5-11-18  A-Day!!!!  Layla's adoption day is finally here!!!!

This is the day we've all been looking forward to for years now!!!  Too bad it didn't come a couple days sooner---while we were still in Buford!  But by they time they were given the court date for Layla's official adoption, we had already scheduled the truck and movers.  So we're back on the road heading back up to the NE Atlanta area of Lawrenceville.
We had given ourselves about 3 hours to get there, but didn't count on an accident shutting down I-75 just north of Macon.  So we were rerouted onto back roads and our travel time was increased by about an hour.

At least there were some interesting things to look at.  Like old barns---

ruins---

Lots of wild flowers.

and none of this traffic!  Which we hit when we were able to get back onto the highway.

Heading down from spaghetti junction.

Not far from where we use to live----THIS is what I won't miss!!!

Fortunately, Angie was able to get a hold of the lawyer and she was able to get in touch with the judge and have their time slot moved 1 1/2 hours later.  So glad they didn't have to wait for another date!

The soon to be official Hicks family.

She was a happy little girl!  Wonder if she could sense what a special day this is!?

Proud papa with his little cutie pie.

selfie time

look at those eyes!

Proud Mema and Papa. 

The lawyer with last minute advice.

In the courtroom now.

The judge meeting the happy parents.  She was great!  All judges should be as personable!

Happy Mama

Swearing to love Layla and take care of her forever.

 Proud Grandparents watching on.

 Questions asked and answered---they passed with flying colors.

The happy family and the judge that made it possible.

Plus the grandparents.

I couldn't be happier for them!

on to ordering the new birth certificate, SS card, and such.

It couldn't have gone any better---even if they had been on time!

We had hoped to celebrate over lunch afterwards, but with it already getting into rush hours, we decided to get out of town.  By the time we got out of town---by way of more country roads to avoid the traffic, the kids just wanted to get back to the pups and head to dinner in Perry.  But since Carol, Darrel, Ken and I were in a separate car and too hungry to wait, we stopped at Cracker Barrel on our way back.  Then we stopped at a park along the way---Indian Springs. 

Didn't spend a lot of time here, just drove through to see if it would be a place to come back to.

Nice lake and picnic areas, but not much else.

Our route took us along the Georgia Civil War Heritage trails.

Wonder if this is a store or someone's junk filled yard?!  There were a few of these places.

and some more farms.

By the time we got back to Perry, the kids were heading back with their dinner.  It was a LONG day, but a great one.  Layla is officially our granddaughter now and we had a nice visit with Carol and Darrel.  It's nice having friends to visit with.  Too bad they live so far away!