Grand Cayman Adventure, Day 4: Turtle Farm, Beach and Stingray City

We went back to the beach - this time with Joseph's life vest thank goodness - and swam like fish in the ocean. Jake and I made a "Joseph" sandwich, which Joseph just thought was hilarious!


After we got tired of swimming, the bucket brigade took to patrolling the beach.

We visited the Turtle Farm. Joseph was very excited about the opportunity to touch a turtle.
Kris and I visited the turtle farm years ago - at least 8 years ago - and it was a bunch of concrete tubs. We thought it was a conservation facility, however it turns out that they process and sell the turtle meat. It has now been reborn as Botswain Bay, and includes a swimming lagoon, a snorkeling experience, and a nature trail. In addition to the large concrete tubs where the turtles live until they become burgers!

The lagoon was nice, there was a waterfall that you could climb under then jump off of. All the other kids loved it, but Joseph just thought they were crazy and safely climbed back down!


Later that evening, we took our final boat ride to Stingray City, where you can actually swim with sting rays! Joseph and David soaked up the last bit of sun before we headed home.


We got to the sandbar, and Joseph put on his "scuba diver feet" and got ready to dive in.

The sting rays were HUGE and they were all over everyone!


And although Joseph looks absolutely terrified in this picture, touching the sting rays is one of his favorite things to talk about from vacation.


After our daring sting ray adventure, we headed back home as the sunset.

Grand Cayman Adventure, Day 3: Margaritaville, Hell and Dinghy rides

We woke up bright and early and went on another walk.
Poor Jake and Joseph got so tired! We had to keep finding big rocks to sit down and rest on.
Then we went swimming some more in the pool with Riley.


After Joseph's nap, we went to Margarita-ville (Mommy's FAVORITE restaurant) for lunch.

Joseph usually loves the sharks at Margaritaville, but this time he wouldn't get near it! Jake and Grande posed for a picture though.






This Margaritaville had a water slide.
Usually little kids aren't allowed, but they were able to make an exception for us if I went down with him.

Grande waited at the bottom to help catch Joseph. Turns out, the water slide went a lot faster than any of us expected. I'm not sure which of the three of us was the most scared!

After visiting Margaritaville we headed over to Hell, Grand Cayman where we sent postcards to the only people whose addresses we have memorized - Mamoo and Papa. We then went out and looked at the hell rocks. About this time the milkshakes from Margaritaville kicked in and Joseph and Jake raised a little hell of their own!



We got back to the house and went swimming. For the first time EVER Joseph got his hair wet and did not melt down like a snowman in July! He actually loved it! We threw him and threw him for hours. We were all exhausted, but Joseph just kept on laughing.


We finally ended the day with a sunset dinghy ride. It was beautiful. We tried to catch a fish, but the only thing biting were "weedfish". For those of you who aren't familiar with that breed, they look remarkably similar to a piece of sea grass.

After this adventourus day, we ALL slept well!

Grand Cayman Adventure, Day 2: Swimming, Sand and Lobster?

We woke up bright and early our first day in Grand Cayman. Joseph, Jake and I went for an early morning walk before it got too hot. We saw lots of crows. Jake found this wonderful palm branch that he used to help shade us from the sun.

We went swimming to cool off. Riley loves to float around the pool on the raft, much to Joseph's delight.

Then we headed to the beach. The current was kind of rough, but Joseph loved the waves!

We came home for lunch, and Joseph took a nice long nap. You may remember that our luggage didn't arrive with us, so I had been thriftily using the few diapers I had tucked away in our carry-on bag. I had actually put Joseph down to nap in his very last diaper, not sure what I was going to do when he woke up. While he was sleeping, Marty and I ran to the airport to try and find my luggage. Of course as soon as we left, the luggage was delivered to the house. But at least it was there!

After Joseph's nap, we played in the pool some more, and Joseph and Jake morphed into bucket heads.

Jake and Grande caught a lobster -Joseph was so excited when he got to eat it for dinner. Gross!

Before dinner, we headed out on the boat and went over to the Ritz for a drink.

We just barely made it under the bridge.

Joseph and Jake enjoyed fruity drinks (as did the rest of us, but we weren't as cute).

And they posed in front of Grande's boat.

And then enjoyed a quiet ride home.

Grand Cayman Adventure: Day 1, Going to Cayman

Our day started out bright and early. Joseph and I got to the airport at 6 am! In plenty of time for our 8:15 am flight.

We had breakfast at Pascal's at the airport. What a treat! Joseph entertained me and the rest of the termianl by making a bacon tongue. (Bacon tongues are a trick that his Daddy taught him on our cruise, much to my dismay).

We got to our flight in plenty of time, and boarded right on schedule. There was a little delay, but then we pulled away from the gate and got into line to take off. We were the next flight to depart, when they called us back to the gate. This little old lady had boarded the wrong plane, and when she went to get off, her bag spilled all over the aisle.

The TSA had to sweep the plane in order to ensure our security. It was quite an operation. We all had to deplane and take our bags off with us. A whole team of people boarded the plane wearing heavy plastic gloves and carrying some sort of scanner detector thing. Several police were present and interviewed the entire crew about what they witnessed. I went straight to the counter to see if I could get rebooked on a later flight from Miami to Grand Cayman, since I could tell this would be taking awhile and we would miss our 12:30 connection. They weren't able to rebook us, since we hadn't actually missed our flight. They were confident that we'd be able to get on the 3:30 flight once we landed in Miami.

We finally got to reboard the plane. By this time, I had to pee pretty dang badly. I instructed Joseph to sit in his seat and not get up while I went to use the bathroom. As soon as I sat down on the comode, I hear over the loud speaker "Andrews, please report to the front on the plane immediately." I just about died! Surely they understood that parents traveling alone couldn't take their kids to the bathroom with them! Those bathrooms are so small, Joseph wouldn't even fit in there with me. I pictured myself being hauled off in handcuffs for child abadonment!

I tore out of the bathroom and back up the aisle; luckily Joseph was still sitting quietly in our seats. A flight attendant rushed up and told me that we had been rebooked on a direct flight, but we only had 15 minutes to get to the International Concourse (from the very end of the A gate). And, they had to get our stroller out from underneath the plane.

I loaded Joseph up and tore through the airport. I walked up just as they were calling the final boarding.

The gate agent smiled and said she had a surprise for me. I was really confused, but then I looked at my boarding pass, and they had upgraded us to first class!

We had an awesome flight! Joseph laid back and fell asleep before we even took off. I had a nice cocktail to start my trip off right, and we left the country in style.

We finally got to Grand Cayman, but our bags didn't. Luckily, I planned ahead and brought our bathing suits in our carry on bags.

We got to the house, and Grande took us on a boat ride to Rum Point. Joseph sat right up in the drivers seat and took it all in.

Joseph loved Grande's big white boat. In fact, every morning since this ride, when I asked him what he's dreamed about, its Grande's big white boat.


When we got to Rum Point, the restaurant and bar were closed, but we managed to take a photo of Jake with the giant painted Iguana. (Joseph wouldn't get near it!).

We then headed over to Caibo. Jake (6) and I played volleyball against David (11) and Joseph. Sadly, David won. He actually killed us! He was pretty excited about it until I reminded him that he beat a short person and an old person.

We ate chicken fingers until the mosquitos came out, then headed back home for a good night's rest.

Donate to the Troops

I got this from my friend Sarah and I thought it was very cool and very easy.

On the below link, click on "Troop Drive". HBO will donate the item you select to a deployed service member at no cost to you. I just 'donated' a phone card. All of the items seem to be things that troops overseas need or would like (batteries, hand sanitizer, band-aids, phone cards, beef jerky, magazines, etc.).

http://www.hbo.com/generationkill/?ntrack_para1=feat_main_image

Getting ready for vacation!

We are getting ready for our vacation to Grand Cayman! Every morning Joseph wakes up and says: "We're going to see Grande on vacation! We're going to see scuba divers. Scuba divers are scary!".

I tried to tell him that his Mommy and Daddy were scuba divers, but he's not believing a word of it!

I'm still packing, but so far I've got a charged DVD player, some goldfish, a new Nemo book, and (just in case) some Benadryl! Ugh! Let's hope for a quick, nap-filled flight!

And I added the picture of May, Joseph and the cupcake back to the July 11th post. . . it's not the best picture (Sorry May) but Joseph looked so cute I couldn't resist!

Dinner with Rowan and Joseph's new shoes

Rowan (and his mom) came over after school today, which is the first time Joseph has invited a friend over. And really the two of them initiated it. Yesterday after school, Rowan said he wanted to come over. Joseph said he wanted Rowan to come over. And like the super moms we are - Heather and myself made it happen!

They were both so excited. When I picked Joseph up from school, his teacher, Miss Jena, told me that the two of them had been talking about Rowan coming to Joseph's house all day long. When Rowan arrived, Joseph was so excited he couldn't even sit down. The two of them ran all over the house making a ton of racket.

They finally calmed down and we went to Steak and Shake for dinner. The two of them were so good! They both sat in their chairs and ate their dinner and drank their chocolate milk shakes like big boys!

Thank you Grand-ma-ma for the wonderful green gator splashers! Joseph LOVES them! We haven't gotten to splash in any puddles yet, but they are also great for clumping loudly through the living room and match any outfit! Here's a photo of him wearing them while reading his favorite book of the moment - last year's Christmas card showing Hunter and Savannah (Beverly's kids) wearing Santa hats!

Wakeboard Tournament at Lake Arrowhead

We went to watch Joseph's cousin Jake compete in a wake board tournament at Lake Arrowhead this weekend. I haven't been up that way in years. It was very nostalgic, and made me more than a bit sad, to drive through Canton. Just yesterday Kris was telling me yet again how "It's all different. None of this used to be here," in his exaggerated South Georgia drawl. I tried to recreate the experience for Lemuel and Joseph, but it just wasn't the same.

Jake did great in the tournament. He's one of the youngest kids out there and he made both passes without falling, and even managed to sneak in a few tricks! After he finished competing, we all went swimming. For some reason, neither Joseph nor Anica would wear their bathing suits!

The swimming area was just off one of the holes on the golf course. Luckily, no one was playing since it was about 110 degrees! The sand trap made a great playground though!

It was a crappy swimming area. I mean really crappy. There was goose poop everywhere! But Grande and Joseph raked it all up!

Here are Joseph and Grande swimming like crappie fish (get it? That was supposed to be funny!)

We really had a lot of fun! If you ask Joseph, he says he wants to wake board - but he also wanted to jump off the diving board until he found out his hair would get wet! We'll see how he does. Maybe I can get him a shower cap!

There's no Family in the ABC Family channel

So last weekend when Lemuel was over she begged me to record Picture This on ABC Family - which I did, since it was on ABC FAMILY! I'm not sure how they think that was family! It was awful.

1) High schools seniors were DRINKING at a party!
2) One of the high school seniors threw up because she was so drunk.
3) One boy described his girlfriend as a good screamer . . . the other girl replied, Don't even go there - that's too personal.
4) They discussed several times that at this party each year they took a virgin sacrifice up to the "tower" so a boy could shower with her.

It was awful! You would think something made by Disney, cross promoted with High School Musical 3, and on ABC FAMILY would be something you could actually watch with your family without blushing!

Does this make me old?

Six Flags Over Georgia

We went with Sally and Victor to Six Flags today! It was a blast. I was afraid the kids would be too scared, but they were fearless!

This was the first ride. It took them way up - at least 30 or 40 feet, then kind of bounced them up and down. They loved it!

I thought for sure they would be scared of the swings. They went really fast, and got to a pretty good angle. But these guys have no fear!


After that, they rode the Ferris wheel. This was probably their least favorite. . . but who can blame them! They were locked in a pink cage!


The airplanes were a big hit, except they were so fascinated by the machine that I couldn't get a good picture. But you can tell the kid sitting in front of Victor is having fun!


The trucks were great because everyone got a steering wheel!


Thomas Town turned out to be kind of a letdown. All it is is a big playground - which Joseph and Victor liked - with a Thomas train that goes in a circle around what used to be a parking lot.

All and all - it was a great day! No lines, not too hot, and lots of fun for everyone!

Adventures in Dalton

First, we started our Dalton adventure by heading over to the country club to go swimming. I'd like to let everyone know that Lemuel and I both jumped off the diving board. Lemuel however did a twist that ended up in a cannonball, and I just concentrated on not drowning. Joseph wanted to go off the diving board until he found out his hair would get wet - once that was revealed, he was no longer interested. And yes, Mamoo did take off her air cast against doctor's orders and go swimming with us. But Mamoo, MD, has carefully evaluated her foot and everything is still healing correctly.


After swimming, we headed back to Nana and Uncle Ches's for a nap, then went off to the playground in Dalton. After playing on the playground for awhile, we headed back for a good spaghetti dinner.



After dinner, we had movie night and watched "The Jungle Book". Every time we all referred to it as "The Jungle Book", Joseph quickly corrected us: "No! It's the "Jungle Movie". Because in fact it is a movie, not a book. Which actually makes sense. Why would you call a movie a book?



Finally, before heading home, Joseph and Lemuel got to sit in Uncle Ches's perfectly restored 1968? Camaro. It's a beautiful car, and he was somehow able to sit calmly as the two crawled from the backseat to the front seat to the backseat and adjusted every part that moves in the process!

Joseph finally got a cupcake, and saw his first real movie

Even though I hid the cupcakes, Joseph did not forget! He asked each morning, afternoon and night if I thought May would let him have a cupcake. Finally May's birthday party rolled around. We went to dinner with May, Lisa, Eden and Jodee to celebrate May's birthday. May let Joseph have TWO cupcakes. He was very excited, and ended up with icing all over his face and hands! Happy Birthday May!




Tonight we went with Grande, Gigi and his cousin Jake to see Wall-E - Joseph's first real movie in the theatre. He was so cute! Joseph and Jake (who's 6) shared a seat. Joseph sat spell bound the entire time - only blinking when he ran out of popcorn! It was so adorable! I wish I could have taken a picture (although I don't think the rest of the people would have appreciated that).

Joseph's Cupcakes

We are going to dinner with May and Lisa Thursday night for May's birthday. Joseph is VERY excited, as birthdays are special days, because there is cake.

At the grocery store this evening, we picked out some cupcakes to take to the dinner. Of course, Joseph wanted to eat one right then, but I explained those cupcakes were for May's birthday, and if we ate them tonight, how would we have a birthday party for May?

He looked so sadly down at the cupcakes. He didn't say anything for a long time. Finally he looked up and said, "Mommy, do you think May will let me have a cupcake?"

I said, "Of course! May will even let you pick your own cupcake out!".

His whole face lit up, and he was cheery, and talking about May's birthday party, for the rest of the trip!

Georgia Tech Student Places Ad on Craigslist to Learn How to Kiss

So, I thought I'd just use this to post pictures of Joseph, then I logged onto Fox News and saw this article. And of course, my first thought. . . man I wish Kris could see this! He would have loved it! This was a story he would have forwarded and retold to every Techie he ever met. By the time the Georiga-Georgia Tech game rolled around, even us Dawg fans would be tired of this story.

My second thought . . . thank goodness I'm a Dawg! I'll bet high school seniors are asking Ga Tech for their applications back!

So in case you are wondering what I'm talking about, a Tech student actually posted the ad below on Craigslist. You can view the entire Craigslist posting here! But I've also posted it below in case it gets taken down. There was also an article about this on Foxnews.com.

I'm a 20 yearold GA Tech student who has never kissed. I have been going out with a girl online for the last 5 years and she's finally coming down to see me on the 11th. She tells me it's a big turn-off if a guy doesn't know how to kiss, and she even dumped her last boyfriend because of this. I want to make a good first impression, but I've never kissed before! Please, I need a girl to practice kissing with, nothing else!! Just kissing lesson - nothing more nothing less!

Some have asked if I have terrible oral hygiene or something of that sort, so I included a picture of me showing my teeth! I'm pretty normal overall. Will send more pics on request!

Never been kissed

So do you think she turns the plane around after she see's this article on Fox news?

Here's "Never been kissed" Is he making a kissy face? Looks like he's doing allright on his own!

Oh - and here are his teeth - in case potential bad oral hygiene was all that was holding you back from this gig!

Happy July 4th!

So we cut open our watermelon, and it was yellow! Who ever heard of a yellow watermelon? Why would they even grow such a thing! You know good and well that everyone who purchased those yellow watermelons THOUGHT they were getting a red one! But, it tasted great! Just as good, if not better, than a red one.