This year's first trip to what Freddie calls the "yake" was a big, fat, incredibly awesome success - and not JUST because the boys have finally broken their habit of waking up before the birds whenever we stay in Hayesville. They just thoroughly enjoyed themselves - from blowing bubbles on the porch to running around the cove to catching (or crunching) ants wherever they found them, Jones and Freddie made the most of their time at "Yake" Chatuge.
Ironically, the only negative this year was getting them to sleep.
The boys and I went out Thursday after their naps. Jeremy works late on Thursdays, so he didn't join us until after he'd closed the office. Jones, Freddie, and I arrived about 6:30. I'd planned to let them run the cove for a few minutes before putting them in the bed, where I assumed they'd fall fast asleep - fast.
BUBBLES are a boy's best friend.
So immediately after tucking them in, I left the boys with their Nan and Pop and headed to buy some water toys. When I got back, I asked how they'd been. The report was not good. Apparently, Mrs. Pressley had had to make multiple trips to their room, including one where she discovered Freddie had locked the door from the inside out.
Thank God for a father-in-law who's handy with a hairpin.
Finally, they went to sleep, but getting them there continued to be a problem (though increasingly less of one) throughout the weekend. On Friday nite, I stayed right outside their room and went in whenever I heard the slightest noise. Once, I heard screaming and went in. Jones immediately narced out his brother - "He was screaming," Jones confessed, adding, "... and he's FUNNY."
Well, if he's FUNNY ...
To be honest, though, I can live with the later bedtime, so long as the boys still sleep past their normal 7 and act like they know how to the next day. Unless I've blocked out the bad behavior, I think they did really, really well - even graduating from the baby playground in Hiawassee to the big kid one!
That's where we'd have slide races. Well, kinda. Freddie would barely sit down before sliding, and Jones wouldn't slide without politely saying, "Please say, 'Go,' Mama!" We should have named them "Yin" and "Yang."
The only major meltdowns came when it was time to change captains on the boat. Because the lake was pretty empty, Mr. Pressley let the boys actually steer - which meant we were often on a collision course. Apparently, this was so much fun that "taking turns" was too much to ask.
Then, they both cried again when it was time to head back to the dock. We talked and talked about both of these situations on Saturday nite, and Freddie had fixed his attitude by Sunday's adventures, but Jones had not, so his drive time was cut significantly shorter than Freddie's. In fact, he may never drive again, if he doesn't fix his temper.
So that was that. We're home now and looking forward to a week at Pawleys Island coming up, but the boys have already asked more than once if we can go back to the "yake" today.
It's gonna be a fun summer.
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Here are a few more little stories from this past weekend:
1) Jones very bravely slid down the "big, giant tunnel slide" at the park in Hiawassee! I was very, very proud of him.
2) The boys ate ice cream (a full cup of strawberry each!) at Chinquapin's on the square in Hayesville. They sat at the counter, swinging their feet to make their chairs spin. When they find out my parents have those spinny seats in their basement, their heads may explode.
3) When Jones would blow his bubbles, he'd say, "Stand back, Everyone! Stand back, Mama, and Freddie, too!"
4) On the boat, Jones sat on his knees and looked overboard at the water: "I watching those whales at the bottom of the sea," he told me.
5) Jones was steering the boat, and I said, "Good job, Captain JoJo!" He said, "My pleasure, Captain Mama!"
"Can't catch us!"
6) When Mr. Pressley put the pedal to the medal on the boat, Jones said, "CAN'T CATCH US!" and laughed maniacally.
7) We were about to eat when the Preakness was starting, so we had it on, while we ate. Out of nowhere, Freddie said we needed to pray for the horses. And so we did.
8) On Sunday, we woke up to a playful scream. We'd woken up to a scream another morning, too, but that one was because Jones had failed out of his bed. The Sunday scream was due to Jones's covering himself with a yellow blanket and knee-bouncing on his mattress to make Freddie think he was a ghost.
I love this shot of the boys throwing
Pop-Its off the porch.
9) The boys called the trees that line the one-lane road in to McCracken Cove the "tree tunnel."
10) Jones caught an ant. I, of course, tried to get a picture of him holding it, and Jones held it up to the camera and said, "Say CHEESE, Little Bug!" Then he kept saying he wanted to get it back to his home, which was, apparently, the Coleman Cooler.
11) When we pulled in to church yesterday morning, Jones, who hadn't been there, since the last Sunday of the summer last year - when he wasn't yet three years old - said, "I'm gonna play with Bucky and Mater." I wasn't sure if he actually remembered seeing them there or if it was just wishful thinking, until we walked into the nursery, and sure enough, he pulled out Bucky and Mater. How did he do that?!?
11) Sometimes, Jones likes to be fed to finish his meal. He'll eat about 3/4 of it, but if I want him to finish it all, I'll often end up "helping" him in the endeavor - as opposed to Freddie, who says, "I do it myself" anytime someone tries to feed him. Anyway, at lunch Sunday, I was making rocket noises, as I fed Jones the rest of his meal. Then, we looked over at Freddie, who was feeding himself but making rocket noises for himself.
He said he'd heard an owl and proceeded
to hoot like one.
I knew almost immediately
that finger painting was a
bad idea.
Felix didn't like painting with his finger,
so Nan saved the day by bringing him
a utensil.
Can you guess whose side was whose?
The boys were CAPTIVATED
by the mirrors at Tiger's Department
Store in Hayesville.
When Jones saw their reflection(s),
he said, "Freddie! Dat's US!"
It was absolutely awesome that they
were both big enough to sit up
in those seats by themselves!
The bigger they get, the more
fun they are for sure!
I bought a box of five Paw Patrol puzzles.
It's the best $6 I ever spent!
Pop asked Freddie for a cookie and was SO "sad" when
Freddie didn't share his. Freddie was unmoved.
"Say CHEESE, Little Bug!"
Here's a video of Jones and Freddie trying to get the ducks.
The first time this happened, it was one day last week. I thought about writing about it then, but without a picture to illustrate it (and without any energy at the end of the day it happened), I decided against it. Since then, Jones has done it again several times, but today, I just so happened to be taking pictures when he did it. Now that I have proof, I HAVE to post it.
So one of Jones's sometime-favorite shows is "Special Agent OSO." To be honest, I kind of hate it, but he loves it - and, maybe even more than HIM loving it, Jeremy loves it, so he watches when he's in an OSO kind of place and even refers to his toy helicopter as "Whirlybird."
Well, the other day, he was climbing in to his "big, giant bed," and to pull himself up, he grabbed the pool noodle that we've hidden under the sheets to keep him from falling out of bed. Of course, it slid under his weight, and he fell back down to the floor. When he did, he laughed and quoted what OSO always says when one of his training exercises go awry:
"It's all part of the plan!"
I was so proud - not only that he didn't cry when he fell but also at his clever and appropriate use of the line!
Well, today, he was running around outside when he slid and said - you guessed it - "it's all part of the plan..." Today, he added the rest of the line, "... more or less."
A little later, I was able to get some video of him "introducing himself" to Jeremy. Jeremy has been trying to teach him what to say when he meets new people. He doesn't often do it to actual new people, though he has from time to time, but I was glad to get footage to prove the fact that he actually IS picking up what Jeremy is throwing down.
Also, the finishing touch for the boys' new room came in yesterday. These pennants are my favorite things in the whole house.
Finally, one of my favorite apps is called Boomerang. It takes these silly little video clips, and since they have no sound, I have no idea what to do with them, except to periodically make iMovie montages out of them (which reminds me - who wants to teach me iMovie?!), so here's the latest with some Boomerangs from last week and this morning. We're going to the lake today, so I'm sure there will be more to come!
At breakfast yesterday morning, I told the boys that today was their Pop Pressley's birthday. We then practiced singing "Happy Birthday." When I walked back to my room for a minute, I heard Jones practicing some more on his own, so I got him to do it again, so I could catch his sweet voice on camera.
Then came the big celebration. Since it's his 70th, we all went out to this amazingly great place in Bryson City, called the Hemlock Inn. We were the only family there, which meant that, once the boys finished their dinner, they could run around the dining room without disturbing anybody, and once everyone else was finished, we could all play on the beautiful grounds around the restaurant.
I can't speak for my father-in-law, but from the perspective of Jeremy, Jones, Freddie, and me, Mr. Pressley's was a VERY happy birthday! Whether it's for a birthday or not, we can't wait to go back to the Hemlock Inn!
Oh, and here's a cute story - Jones ate all of his green beans and asked for moree. I told him he had to eat something else (ANYTHING else) on his plate before I'd give him more. Freddie must've heard my "No," because he picked up one of his green beans, handed it Jones's way, and said, "Want some?"
All heart, that one. Either that, or he saw an opportunity to unload his green beans without having to eat them himself.
This year's first trip to what Freddie calls the "yake" was a big, fat, incredibly awesome success - and not JUST because the boys have finally broken their habit of waking up before the birds whenever we stay in Hayesville. They just thoroughly enjoyed themselves - from blowing bubbles on the porch to running around the cove to catching (or crunching) ants wherever they found them, Jones and Freddie made the most of their time at "Yake" Chatuge.
That's where we'd have slide races. Well, kinda. Freddie would barely sit down before sliding, and Jones wouldn't slide without politely saying, "Please say, 'Go,' Mama!" We should have named them "Yin" and "Yang."
Then, they both cried again when it was time to head back to the dock. We talked and talked about both of these situations on Saturday nite, and Freddie had fixed his attitude by Sunday's adventures, but Jones had not, so his drive time was cut significantly shorter than Freddie's. In fact, he may never drive again, if he doesn't fix his temper.
Well, the other day, he was climbing in to his "big, giant bed," and to pull himself up, he grabbed the pool noodle that we've hidden under the sheets to keep him from falling out of bed. Of course, it slid under his weight, and he fell back down to the floor. When he did, he laughed and quoted what OSO always says when one of his training exercises go awry:
