last arts & crafts night

Another night of VBS, and we had a good time again. Tonight, Dennis' group used permanent markers to decorate ceramic fish banks. I glanced over at his end of the table during his session in arts & crafts and noticed that his eyebrows were orange and he had an orange line circling his face. I asked him who marked on him and he said "I did it! I needed some make-up." Fortunately, baby wipes took care of it. They also took care of the green marks he made on the center support post of the room where we were doing the crafts. I think baby wipes could clean the universe. It makes me wonder what they put in those things as a cleaning solution!

porch mischief

This morning Dennis woke me up walking around and singing "H-E-R-O, God is my hero!". So cute. He is so enjoying vacation bible school. Tonight for crafts he painted a picture frame shaped like a flip flop. He was so proud of it. I am amazed that more paint didn't get on all those little 3 and 4 year olds during arts and crafts time!

We stayed at the lake last night so that we could get some things done at the lake today. David accomplished a plumbing job and I got a little bit of painting done at Grandma's lake house. My plan was to paint while Dennis was asleep, but this didn't really work out for me. The first time I heard him come out onto the porch, he said "Mommy come see my tattoos!" and I dropped my paint brush and ran over to see that he had colored all over himself with a pen. I put him back down to bed and went back to my painting, and then I heard "Mommy, there are lots of bugs out here, and I am going to spray them." I ran over again in time to watch as he just finished emptying a can of wasp and hornet spray on the floor boards of the porch. He didn't get it anywhere on himself, thank goodness, but it gave me such a scare that I didn't leave him alone again.

We had a late night tonight! I've been enjoying his sleeping later in the mornings since we've been going so long every day.

the prodigal grandparents return

Dennis was all over me today, saying "I want you, Mommy" whenever I got two steps away from him. He's so sweet, and I do love being with him, but it was intense today. It was so hard to get him down for his nap today, and I told him he really needed his sleep before we went back to bible school tonight. He said "we get to go AGAIN?" and I told him we did, and he said "yay!". He agreed to sleep, but it took him until 3:30 to do so. I was painting some trim at Grandma's lake house (today being the first day I was able to get over there and do some work!) and periodically checking on him, and pretty soon it was time to leave for church and he hadn't even been asleep an hour. I loaded him up in his carseat in his t-shirt, underwear, and no shoes, and he slept through our trip to town. I dressed him very quickly in the church parking lot and we headed in, though he seemed a bit shy this time and wanted me to stay with him during opening assembly. He was staring at the 'heroes', Brother Larry (our pastor) as Pizza Man, Brother Brian (associate pastor) as Handyman Mack, and one of Dennis' Sunday School teachers as Water Woman. He knows these people, but seems to totally buy into the hero thing. It's like he can't tell who they really are because he's distracted by the costume and role. Brother Larry was telling him goodbye tonight and he said "bye Pizza Man!" and when Brother Larry said "he probably is thinking, oh that's just Brother Larry" Dennis said "no, you are Pizza Man--you're a hero!".

I asked Dennis if he liked vacation bible school again tonight, and he said "Mommy, it's Heroes Headquarters!". And yes, he liked it. Our craft tonight was making magnetic notepads, and Dennis drew on his arm with a blue marker. After church, we went to visit Gran and Pop, finally home from their long cross-country road trip. Dennis kept telling me we didn't need to go to their house because they weren't home. He was SO happy to see them. He didn't want to leave when it was time to go. He showed Gran the blue marker on his arm and told her it was a tattoo of a snake and another one of a bear. He was very proud.

going to VBS

Today was Dennis' first ever experience with Vacation Bible School. He is technically kind of young for it, so I volunteered to help out with arts and crafts since I found out they'd let him come if I did. I came one night and helped cut out decorations at church and said how sad I was that he wasn't old enough since this year's theme is Heroes Headquarters (and Dennis is all about heroes these days). The children's minister said I could volunteer and he could come. So we both enjoyed VBS tonight! I attended the opening assembly with Dennis, watching our pastors acting as heroes during the skit (so funny). When the kids adjourned to their various age group classes, I headed off to work in the arts and crafts department. Tonight the younger kids made superhero masks and the older kids made superhero puppets. The groups rotate through a number of stations throughout their evening, and I studied the schedule so that I'd know what Dennis was up to. His age group's schedule: opening assembly, snack, class, arts & crafts, music, recreation, closing assembly. There are over 20 kids in his group, and they come to arts & crafts along with the kindergarten group. It's complete chaos when all 50 of them are there! But all the kids loved making masks, and I loved watching Dennis make his and wear it. He wore it for the rest of the night, and when we left church, he asked to go to the pizza shop because he didn't get enough pizza for his snack! He wore his mask into the pizza place, too, when we went in to get our pepperoni hot-now $5 pizza. His mask was minus an antenna and one of his planet stickers by the end of the night, and he told me a mean kid grabbed that stuff off his mask. He was pretty sad about it, so I promised him I'd get him a new sticker and pipe cleaner so that we could fix it.

He was so happy with his experience, and he was so sad to leave church. I told him it went on for five nights, and he was somewhat calmed with this news plus my agreeing to take him for pizza.

little daredevil

We had a nice breakfast all together this morning before David had to head to work, and afterward we let the kids ride to the marina on his bike and her trike. Once we were there, Dennis asked to go down the waterslide (a very large, very tall black corrugated pipe affair), so we did so. He got to the top and was pretty afraid, so I offered to go first and then let him come behind me (and I promised a prize). We slid down and splashed into the water, and he immediately announced "I want to get out now--can we go get my prize?", and I told him we could. Then he said "no, I want to slide again." He and I slid over and over and the Gallmans got in the water and joined us, also sliding and playing. It started to get crowded and so we announced the last slide, and when they got to the top, Chloe got stung by a wasp. This temporarily put the fun on hold, but not for long. We treated her for it, and Allison joined us for lunch on the screened porch. The kids played in the kiddie pool that I finally managed to inflate (much easier once I read the part of the instructions that said to squeeze the bottom of the valve as I inflated it) and shot each other with the water guns. Dave and Ellen took the kids for a paddle boat ride and then we all swam until all the thunder we were hearing became accompanied by lightning. We dried off and ate watermelon and headed into town to shop at Wal-Mart and eat at San Marcos. I'm glad the Gallmans were able to spend a nice long time with us this weekend, and I'm glad Chloe got to start getting used to lake swims before the crowds are here on the 4th. The kids did start to get a little tired of each other, I think, and were happy to part ways this evening. They should be ready for more fun together by next weekend, I'm sure. They were awful cute in their swim vests, wielding their water guns, enjoying popsicles, experiencing summer in the most fun ways!

summer fun with Chloe

This morning we met up with Ellen and Chloe at Alabama Power's Water Course, a mini-museum about where we get electricity here in this area. Dennis 'drove' us on a jeep tour of Mitchell Dam (we climbed into a vehicle in front of a movie screen) where we learned about the turbines and the dam. And Chloe 'drove' us on a helicopter tour as we flew over Alabama's waterways (where we climbed into a theater that looked like the inside of a helicopter), both 'vehicles' featuring steering controls and lights and dials. When we 'took off' on our helicopter tour, the narrator told us to fasten our seat belts, and Dennis spent 5 minutes searching futilely for a seatbelt and then yelled "stop! I can't find my seatbelt!". I had to explain to him that it was a pretend seatbelt. Also at the museum, we played a game show called Water Whys, played some computer games about bird and fish identification, played a lake clean-up game, looked at some aquarium fish, and played another game that quizzed us about water usage. It's a really great little museum where we spent a nice air-conditioned hour (free of charge) entertaining and teaching the kids.

We came back to the lake house and ate lunch before spending some time in the water, swimming and watching the kids shoot us and each other with water guns. They swam for 45 minutes or so before they asked to get out, and just as we were getting out, Laura and Mary Beth came over to swim with us. I let Dennis swim with them for another 20 minutes before getting him out (Chloe was already taking her bath--she didn't enjoy the lake swimming as much as Dennis did). They both napped long and hard before we took them back into town to go to the Peach Jam. I was working at First Methodist's booth at the festival while Dave and Ellen took the kids to the inflatable park. I got a picture on my phone showing me my little guy climbing on a climbing wall! They apparently had great fun, and when they stopped back by to see me, they were red-faced and sweaty. After my 'work' hour was up, we cooled down at Gran's and Pop's for a while before heading back to the festival to eat and wait for David. He called us to say he was heading to the ER because he sliced his finger at work and it wouldn't stop bleeding. He is fine and has 3 new staples to show off, and he eventually got out and met up with us in time to head back to the lake. We ended the evening roasting marshmallows and making s'mores at the fire pit on the deck, enjoying the Halls' company as well as the Gallmans'.

lake break

We actually took a break from lake related activities today. We went to visit Granddaddy for a while and we took him some peaches for a belated Father's Day gift. He took us to dinner (grabbing the check when it came so that he could treat us instead of the other way around) and then we stayed at his house and talked with him for a while. He asked us to join him on a walk around his neighborhood, and we happily did so! I'm so amazed and pleased that he still does these walks at age 96. We have plans for a future trip with him to Cheaha State Park and hope that it happens very soon.

After our visit with Granddaddy, Dennis asked if we could go to the toy store, and I thought this wasn't a bad idea. We killed about an hour's worth of time in Toys 'R Us, and he hasn't been there too many times and is still so shocked that there's an entire store out there that sells nothing but toys. I didn't confine him to a shopping cart and we looked at everything he wanted to look at before leaving just as they closed. When he asked me to stop at Target, we did that as well, and I scored some excellent telescoping marshmallow roasting forks out of the one dollar bin! Daddy called to report a bit of car trouble (as in all the warning lights in the Blazer came on and flashed at him), so we headed south to pick him up and head back to the lake. It was another long day for Dennis, and he didn't go to bed until LATE. Big plans for tomorrow!

long Wednesday

This morning after we finished breakfast, the girls from next door were knocking again, inviting us to come and swim off their dock. We happily joined them, smiling as Dennis ran and jumped off their dock yelling "to infinity and beyond!" as he leapt into the water. He's starting to say it correctly now, and I admit I'll kind of miss his "to divinity and beyond!", which always made me smile. We swam for quite a while before heading into their house for sandwiches, and the girls taught Dennis how to putt a golf ball with a putter perfectly sized for him. It makes me want to take him to play putt-putt somewhere now.

Though he complained that he wasn't tired, he fell asleep as soon as I put him down for his nap, and when we got up, we headed to church. There were eight children in his class tonight, and David and I completely lost control of them about 45 minutes into it. We actually lost control a few times, but they took over at the end and we gave up and let them have free play time. We did actually complete an entire lesson before this point, so I don't feel too bad about it. Dennis and Joshua fought, Grace and Peyton fought, Ava Claire bopped Joshua on the head with an inflatable palm tree and Dennis pinched Joshua to get him to stop smacking Ava Claire. Grace and Maddie snuck off to the bathroom to have a girl party that I had to interrupt, and Reagan tried to teach the class when she wasn't shoving Joshua or shooting David death-ray glares. Hope (who is ten and was visiting with Peyton) was a BIG help and she kept Peyton involved and engaged, which we are so thankful for because he is the youngest in the class. Ava Claire actually remembered the two bible verses I taught last week and recited them for us. And all the children took turns praying out loud (SO wonderful) because they wanted to. It was one of the longest hours of my life!

Dennis informed us after church that he did NOT want to go home--he wanted to go back to the lake house, and he worried us about it over and over as we drove home to check the mail and our pets. He had a great day today, and he even got to visit Uncle Denny after 10 tonight, nearly falling asleep at the table as he ate his Burger King snack. He told us he didn't want to go to bed, but he didn't really fight us about it. He talked to himself for about 10 minutes to unwind before falling asleep. I think David beat him there!

I started to inflate the big kiddie pool I bought for him--do you know how much air goes into those things? I estimated 15 minutes to blow the thing up, and Dennis watched me as he wrung his hands in anticipation. I think I might have it inflated by Friday, if I'm lucky!

impromptu campfire

We were settling in for the evening, Dennis and I, waiting for David to get off work and come back to the lake house for a late supper, when we heard a knock at the door. Laura and Mary Beth (and Holly and Brownie the dogs) were at the door inviting us to come next door for a hot dog and marshmallow roast. We accepted and joined them and had the nicest time! It was a perfect night for grilling outside, and the kids had fun turning long-handled forks of goodies over the fire. Dennis grilled marshmallows but refused to eat the warmed ones. He did eat a grilled hot dog, though. The kids lost interest after a while and kicked a ball around in the yard before going inside to play with wooden trains. I enjoyed sitting around the fire with the Halls, chatting until David finally arrived and joined us. We dragged Dennis kicking and screaming from the toys just before 11 and brought him back to our place. We had a great time, and he kept asking "can Laura and Mary Beth come and spend the night with me at our lake house?". Laura is 9 and Mary Beth is 6, so they kept a good eye on Dennis for me and I didn't really have to worry what he was up to. It was like he had honorary older sisters for the evening. Very nice.

evening prayers

Tonight we went on a brief night stroll down at the lake house, taking trash to the dumpster. Dennis likes to walk at night, and he accompanied me on the journey. While we were outside, he said "are the moon and stars smiling at us, Mommy?" and I said that God was smiling at us. He said "I want to talk to God then" and I told him to say whatever he wanted to say to God. He said "Thank you, God, for this wonderful night with the beautiful stars and thank you for the bats and the crickets and the lightning bugs and the owls." I repeated it to myself in my head all the way back to the house so I could remember his lovely words. Heartfelt, and so well-spoken! I agree. Thank you, God!

the inaugural ride

We were pounced upon well before 8 AM, something we haven't had to experience lately because we've been keeping him awake until 11:30 when he begs one of us to put him to bed. Not great parenting, I know, but the resulting sleeping in was nice while it lasted. This morning he climbed up between us in bed and said "it's time to go ride my bike outside now" and I said it wasn't time yet because it was still time to sleep. He said "no, it's sunny outside" and I agreed but said it was still time to sleep. He said "BUT IT'S SUNNY OUT THERE--LOOK!" and snatched up the shade and pointed and said "see?". We got up. Since it's Father's Day, I made biscuits, sausage, and scrambled eggs with cheese, and we tried to get Dennis to concentrate on eating to no avail. David had to leave for work and Dennis was still working on his food.

About noon, we headed outdoors to see if we could find a neighbor with an air pump to inflate his bike tires (again he told me it didn't need air in the tires because it was perfect and didn't need anything). Everyone was busy, so he rode to the marina on the dirt road with me trotting close beside him. He asked me to let go as we were heading downhill, so he had his first little bike wreck just at the corner where we'd turn to go the marina. He flew off the bike and landed on his hands and knees, and I ran and scooped him up and brushed him off and waited for his reaction. He burst out laughing and said "whoo! I had a little accident, didn't I, Mommy?". He did scrape his knee, but he didn't discover that til 2 hours later (and of course whined about it then and needed a band-aid). The marina wasn't yet open, so Dennis very happily played with the sand toys in the sand out front of the store. Some folks drove up to launch their boat (and in retrospect, I'm pretty sure the folks were Gran's neighbors in town), and Dennis told them "I'm having a wonderful day at the beach!". When the marina opened, they very graciously inflated Dennis' bike tires, and I dragged him away screaming that he wanted to play in the sand some more. He was so hot and red-faced that I though we should go in for a while and cool off, and I tried my best to convince him to swim, but he didn't really want to.

I was just about to put him down for his nap when I heard from Allison that she wanted to meet us for supper at San Marcos, so we skipped the nap and got ready to go into town. I decided we'd go ahead and stop by Wal-Mart to look for bike reflectors while we were waiting on her (no bike reflectors there). It turned out to be too early for the dinner hours at San Marcos (they re-open at 5), so we met at Burger King instead much to Dennis' disappointment. He did insist on showing her his new bike, so we took it with us and he climbed on it and gave her a little demo of how he looked when he was riding.

He crashed after we got home and I intended to let him nap for an hour, but I couldn't get him to get back up. It's going to be an early morning tomorrow! The highlight of my day: handing him my iphone in the Wal-Mart bathroom to keep him occupied while I, um, attended to business, only to have him laughingly turn it to the camera setting and snap photos of me on the toilet. I was laughing in the photos, even though I was trying my best to look stern, and I was looking at them later in the car as I deleted the not-G-rated ones and Dennis piped up from the backseat "are you looking at those toilet pictures I took of you, Mommy? That was funny!". Nice.

is it bike time yet?

Dennis got up this morning asking about his new bicycle which we purchased (well, he purchased it for the most part) unassembled. He couldn't wait for me to get it out of the car, so I did so about mid-morning. He hovered around the box and removed various parts, and he announced "I'm going to need some tools for this job" and disappeared into his room. He immediately reappeared with his toolbox in hand and another little case along with it, telling me "this is my special 'quipment'". Before there were nuts and bolts and assorted necessities scattered hither and yon, I assured him that Daddy would be putting it together tonight after work.

We are at the lake tonight, and David did indeed assemble the bike while Dennis watched and offered 'helpful' commentary. "Daddy, I think it needs pedals" and "Daddy, I think it's time for the seat" and he would grab random pieces of it and try to help. David loves to be watched and instructed while he works on projects, so he was at the very outer limits of his patience as Dennis danced around and cavorted right around his workspace. He held on, though, and actually let Dennis hold the bike while he adjusted the brakes and straightened the steering and performed other manly bike adjustment things that elude my comprehension. We did forget the air pump, and when we told Dennis that we'd need to put air in the tires, he said "no, it's PERFECT! my bike is just perfect!". He told us the same thing when we commented that it didn't have any reflectors on it ("it's perfect--it doesn't need 'flextors'"). I'm glad he loves it. He rode it around and around the tiny space at the lake house and can't wait to ride it outside.

real man fun

When we left the house this morning, we didn't get farther than the foot of our own driveway. We saw in our neighbors' yard about six or seven fire trucks and fire personnel and medics everywhere as their home smoldered after what was apparently a major fire. Since Mom and Dad own this particular place, we had to break some bad news to Dad, and it so happened that we were actually on our way to pick him up and take him to the airport. He came out to talk to the firemen and then talked to the insurance adjuster--no one was home, thank goodness, but we had to locate the renters and notify them about what had happened. We hope to help them get into a new place on Monday, and we have decided to leave the country when Mom and Dad go on their next vacation without us. Lately, a trip out west for them has meant calamity and catastrophe back home!

Dennis did get to meet all the firemen and ask them questions, and they were so patient and informative! He got to sit in the engine of his choosing and walk around the scene checking out the hoses and tanks and helmets and boots.

We did get Pop to the airport in plenty of time, and after we dropped him off, we went to the Southern Museum of Flight. We were amazed to see the changes since the last time we were there, and we were also a little shocked that it was $7 each to get in (free for Dennis). About halfway through our tour of the place, a museum official came to ask Dennis if he was having fun. When he said he was, we were told that we could get a family membership to the museum for just $20, $6 on top of the admission we had just paid, and the membership is reciprocated at so many places which include the Anniston Museum of Natural History, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, the Gulf Coast Exploreum, an Emerald Coast children's museum, and another science type museum in Orlando, ALL places we plan to visit this year (where we will now get in FREE!). There's even a nice children's museum in Austin, TX, on the list if we get there by the end of the year! We were impressed with the flight museum--looked at many nice aircraft displays, enjoyed climbing into the flight simulators and pretending to fly the jets, and played for a long time in the children's room full of tables of Lego airports and other various airport type toys.

You'd think that would be enough, but we called Jason to see if he wanted to join us for dinner or something. He suggested Toy Story 3 starting in 15 minutes, and that's just what we did. He treated us all to the movie, excited to be at Dennis' first theater experience. Dennis did GREAT, quietly watching the movie (totally absorbed--he loved the first 2 Toy Story movies), happily munching his popcorn.

After that? Well, something pretty special, actually. This morning (way back before the fire incident), he told us "I want to use the money in my bear bank to buy my very own big boy bicycle today." So tonight we got to Toys R Us minutes before they closed, and he test drove some bikes before choosing a very nice Huffy bike, dark blue with lime green accents and an Ocean Reef motif. He paid for well over half of it with the spare change he's found and put in his bear bank over the past year.

The fun didn't stop there! He wanted a hamburger and we were starving, so we went to Whataburger and then Dunkin Donuts in Pelham before spending a half hour playing at the train table at Books-A-Million. I'm not sure he could have had a more boy-activity-filled day than he had today. It was 11:30 when we got home!

Granny's birthday dinner

We had an early birthday dinner for Granny tonight at Uncle Denny's place after spending the entire day at the lake with Granny and Uncle Denny. Dennis enjoyed taking a walk with Granny and playing construction site with her, and I know she had as much fun as he did. Of course I was happy to listen to all her raving about how special Dennis is since I totally agree. She got to hear him sing and saw him point out some letters and read a word, and she heard him saying his night night prayers at nap time. She heard him recite the Lord's Prayer in its entirety and was super impressed--Dennis loves this prayer. He also said the blessing for us at the table for both lunch and supper, and he helped me clear the table and load the dishwasher. He had some moments of wildness, naturally, but he was good today and so much fun. I'm so glad we all had such a good day, and I hope Granny's 80th is a perfect day when it rolls around on the 21st.

The cutest part of our day involved Granny teaching Dennis to snap beans. She brought these from her garden and they were delicious. And Dennis is one excellent bean snapper.

splinter removal

We finally got the splinter out of his hand today. He acquired it at the zoo, we think, from one of the wooden railings. We attempted removal that night, but David had warned him that it was going to hurt, so he screamed and jerked and cried (and this is the biggest fit I've seen from him to date) so much that he made himself sick. We were upset as well. He said "I just want to go to bed" and went and got under his covers with his light off. When we went in to talk to him a few minutes later, he said "I'm sorry I cried and yelled--I didn't want it to hurt." When we asked him what we were going to do about it, he said "we can go to my doctor's office and the big scary nurse can get it out." We left it alone until tonight, and we spent a half hour discussing with him how if he'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt all that much, and leaving it in there would really be bad. This didn't work, so we resorted to brute force. David essentially laid on top of him as he screamed, and I pried open his little fingers and dug it out of his palm. It took seconds, and while I had the needle under the splinter, he announced "hey, it tickles!". I got the tweezers and pulled it out as he laughed. He said "that didn't really hurt, and now my splinter is ALL GONE!". Thank goodness. I cried when it was over just because he cried so much!

budding photographer

In the short period of time that I've been an iPhone owner, I have discovered hundreds of reasons to love the thing. I could site the spelling games, the book reading aloud apps, the bubble wrap popping app, the postcard app that lets me send a physical postcard from a picture on my phone with a typed message... Oh, I could go on and on, but mostly I love watching Dennis operate the thing. He has mastered it. We only showed him where his games were on it, but he ran with that knowledge and discovered the other things it can do. Most notably, he found and learned to operate the camera. Each time I get my phone back from him, I love to check the photo roll to see what he's taken. I submit these three artistic shots for your viewing pleasure. One features straps on the bag next to him on the seat in the car, another shows his cup holder, and the third is a study of his legs. He's got a neat sense of composition, most especially for a three year old.

dream weekend last day

Gigi took us out today for one more fabulous day of activity. We went to Oak Mountain (after enjoying our favorite honey butter chicken biscuits at Whataburger) and hiked a loop from the north trail head. Gigi is quite the hiker, taking the hills with strength and speed even in the over-ninety-degree heat. Dennis asked to be carried a few times and told us he needed a nap, but he managed our three mile loop with no trouble. We stopped at Maggie's Glen and had a water break--we drank from our stash and then went and put our toes in the stream to cool down. He stuck his feet in and said "this is very refreshing!". Dennis splashed and played and threw rocks into the water (soaking himself and me pretty well) before we headed down the trail back to the parking lot. We had a lovely lakeside picnic (ahhh--a breeze!) and then went to the playground for just a few minutes. We saw the Treetop Nature Trail and walked the boardwalk to admire the beautiful birds of prey that can't be released into the wild for one reason or another. Then it was off to the demonstration farm, a farm where you walk in and play among the animals. We were inside the fence with wandering goats and donkeys and a pony, several sheep, and peacocks. In the surrounding pens were more donkeys, horses, a calf, and lots of chickens. Dennis actually wanted to pet the animals this time and had the most fun there!

He was exhausted after our day in the park (as were we), but we rejuvenated with Chick-Fil-A milkshakes. I wouldn't normally confess this, but I believe this may have been his first milkshake experience. He ordered chocolate, and he finished every drop. Gigi and I got peach shakes, very delicious and refreshing, and we bought a shake for Pop forgetting that he wasn't actually at work today, so the on-duty pharmacist was thrilled to get his surprise.

Dennis didn't fall asleep on the way home as we had assumed he would--he spent the time reciting his nursery rhymes and singing his favorite songs. He did take a very long nap once we returned to the lake house, and I had to wake him up so he didn't keep sleeping all night. We left Gigi and the lake after 9, and he was so glad to see his daddy at home. We ate a light meal and then Dennis played while we did our Wii workout. He came in to interrupt our exercise, saying "Mommy, could you please put me to bed now?", and I gladly did so.

We have had a wonderful weekend of being spoiled and pampered and doing lots of exploring. It's going to be hard to return to reality! Gigi came here just to treat us to this kind of experience, and we won't forget how appreciative we are and how much fun we had!

day out with Pop

Pop will be off on vacation when Father's Day rolls around, so we spent a very special day with him today. We took him to eat brunch at Cracker Barrel and then took him for the cave tour at Rickwood Caverns State Park. It was a great way to beat the heat! Dennis enjoyed the cave, though a little less so when the tour guide informed us that he'd be turning off the lights to let us experience total darkness. He said a few times "Tour Guide, I don't want you to turn off the lights please" and when he actually was about to do it, Dennis pleaded his case again and the guide said how he hated to be the bad guy. The lights were out less than a minute before the flashlight came on and Dennis giggled. He said he loved the cave but said "it was just a little bit spooky in there." He also told us "there are MILLIONS of caves--there are just hundreds of them out there" when we were on our way to the park.

We intended to go and find some geocaches but deemed it just too hot, so we instead decided to go and enjoy some ice cream from Coldstone Creamery. Wow how delicious and decadent! On the way home, Dennis kept blowing loud raspberries and we finally decided to ignore him after pleading for him to stop. After we didn't say anything for a while, he announced "I am bothering the driver!". We noticed.

We had such fun today and we sure hope that Pop did too!

dream weekend day 2

And the magic continues... Today we took a ride on the Calera & Shelby Train at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera. We have ridden the line when Thomas the Train came to town and again last October for the Pumpkin Patch Express, but this was the first time we went on a regular weekend excursion. Dennis was beside himself with joy over meeting the conductor and getting our tickets punched. He met a cute little blonde girl named Caroline and shared his seat with her (she's an older woman: age 3 & 1/2), and they played and pointed things out to each other as the train rumbled down the tracks through the woods. Midway through our excursion, they disconnect the engine from one end of the train and drive it to the other end to return us to the station. Dennis went to the front of the train and watched as they uncoupled the engine. There were loud noises involved, so he of course covered his ears, and then he asked "why is our engine leaving us?". He watched it pull forward, watched the brakeman pull the switch to change tracks, and then watched it back up to the front of the train. When we returned to the station, he watched the process in reverse and was very fascinated. He loved playing on the train tables inside and looking at the stuff in the museum.

After our train ride, we stopped by to see Allison and take her some get well treats as she recovers from major shoulder surgery. She is doing very well for two days post surgery! Dennis took her a band-aid for her shoulder boo-boos and told her he hoped it would make her feel better. On our way back to the lake, we stopped at Peach Park and got to see the Smith twins and their adorable cousin! Dennis was so excited about it and asked me if he could kiss them (especially the sleeping Katelyn), and their Mommy told him that he could. He LOVES those babies and has talked about them since we left there. He is so disappointed because he was trying to steer their stroller toward our car saying that we were taking them to our house, and they ended up in Jennifer's Blazer against his wishes. He told her he wanted to go to her house and offered to ride in the back of her Blazer. We topped off all the day's festivities with an excellent Gigi Gourmet meal. Another perfect day! We are so spoiled.

dream weekend day 1

Gigi is here visiting and is treating Dennis (and me) to a whirlwind weekend of fabulous activities. Today we went to the Montgomery Zoo and saw lots of beautiful animals. Dennis was so excited about it and pointed out everything to us. He said he was our tour guide and I loved watching him walk to an exhibit and hold out his arms like a television presenter and say "over here you'll see a monkey". We went sans stroller and didn't even make him hold hands with us, and he stayed with us the entire time. He was so good about it, too. He asked me this morning if we were going to ride the train today and I said "no, that's tomorrow" and he said "but we'll be right there at the zoo train!". So we rode the zoo train. He heard the whistle and stopped our tour of the animals until we let him ride the train. Fortunately we walked right onto it just as it was about to leave.

The animals at this zoo are so beautiful and healthy, and the zoo itself is just gorgeous. Tall bamboo, lots of shade trees, big grassy areas for the animals with wide open spaces and plenty of shade and water... It's such a nice zoo. We also went to the Mann Museum that adjoins the zoo, and Dennis enjoyed looking at all the exhibits (many different kinds of stuffed wildlife, bones, bugs, fossils...). It was a nice air-conditioned break after the outdoor zoo tour, though we went early and the heat didn't bother us much.

We lunched at Chick-Fil-A and the cow was on hand giving out goodies to the children, and then we went to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art where there is a wonderful children's hands-on section with so many different activities and exhibits. Dennis drew pictures, learned about mixing colors to get new colors, gave us a puppet show, raced cars, danced in front of a screen that mirrored his movements in crazy colored patterns, and actually looked at some real art exhibits. What a magical day it was for us all! His enthusiasm over every single thing he saw or did kept us in big smiles all day long. That was Gigi's quote on our way back: "I have smiled more today than any other day I can remember lately".

fruitless request

Check out this request I got from Dennis in the car this afternoon. "Mommy, I really want a baby brother. Can I please have a baby brother?" he asked. I told him I was too old to have a baby brother for him because this seemed like the quickest way to end this particular conversation. He said "no, you could get John to help you." I don't know many men named John so the first person that popped into my head was my former boss at Walgreens, who Dennis actually knows. I'm sure he'd be shocked to hear this. I asked for clarification, asked him who John was, and he said "Jesus' friend John from the bible because his mom was too old too." I asked if he meant John the Baptist and he said "yes!". I am amazed. But I hope Dennis doesn't pray too hard for a sibling! It's not really in our plans, though we don't take lightly the power of divine intervention!

shopping fun

Dennis helped me shop tonight for some things that Uncle Denny needed. David met us there and Dennis was looking all around for him. He was calling "Daddy, where are you my Daddy.". He looked to the rear of the store and said "I see some daddies that way" and pointed. I told him David was wearing a white shirt and black pants (the uniform for his new job at Winn Dixie). Dennis said "we have got to find him. I wish we could find him in the toys."

As always, he asked to look at toys. I distracted him with a new spelling game on the iPhone. He also asked to look at the cakes, something he's recently started to do, and he really likes the decorated birthday caked. He walked up to the bakery there and a nice lady shopping there said hello to him. He said "I want to look at the cakes" and she asked if his birthday was coming up. He said "no I just like to see the cakes with cars on them."

my new name

Dennis was busy playing, crawling along the floor on his knees and pushing a truck when he slipped and fell on an elbow and yelled "OWWW!". I asked him if he was alright and told him to be careful. He said "thank you Space Alien" and then left. I laughed and he popped his head back in and said "oh, yeah, Mommy, you are a space alien." Nice.

We are at Gran's and Pop's place now and he just told me "I am going upstairs with Gran, I'll be quick. I'll be right back, right quick." Gran is packing for her big cross country trip--she is flying out to Washington in the morning. Dennis has asked numerous times if he can join her on the flight ("oh, I would like to go to Washington, Gran, I'll come on the flight with you"). So he really hasn't asked as much as informed her he's coming along, but he understands that he can't go. Gigi is coming up to spend some days with him very soon, and she has LOTS of awesome activities planned. Dennis is going to have a very good weekend. We all are.

decoration day

Dennis spent last night at Grandma's and GrandBob's house while Mommy and Daddy went to upgrade our cell phones and then go see a movie. We hear he was well behaved, thank goodness, but didn't want to go to bed, much like things have been going at home. We woke up in the wee hours of the morning yesterday to find his head on David's belly and his feet propped up on mine. He got put in his own bed.

Today we went to Decoration, a sort of family reunion for David's family where they gather at the community cemetery and put flowers on the graves. This year the weather was cool and nice, and Dennis made friends with one of David's cousin's children, Ben. Ben is considerably older than Dennis (a teenager) but Dennis wanted so much to "go make friends with those boys" and eventually overcame his shyness enough to introduce himself and grab hold of Ben's hand to steer him in the desired direction. Dennis and Ben played a game of tag that lasted a nice LONG time (we thanked Ben profusely). Dennis met lots of family members and helped put flowers out, and he was fairly well behaved for the majority of our time there. When we got in the car to head home, I asked him what did he think (meaning, of course, about Decoration), and he said "I think...I hope I get a new fire truck for Christmas". I'm glad he told me what was on his mind!

Oh joy of joys, I got an iPhone yesterday! David had planned to buy me jewelry on the cruise (I love that man), but we didn't find any aquamarines anywhere. I told him I'd rather have an iPhone, knowing they were expensive but having wanted one for two years. When I called to get an actual price and check the availability of a refurbished one, I couldn't believe they were LESS THAN $100 BRAND NEW (because the newest one is due out later this month) ! Oh, I love the thing and I haven't even owned it 24 hours! My iPod had begun to act up a little (it's three years old) when I was using it to track my walks, and I wonder how much longer it would have lasted through the heavy use it was getting. Now I have the iPhone that acts as iPod, cell phone, and mini-computer. The best thing so far? The free apps I downloaded for kids to play--we got through a fractious car ride by letting Dennis watch an episode of Sesame Street and play Topple (like kid Tetris, but the blocks make faces and slide in the direction you tilt the phone), Memory Match, and Balloonimals (his favorite--a game where he blows near the speaker and a balloon appears on the screen and inflates, then he shakes the ipod until a balloon animal is created, then touches the animal to make it do a trick, then taps the screen until it overinflates and pops and a new balloon appears to do the whole process again with a different animal). I can foresee easier shopping trips and waits at doctor's offices, especially once I download the books that he can read on the thing. Oh, we still love ACTUAL books, but this way I can take tons of them with me and he gets the novelty of being able to play with Mommy's iPhone. Sometimes technology just ROCKS.

the muffin man

Dennis baked muffins tonight. He ate every bite of his supper (macaroni and cheese with smoked sausage--a favorite) and was still hungry, so I asked him if he'd like to help me make chocolate muffins. He agreed excitedly, so we dragged a chair up to the counter and I got out the muffin mix, a spoon, a bowl, a measuring cup, and the milk. He poured the milk into the cup and from the cup to the bowl (where he'd already poured the mix), and he took care of all the stirring. He was a little heavy-handed with the nonstick spray on the muffin pan, so I had to wipe it a bit, but he is the one who transferred the mix into the cups. He donned the oven mitts to open the oven door (under heavy supervision). Midway through all these tasks, he said "Mommy, can I put on my apron and my chef hat?" and I told him we were almost done, so he said "okay, next time then" and closed the oven door after I put in the pan. He would periodically turn on the oven light and watch and announce "they are getting BIGGER!". They turned out delicious, and he wore both oven mitts as he helped me remove the pan from the oven. He was so proud of his muffins and we all enjoyed eating them. Afterward, we all played Walk It Out on our Wii to work off the muffin calories. He told us he wanted to work out, too, so he held the controller and put the nunchuck part in his little pocket just like we do, and he liked watching his avatar make footsteps on the screen as he walked and earned points. We had a nice family workout before bedtime!

sport geese

We were driving home from the lake on the dirt roads and happened on a pair of Canada geese crossing the road. We startled them and they flew awkwardly up into the air. They flew just over to the water to our right and landed with plops and splashes. Dennis observed them skidding across the water and asked "are those geese water-skiing?". It certainly looked like it!

daily storms

Dennis has not been thrilled that the daily afternoon thunderstorms have cancelled our planned swims this week, and neither have I. There are side benefits, though, the first being that our tomato plants are producting some excellent fruit. The second benefit? Giant puddles in the yard that some little person had great fun jumping into. Luckily he was wearing his Keen water shoes (though I would have preferred the Teva sandals), so they were made for such. He was delighted to show us his yucky feet after all the puddle hopping. "Look at my cute toes--they're all muddy" he said, and he was right.

He told me the greatest thing in the car today. He said he enjoyed our cruise but that he wanted to take a "vol-cation". I presumed he meant 'vacation' and tried to clarify, and he said "no, a vol-cation--I want to go and see a volcano". He says he wants to go to Hawaii (and the way he pronounces it is too cute for words), but that he would go anywhere there is a volcano. Road trip, anyone?

buggy tradition

We caught our first lightning bug tonight (Dennis wanted to call it a firefly, and though that smacks of Yankee to me, I went along with it). He liked taking an evening walk down the driveway, and when we got to the part where the trees completely shade the center of the drive, it was dark enough to see the insects lighting up everywhere. I caught one and we brought it into the house and took it into a dark room to watch it light up. Then Dennis said "we can take him back outside now to be with his friends so he won't be sad" and we did just that. Dennis held our 'jar' and waited for the bug to fly out. When it didn't fly out right away, Dennis gave the jug a vew helpful (violent) shakes, but the bug didn't seem any the worse for wear when he flew away. I'll need to get him a proper bug habitat for the next time we do this!

Dennis sure enjoyed playing with his youngest cousin Jeff on Sunday, and Jeff is just a little over a year old. When we were walking back to the lake house, Dennis asked me "Mommy, does Jeff speak English?". I told him yes and asked if it was hard to understand him. Dennis said it was, and I explained that Jeff is just learning to talk and it might be a few months before he'd be easy to understand.