Thursday, May 24, 2007

Still Here

Really, I am. I don't even have much of an excuse, aside from laziness, for not blogging as frequently. I guess I don't feel like I have a lot to talk about lately. We've been keeping busy with the day-to-day sort of stuff mostly, and nothing too incredible.

Last weekend was a whirlwind of activity,though, so we'll start there.

My grandmother and her brother and his wife came for a brief visit. I couldn't imagine driving over 1000 miles and only staying 48 hours! I had to work Saturday morning, but as soon as we locked up the doors at noon I was out of there! I was hoping to have enough time to go home, shower, and change out of my scrubs, but I didn't get that sort of luck. Fortunately, family loves you no matter how gross you look. :) And Saturdays aren't real filthy days, so I was relatively un-filthy.

We had a great visit with everyone and Dad and Bert made a fabulous dinner which included an entire beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, beans and corn, and these absolutely to die for individual molten chocolate cakes. They were pure heaven and I know exactly what recipe I'll be going for the next time I have a craving.

Company left around 8 that night with the plan of meeting the next morning to do airboat rides and other touristy type stuff, and so we decided to tag along, too.

And in a weird and totally unlike him sort of moment, Jonas refused to come home with me.

"No Mama! I stay Granny's!"

Now, he does this occasionally, but the moment he sees that I'm not staying with him, he decides he wants to come home, afterall. So, I told him he could stay if he wanted, and I headed for the car. Well, he just stood on the porch and waved and said "Night-night Mama." So, I went home feeling very empty. I've only ever been without him when Wil was in the hospital. But, to be honest, I really did enjoy the quiet time. And he had a great time because Steven spent the night at Granny's, too. They had a regular sleep-over.

Next morning I rush back to the parent's house, we zip through a drive-through for an unhealthy and grease-laden breakfast that J-man loved so much he ate mine, too, and then it was off to the airboats!

I was concerned that J would be afraid of the really loud noise of the boat, but he seemed incredibly excited and eager to ride. And, might I add, quite adorable in his little lifevest?! Once we were on the boat I was holding my breath, knowing that any minute he was going to totally flip out and want off, but the noise didn't startle him at all. He loved wearing the protective headphones that they give you, too. The only thing that he hated was the 45 mph wind smacking him in the face. I got a good chuckle, only for a second, out of watching his cheeks flapping, before he ducked down in the seat, grabbed my hand, and pulled it over his eyes. But as soon as the boat stopped moving, he'd poke his head out and look around at what was going on. We got to see some gators up close and personal (almost too up close and personal). The ride was great, the day was perfect, and we all had a great redneckish time.

After returning I found a brochure that says this place does a 2 hour chartered eco-tour for groups of 4 to 6. I'll have to keep that in mind, as it sounds like a lot of fun, and would be an educational experience for Steven.

From the airboats we had some lunch, and then we stopped at the flea market where Dad bought the boys matching Camo t-shirts. It must be a redneck rite of passage or something-- airboat riding medal of honor?

We ended up back at the house for a bit, so J and I took a swim. I was surprised at how unafraid of the water he was. Lately it's been a struggle just to get him in the bath, so the pool was a real shocker. Of course, pools sound a lot more fun than hair washing.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, we all trekked over to the beach to watch the sun set. Although I'm not sure why, since we're on the east coast, and well, last time I checked, the sun set on the west. But regardless, it was great playtime for the boys and Granny. They built a sandcastle, and then experimented with adding a seaweed barrier as reinforcement to keep it from washing away. They watched a guy with a metal detector find a quarter about a foot below the surface, which thrilled J. And they practiced wave-chasing and crab-walking. Another huge surprise out of J. The last time we went to the beach he lasted all of 5 mintues because he's so manic about his hands being dirty. I guess that's one more phase he's outgrown.

And speaking of growing up... when we got back to the parent's house, Steven went to take his shower, and I tried to talk J into the hated bathtub. When he refused for the 100th time, Steven talked him into taking a shower "like a big boy" with him. So, into the shower he went. Steven taught him how to stand under the water and get wet, how to soap himself like a big boy, and how to rinse without getting soap in his eyes. Of course, they also took time to play battle of the space-men from the planet shower-drain. It was so precious watching Steven with J. He's so patient and good to him, and he couln't possibly be any better to him considering their age difference.

It was a long weekend, indeed, but a great one. And I realize that this post has been incredibly too long, but hey, it could be worse, I have so much more to tell you about. :) I'll save it for later and leave you with some pictures from over the weekend.




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2 Comments:

At 9:05 PM, Blogger Eve said...

That sounded like an awesome weekend for you! I laughed at the visual of J's cheeks flapping in the wind. :) He is getting so big and grown up now. I love the picture of the three of them building their sand castle. And look, his hair grew back in really REALLY fast! It has taken Anthony so long to get the little bit that he has it is so frustrating.

 
At 12:49 AM, Blogger westcoastmama said...

Aw, Angie...I've missed you. What a wonderful post to come back to. I'm going to have to catch up!

 

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