Gram and Pop's! (Day 3-5)

There is one place in the world my monkeys love more than any other...Gram and Pop's!  Ok, its a toss up between there and Nana and Popaw's.  So thankful for grandparents who are fully engaged with our monkeys and make their homes a place they love to be.

Splitting up our trip between grandparents made it into a whirlwind of a trip, but worth every mile travelled!

These kids love their Gram!!!  And P loves sunglasses!  Particularly yours.

The last time we visited Covington, GA, Lee and I found the greatest little park complete with both paved and unpaved trails, a play structure, as well as duck/goose pond.  The pond is a bit rank, but the kids get a kick out of feeding water fowl and fishing for minnows...with a net.

 Do you like the tuck up Gram has going on with P here?  The woman is resourceful.

Waiting for said fish with said net.  I think I will title this one "Knock-knees and Soggy Britches."  Yes, she was sitting in the rank pond.  No, we did not have a change of clothes.  

 Love this.  Two peas.  Patiently waiting.

 And this one...not a patient bone in her body.

 

This is what happens when you tell her, "No, P, you may not eat the goose poop or play with the cigarette butt.  I'm so sorry.  I just love you too much."  

And this would be the sweet little stray puppy that my dear, compassionate, animal-loving eldest monkey would not part with.  At one point I walked up on her arguing so eloquently with Pop that he needed to take on this puppy as a pet project.  Pop wasn't buying.  She fed it bread, got it some water, and laid in the dirt with it while it napped in the shade.  Not exaggerating.  Sweet puppy.

 Silly Gram.  Silly P.

 At Gram's house we double-fist.  No shame.

 The good, thick Southern air inspired P to take off walking.  Now her favorite thing is pushing...big red cars, wagons, scooters.  You name it.

All that practice is certainly paying off.  She now walks more often than crawls.  And she's getting pretty fast.  I think she's pretty proud of herself.  So is Momma.

So thankful for an opportunity to spend some relaxing, refueling time at Gram and Pop's.  My monkeys are certainly blessed.

Sweet Home Alabama, Day 2

When I was in high school, my parents bought into a share of a trailer at the lake.  Yes, I did say trailer.  Double wide, to be exact.  Should have snapped a picture of that one.  Next time.

Since that time we have taken every family vacation I can remember to the lake.  And I love it to this day.

And now the kids do, too.  (And Popaw is pretty excited to share his love of the lake with them.)  I think Riv really thought he could ride the whole way to the lake in the boat.  Popaw let him ride to the bottom of the driveway.

Nana got to follow behind in the Vette.  As you can see, she was a bit nervous to drive a stick-shift the entire way.  We kept our distance.  And I just wanted to show in one post that not only do my parents vacate in a double wide, but they drive the Vette to the double wide.  Pretty cool.

The rest of the day was spent in the water...

Swimming...

(I love his form...always arms straight back, right foot pointed forward, back foot kicked behind.  Almost looks choreographed!)

Jumping...

Inter-tubing...

And cruising in the boat.  Nana can drive a mean boat.  (As long as Popaw keeps barking instructions.)

And he's still the best skier I know at 62!  I actually got up, too...kinda hard to take a picture of yourself skiing.  And keep a baby from drowning.  Or a camera.

The kids enjoyed jumping out of the boat into the middle of the lake.  It was a bit of a thrill for them.

Riv:  "Are there River Monsters in here?"

TB:  "Or catfish?  The big ones that eat people?"

Riv:  "Or alligators?"

Guess who's been watching Discovery Channel?  River Monsters will give you a healthy fear of the water for sure.  

It took P a bit to warm up to the experience.  Or the life jacket.  Not sure which was more stressful for her.  She'll be a river rat before it's all said and done.  If Popaw has anything to do with it.  

Good thing we live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  Too bad they freeze slap solid 6 months out of the year.  We could always take up ice-fishing!

Day 2: "Vacation Mode" and Trail Running

I have this little friend.  He goes by multiple alias'.  Some more common ones would be "Stressed Out", "Post-partum", or "PMS".  

Today he is known as "Vacation Mode".  

"Vacation mode" can be a good friend, bringing much needed rest and respite from the normal daily grind.  But "Vacation Mode" is not good at knowing his boundaries.

Or, I am not always good at setting them for him.  What starts as rest or moderate indulgence, sometimes known as "flexibility", can quickly turn into laziness and binging.  Before I know it, I am finding another excuse to make one more trip towards the kitchen so I can sneak one more cookie.  I'm not even sure I really like these particular cookies, but they are there, and I am with "Vacation Mode" so they inevitably call my name.

Pitiful, I know.  Why is it that home can feed the soul in so many ways other places cannot, but can also awaken the sleeping beasts you have spent so much time and energy taming.  Hmmm.

So toady, I woke up and decided..."Enough!"  I'm kicking "Vacation Mode" to the curb, slapping on my running shoes and fanny pack, because I'm cool like that (and there are snakes in them thar woods...where else would you keep your cell phone, people?) and hittin' the trails!

I love running in these woods I called home for so long.  Somehow I feel closest to myself when I am here.  With every labored step I take over rocks and roots, I come another step closer to my center.  And pensive.  Always pensive.  And in this season of menial task and labor, that alone is a gift.

These woods are where I learned to listen to silence...and hear the birds, the katydids and cicadas.

The path is not always obvious.  It is sometimes difficult to discern, but always subtly there.  As long as I fix my eyes on the place marked out before me, I will find my way.

There are times when I get so distracted by my surroundings that I loose the trail a bit.  Sometimes it is hard to distinguish depending on who has come before...a storm, a fellow trail-blazer, or a native creature.

There are sections of the trail that are smooth and paved, and sections that are so rocky I have to slow my pace significantly to pick my way through.

There are opportunities to blaze my own trail.  This is always exhilarating at the very least, but I have to take into account the brambles and thorns that threaten to grab hold.  I still come out in the same general direction, but not unmarred by the journey.

This is the reward for a hard job done well...and it is worth the climb!

"When I want to take God at his Word exactly, I take a peep out the window at His Creation.  Because that, darling, He makes fresh for us every day, without a lot of dubious middle managers."

Tata Fowells, from The Poisonwood Bible by Barabara Kingsolver

So here's to running the trail...and putting "Vacation Mode" in his place!

I'm sure he will come crawling back with a peace offering of treats sooner or later.  But until then...

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Colossians 3:1-4

Sweet Home Alabama, Day 1

The kids and I decided, since TBird starts school this fall, we ought to cram in one more trip down south before Labor Day.  That, at least, was our excuse.  In reality I think we are all a bit homesick.  Yearning for a bit of familiarity...people, places, ACCENTS!

http://www.youtube.com/Rivdivingboard

We started our jaunt in Talladega with Mom and Dad.  Mom learned the hard way that when you tell the kids we will wake up early and go to the pool, they will take you quite literally.  This was Rivers first time in the deep end cast-free.  Couldn't help posting a little video to make you grin.

We were pretty pumped to have a few of our dear friends from Birmingham drive over for the day.  It was so life-giving to watch the kids play and interact with their Birmingham buddies.  I haven't heard Riv laugh so hard in months as he and Jake wrestled and tackled in the yard.

It was, as most Alabama summer days are, a hot stinker of a day.  The condensation running down your leg kind.  Not to be deterred, we brought out the hose...and the bubbles!

Nee-Noo takes her swimming pretty seriously.  No messing around here.  No soap in the eyes, either.  Smart girl.

 Marbles somehow got involved, as well.  And tunnels.

Leave it to kids, right?

And Nanas.  They can be pretty random, too.

Who doesn't love a human sprinkler???  Giggles automatically ensue.  Oh, how I love the sound of ensuing giggles.

Sweet medicine to the soul.

Especially a soul a bit weary from transitioning kids with far too few ensuing giggles.

I am treasuring it.  Along with the sound of Riv laughing so hard he can hardly catch his breath.  Love that boy's breathless laugh.  Sheer joy.

After some water fun, we were invited to try out the bungee jumper they have set up at Shocco this summer.  Talk about ensuing giggles...

And crazy hair.  What would a bungee be without crazy hair???

 

Even Pipe got in on the bungee action.  Ever heard of a Johnny Jump-Up, people?

It was a hot one, for sure.  But worth the effort.

And yes, those would be matching dresses.  And yes, it was definitely planned.  Cause a girl's gotta look like her favorite girls, right?  That's what friends are for.

The Sorensons, who ironically are half-Minnesotan (dad grew up in the land of 10,000 lakes), drove over for dinner and even more giggles ensued (catching onto a theme here?).

Always a ketchup-face.  I gave up wiping it.  Lost cause.  He will go to college with ketchup on his face.

Sweet and sassy Eva... and those dimples!  Just want to squeeze her!  Maybe I'm partial because she looks so much like her Mama.  And boy do I love that Mama.

What a gift to have one last opportunity to run around in Nana and Popaws back yard with some of our favorite people (not all, but a good sprinkling).  With ensuing giggles.  Ok...that's kind of over the top.  I'll stop.

I'm full.  A full Day 1.  More to come.

And in the spirit of ensuing giggles...couldn't resist this clip of P loving the bungee.

http://www.youtube.com/Plovingbungee