Jonesie Bug & Freddie Bear: Lake Days

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.