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!