Mayme's Lake Cottage, Trip One

I can't even tell you how spectacularly awesome our first overnight stay at "Mayme's Lake Cottage" was.  We went down on Saturday for the North Carolina vs. Clemson game. Originally, we'd planned for Mom and Daddy to keep the boys, but they both said they wanted to go to the game, so they went with us.

First, though, Jones had to "bust Pop's rump" for playing around in Jones and Freddie's "laboratory." After that, Lila, who'd come over for the afternoon, took the boys on a treasure hunt through the house. Their loot was 26 cents each. Jones said he wanted to use his money to buy Skittles at the ballgame. Freddie, not surprisingly, said he wanted to use his to buy a "Clemson Tiger sport (Nike) shirt."

He ended up with both a shirt AND a camouflage trucker hat with a Tiger paw on it. He's been saying it wanted a camo hat ever since he saw AJ's. When he tried that one on at Alumni Hall on College Avenue after the ballgame, I could.not.say.no.to.it. It looks SO CUTE on him.

HOW CUTE IS THAT HAT?!?

I'm ahead of myself.

The game was fun. I love going to Littlejohn. It's just the right size, and I love the seats Daddy gets - not that there's a bad one in the house. Every time a Tiger would take a foul shot, Jones would copy the student section by holding his hands up in the air. It was so cute.

After the 'heels' win, we went to Alumni Hall for Freddie the Fashionista to spend his 26 cents on $55 worth of Clemson souvenirs (at some point, we'll discuss the actual value of money). Between that and eating Happy Meals at the kitchen counter when we got back to Hartwell, the boys didn't get to bed until 10:30. That didn't stop them, though, from being awake and whispering in their room by 6:45.

We spent the latter part of Sunday morning in the service at Oakwood Baptist Church, which will be our "lake church" when we're in Anderson. Not only was it an incredible service, but it was so fun to walk Jones around the hallway, pointing out which classrooms were my own. He was especially excited to see my Kindergarten classroom, where I was one of Mrs. Metcalf's "Eager Beavers."


After lunch at Logan's, the boys took looooooooooonnnngggg, very necessary naps, while Mom, Daddy, Jeremy, and I watched several episodes of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." I love that show. It's almost as awesome as rainy days on a comfy couch. Lucky me, I got to experience both things earlier today.

As we drove home, I asked Mom and Daddy if we can come back on Friday. They're going to have a very hard time getting me to stay away from their home on Hartwell.

Freddie decided to make THIS his
"Sleepy," like the little blue blankie
Jones sometimes sleeps with.

Freddie's HAD to have a "sport"
(Nike swoosh) on it. I don't know
where he got his obsession with Nike,
but it's a VERY real thing.

Freddie picked the marshmallows out of Fruit Loops
with marshmallows.

Tiny Tarheels

One of Jeremy's Christmas gifts from my parents was a set of 8 tickets to the North Carolina / Clemson basketball game at the BEAUTIFULLY-renovated Littlejohn Coliseum.

The boys, my parents, and I met Jeremy and his parents at the game and had a grand old time - for the first half, anyway. About mid-way through half-time, both boys said they were ready to go home, so the three of us hit the highway and left Jeremy and his parents there to finish out the game (Mom and Daddy left, too - the State of the Union address was on!).

I was actually surprised at how well the boys behaved - and how still they stayed in their seats. Well, Jones was still. Freddie would've been restless, if it weren't for the pretty constant distraction of the Clemson Tiger (Freddie'd point him out every time he walked by on the court, as if each time were the first time I'd seen him) and the SnapChat filters on my phone.

One half was just about the perfect amount of basketball action for my two tiny Tarheels. Seeing how well they did for that long, though, has me really, REALLY excited for all of the ballgames that lay ahead for the four - or EIGHT! - of us!

Not-So-Tiny Tarheels

In anticipation of tonite's Final Four, the boys dressed up in their Carolina blue, and we decided to drive to Jeremy's office.

Also:

1) I got Jones some Palmetto Tree flip flops.  When I gave them to him, I said, "I have some just like that!" So he wanted me to wear mine - which are at least 15 years old - so we'd match.

And so I did.

2) The lighting right behind our house is almost perfect for pictures. That's why so many of them are taken either on the patio or on the railroad ties right behind the garage. 

4) The boys love to visit Jeremy's office.

5) Jeremy gave Freddie a sip of Coke. Freddie smiled as Jeremy took the bottle away and said, "I won (want) some!"

6) This is probably my favorite picture EVER of Jeremy and the boys.

 7) I think Jones turned 20 as he slept last nite. I mean, LOOK AT HIM.

8) This afternoon, Jones and I went to Belk to buy DahDah a birthday present. Before we left, Jones randomly went over and kissed Freddie on the cheek. "We will see ya later. I will be back," he told him. Also, at the store, I tried on a pink cardigan. Jones said, "You look nice! Look at you!"  Who knew he'd be such an outstanding shopping buddy?

9) When we got home, Jones hugged Freddie...

 10) ... he then said to Freddie, "Did you disobey [while we were gone]?" and then asked Jeremy, "Did Freddie disobey?"

"Did you disobey?"

"Did Freddie disobey?"

11) As soon as he took the last bite of his "treat pizza," Jones popped up and said, "Okay! it's time for bed!"

It was also time for a ballgame ...