home for the holidays

Two days before Christmas I left Seattle and headed to Atlanta. Atlanta is my home town, where my mother and one of my aunts still live. It's been a couple of years since I was in Atlanta for Christmas, so it seemed like a good idea.It's funny there's always this concept of, "I need to get to the airport really early to not miss my flight". And yes, it's true, but lately it's taken mere minutes to get through security, or perhaps I just have it down. ;)Regardless, after going through security I had time for coffee and to chill...I got in fairly late in the evening, so it was off to get a rental car, then head to Mom's. We had a late dinner and stayed up till the wee hours of the morn catching up.On Christmas eve, I found myself doing some Christmas shopping. Every year it's the same story of "Let's not buy gifts for one another". And every year it's the same story of "Well I wanted to get you a little something". So yes, I was at Barnes and Noble, Target and even the grocery store. I would say it was nuts, but it was surprisingly easy! Upon my return to my Mom's I saw the sun was setting, the weather had been pretty clear all day with just a few clouds, the good clouds. I had to pause, to take photos of the sun setting along the train tracks (cliched, yep, but I don't care!).Christmas Day, Mom and I drove to visit with my Aunt. We had a lovely meal, some nice wine and time together.The next day I decided to tour about the city a bit, visit some of my old fave spots and of course take a photo or two. Growing up I lived across the street from Piedmont Park, as a 6 year old it's an awesome place to be. With big hills to roll down or sled down (on the rare occasion when it snows). There's jungle gyms and even a swimming pool! The park is freakin' huge. This is my favourite photo from my time at the park.edited via DynamicLight/TiltShiftGenSo there's a few images from the trip so far, I leave in a couple of days. I've enjoyed my time with family and hope to find a way to make the time to see them more often. Life gets busy, but it's important!All images in this post are taken and edited on an iPhone!