran out of time on our neighbors house so we have to reschedule). 
After getting my hair cut this morning, Ron, Ella and I headed out to the High Museum of Art in Midtown Atlanta. It was nice to wonder around some beautiful pieces of art and feel civilized. 
Though I think if it looks like something I could do, it shouldn't be called art. I mean, splashing some paint on a canvas or dipping a bicycle in paint, in my opinion, isn't art. Although I know plenty of people who would disagree with me. I'm not good at critiquing art, I either love it or hate it, no real rhyme or reason for it. 
I do really like female subjects in art, there is just something very beautiful and soft about women. I love this bright painting, and loved the sculptures. 
It was sooooo good! This week has been busy, busy. Tomorrow I'm sleeping in!
Ron and I, in our week of Atlanta sightseeing, went to the CNN center and did a tour of the studios. We saw a live broadcast and got a look behind the scenes. As we were watching the different video feeds, we realized one of them was down the street from the house (my in-laws house). A bank was robbed next to the grocery store we go to and the robber who fled on foot, left a bag that had to be detonated. Crazy! I guess they've been trying to catch this guy for a while, apparently he's been robbing banks all over. 
After the tour we met Ella, Grandma and Great-Grandma for lunch and then we all went off to visit Portia, a close family friend. It was a nice afternoon. Now if this weather would just cool down and be fall like everywhere else in the country!!!
This morning Ella had an appointment at the Children's Hospital for an ultrasound and an xray to check that her kidneys and bladder are functioning properly. As seems to be the trend in our lives right now, the news wasn't good. 
They filled up Ella's bladder (using a catheter) with some contrasting liquid and learned that Ella's bladder is refluxing into her kidneys. I'm not sure the medical condition for this but this explains how Ella got her UTI back in August. 
We were told that on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the worst) Ella's condition is a 2, her bladder is refluxing, but her kidneys aren't absorbing it and swelling. Dr. Ahn is going to contact us once the specialist gives her the diagnosis. She'll have to be on low grade antibiotics for a year (a year? )to protect her kidneys and the specialist thinks because it's not severe, she'll grow out of it. 
She goes for more tests in a year to determine if she has in fact outgrown it, or will need surgery. Apparently, this isn't uncommon and it's easily treated so we're not too concerned, but hope she doesn't need surgery down the road.
After the doctor, we went into Buckhead (very posh area in north Atlanta) and had lunch at a French bistro, La Madeline. So good! Then it was off to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I love gardening and got so many good ideas. They had some beautiful gardens, lots of interesting flowers and it just smelled so wonderful.
We decided to see the Georgia Aquarium today and see the Botanical Gardens on another day. When the Aquarium first opened last summer, you had to make reservations weeks in advance just to get in. Being a Tuesday, a school day, it wasn't very busy. 
The exhibits were gorgeous! The tanks and windows were huge, some that wrapped up and over your head, some in the ceiling overhead, and one was a big tunnel. Now, there wasn't anything I haven't seen before, but the displays and the aquarium itself were so breath-taking. You could sit for hours just watching a giant wall of fish 23 feet high and 61 feet wide. Amazing!
The 4-D was so fun! We had water sprayed on us, things popped out from under your seat, dangley things dropped from the ceiling, all while watching in 3-D. Ella couldn't take her eyes off the screen, even though she didn't get the 3-D effect because she didn't have the glasses. 
She didn't startle or cry at all; she was very attentive and loved the main character, Deepo, an adorable clown fish. It was a beautiful day, full of fun fish and underwater creatures. It's gearing me up for Hawaii!!!
Ron, Ella and I went to Zoo Atlanta today. The weather was gorgeous, low 80's but with no humidity. The zoo itself wasn't spectacular, but it was quiet and a nice day out. Because it is a school day, there were no crowds, just other people with small children. 
One male charged and beat his chest at us and there were a lot of females with babies on their backs; one mama with twins...adorable. Here's a pic of one of them. Everytime it tried to wander off, it'd only get so far and then whap mama would drag it back with her long arms.
