Fort Worth Zoo

After spending a day looking at farm animals, we decided to head over to the zoo and explore our wilder side. The wildest two animals may have been with us though. 

This big rock has a rock lizard on it. Joseph ran straight up to the rock and started to climb up, until he saw the lizard and nearly jumped out his skin! Then everyone petted the rock lizard, just to make sure there were no hard feelings. 

These guys were a bit nervous while their habitat got cleaned. They all stood right together, still as statues, until the zookeeper left. 

There was a parakeet habitat, where you could buy a stick to feed the birds.

Joseph and Lemuel loved it, although Lemuel was a bit worried about getting poop in her hair. 

Listening to Joseph as we ran through the zoo, I realized that Disney has created a character for nearly every animal. We saw Timon (meerkat) and Pumba (warthog). We say Marty the zebra, Simba the baby lion, Alex the big lion, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo (although Joseph had a little trouble remembering her name. 

My favorites were the monkeys. It's just amazing human they are. They had a playground and just swung along the ropes and bars. 

After a day at the zoo, we were all ready to go home and take a nap. I know Joseph and Lemuel were worn out. And I'm sure Kyle and Kelley will sleep good too!

Fort Worth Parade and Stock Show

Saturday we got up bright and early and headed downtown to the Fort Worth Stock parade - the largest non-motorized parade in the world. And surely it was

We saw more horses than I new could fit in one state. (Hint to criminals - if you are looking for a great time to rob a house, this would be it. There were hundreds of sheriffs in the parade!). 

Our favorite paraders were the little girl in the old timey clothes being pulled by the dog! Joseph and Lemuel were just dying to hook Toby, Kyle and Kelly's dog, up to a wagon.

 

After the parade, we headed over to the stockyard for the Stock Show. Just in case you aren't familiar with stock shows, this was JUST LIKE the fair that they took Wilbur to in Charlotte's Web. Really, it was. 

There are these giant barns set up, with little areas marked off for the animals to be kept. The first animals we saw were some goats. They even had baby goats that had been born just the day before! They were so cute. Then we went into another barn that had sheep. . . and they looked just like the goats. They cut off their horns, and shave and bathe them, and we got so confused, now we don't know what we saw! I'm sure you are laughing, but I dare you to identify a sheep without wool! 

We were quite sure about the cows though. I'd never actually been quite this close to a cow before. These guys were as big as the area they had to stand in, so much so, that they nearly came out into the aisle. It is more than a little unnerving to walk 12 inches behind a line of 100 cows! 

Then, we came across this giant bull that you could take your picture with! Of course I jumped at the chance, dragging Lemuel in with me. Finally Joseph and Kyle decided to join us. If you can't tell from the picture - Lemuel and I were terrified! This bull weighed more than a ton! And his horns were bigger than Joseph. And he kept shifting around with only a small rope to hold him in place. So I know you are thinking you would have been much braver, but I dare you to give a 1 ton bull a giant hug! 

After we looked at all of the animals, we went to the fair grounds. The man working at the roller coaster was hesitant to let Joseph on - he had to stop the ride a few minutes before for a much older little boy who left in tears. But he didn't know my little daredevil. Joseph hopped on and him and Lemuel took off. It was only after the ride that Lemi shared her fear of roller coasters! 

Uncle Kyle rode the next one with him - Joseph loved it! Nothing is too scary for this guy!

Lemuel, for some reason, was not afraid of this torturous looking device. I cannot imagine getting on this willingly! 

After a long day and lots of walking, we were all rejuvenated with a little funnel cake before heading back to the house. 

Visiting Dallas Forth Worth - Friday

Joseph, Lemuel and I made the trek to Dallas for the long weekend. It was our first time visiting Aunt Kelly and Uncle Kyle. Mamoo and Nana claim that they have "the most comfortable house in the world," so we were there to test the limits of their comfort - we brought noise, toys and lots of mess!

This was Joseph and Lemuel's first visit to Texas, and Lemuel's first airplane ride, so she was doubly excited. I just NEW we were going to have a five hour tarmac delay - but the Delta pilots, air traffic controllers, and weather gods came through for us, and we sailed onto DFW without delay.

Unfortunately Delta now charges $15 for your FIRST checked bag, which would have added another $90 on to our trip. And I'm too stubborn. I would have paid $30 more for our ticket, and not complained, but it kind of feels like they are trying to pull one over on you when they add the charge on later. So I schlepped 3 bags, two kids, a stroller and a car seat through the airport. Oh well, at least I stood my ground.

Get out the vote. . . or get out of the boat?

I took Joseph to vote with me last week. We waited for 1-1/2 hours. I explained to Joseph that voting was when grown ups got together and picked the leader of our country, where we live. The leader would be the President, and he was kind of like Joseph's teacher at school. He got to make the rules for us.

I thought I'd done a good job explaining, until we got to the end of the line and Joseph asked excitedly, Is it our turn to get on the boat?

He was sorely disappointed to find out that instead of a boat, we just got to push a couple of buttons. He was excited about the sticker though.

Tempe or Bust!

As you probably know, Joseph and I headed cross country, 1900 miles, to see the Bulldawgs take on the Sun Devils in Tempe. And as you can probably guess, we had a blast!

I also learned something about American culture - its really cute for a mom and little boy to travel alone, but they are only allowed to go see their grandparents. So many people came up to Joseph and asked him if he was going to see his Grandma. When I told them that no, we were actually going to the UGA football game in Tempe, they looked at me as if I was an alien and just walked away.

First thing when we got to Arizona, we got our vacation car and headed to Scottsboro where we visited the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. Visiting other cities reminds you what a raw deal we get here in Georgia with our public parks.

This place had a replica 1:4 train that you could actually ride for $2! It was so much fun - Joseph was so excited that we rode it twice!


And it also had a carousel and a huge playground with misting water and huge sunshades, and a cute old timey stage coach.



Here's Joseph whizzing down the slide!


After playing for awhile, we headed over to Taliesin West to learn about Frank Lloyd Wright. We went on their walking tour, and made it through an hour of the 1-1/2 hour tour. Then I used Joseph as an excuse to duck out.



I'm not really a Frank Lloyd Wright fan, but I thought since I was there I ought to try to learn a little about him. I learned he's a freak, as was the poor lady giving our tour.



But it was fun, and it was a really cool place, and part of American history. . . sort of. And it was in the book of the places to see before you die, so I can cross that one off.

The next day it was time for the football game! Since it's so hot in Arizona that your eyeballs boil just walking down the sidewalk, people don't really tailgate. So instead we headed to their little restuarant/bar strip for lunch. They aren't really used to the Georgia way of doing stuff, so we all took the town by surprise. So much so that the restaurants ran out of beer. Apparently the ASU fans show up and have a drink before the game. Right before the game. Whereas Georgia fans like to arrive about 8 hours before the game for about a dozen or so drinks.

After lunch, Joel, Joseph and I headed over to their Tempe Towne Lake Beach Park (another awesome city park) to play in the splash area.



Hold on. When did Joel get here? Joel, the true jetsetter, flew in "for the game", not even spending a full 24 hours in Tempe before he had to jet set back home to Atlanta for a couple of days before heading out west again.

Finally, it was time for the game. Monique and I posed with Joseph (although Chris cut him out of the picture) while Joel tried to scalp our extra ticket.


As you probably know, UGA kicked some Sun Devil butt. Despite the fact that ASU was the Pac 10 Co-Champion last year. SEC baby!

UGA-Central Michigan Tailgate

So last Saturday, was a little warm . . . to say the least. But we had a good time.

While most people try to recreate their living rooms at the tailgate site - there were plenty of folks there with televisions, satellites, and comfortable chairs, we went for the bathroom.

Oh - and the best part. We met Vince Dooley. Or accosted him - depending on who you ask. But we did get him to slow down long enough to snap this picture. . . . before Mamoo kissed him! (on the cheek). What a day!

Another successful day on the potty

Joseph had another successful day using the potty. He wore his big boy britches all day at school with no accidents!

This evening at bedtime, Joseph picked out two books to read. First, we read the new Brown Bear Brown Bear. And for his second story, the OLD Brown Bear Brown Bear.

Ahhhh to be two again!

First UGA game, and the unveiling of UGA VII, and potty training

We made it through the first football game. It wasn't easy, but we heard the bugle player, and saw all of our seatmates, and watched the crowning of UGA VII.



That was especially hard, as UGA VI was in UGAdom for our whole marriage. Kris's bachelor party was held at the South Carolina game, which was UGA VI's first showing. And then of course UGA VI died not long after Kris.

Joseph had a blast at the game though. Despite the 94 felt like 104 degree heat that nearly wiped both Greg and myself out! He cheered and screamed during the game, and has talked about the "new" UGA, Hairy Dawg and the football players non stop ever since. How 'bout them Dawgs!

I was pretty exhausted after the game. I don't know why, but those always make you sore. So Sunday and Monday we just hung around the house to focus on our next big hurdle: the potty.



Joseph did GREAT! He only had one accident. We even ventured out to the Varsity Jr for lunch with Kelly, Kyle and Kimi. And later, Joseph and I went to Barnes and Noble where he picked out a prize since he had done so well using the potty. We looked and looked and looked through all the books they had. We made another round. We looked at Toy Story books and potty books and Thomas books and Cars books. After much deliberation, Joseph finally settled on the classic Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see? (which we already own and read every night). But I guess it never hurts to have another copy.

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.