Mother's Day visit to Tallula Falls, Georgia

We went to the Tallula Falls State Park in north Georgia on Sunday. After attending Saturday evening Mass we had the entire day for the park. We were afraid it was going to rain, but it ended up being a really nice day for a hike. Isaac rode in the backpack down the 500 stairs to the falls and then walked up the stairs so that Quincy could ride in the backpack. We didn't realize that dogs weren't allowed on the stairs or suspension bridge leading to the gorge. So, I carried Quincy down because she got her toes stuck in the grates. We couldn't leave her in the car (too hot) and didn't want one of us to miss the trip. It worked well, although we broke the rules a bit. Spoiled dog--she clearly didn't bother anyone since she was in arms or our back the entire trip. We felt guilty leaving our other pug, Rascal, at home but was so relieved that we did because there's no way I could have carried both down those steps. I can handle an extra 23 pounds, but not 50+. Rascal just doesn't travel well and really doesn't enjoy car rides and being out of his element. He was quite content to take a nap at home. Quincy loved the special trip with us.

The park was really well maintained and suprisingly not overcrowded. We had packed a picnic lunch and sat by the arches (see photo) for lunch after our 3 hour hike. At the interpretative center they had a display of stuffed animals that was a hit for Isaac. Isaac did really, really well climbing the stairs. I was proud of him. He enjoys being out in nature, but really wanted to take a "bike trip" rather than a "hike trip." His days riding in the backpack are numbered.

We had a delicious dinner of grilled salmon (wild caught, not farm raised), brown rice and broccoli. Isaac enjoyed helping with the grill which consists of him taking some "grill tools" (spactuala, tongs) out to the grill area and playing with them in the dirt. Relaxing and fun Mother's Day 2009. We did miss seeing Mimi P, Mimi Y and Gigi.

Memorial Park

Isaac has not been sleeping very well or consistently since returning from California. We're hoping it's a phase. Anyway, we were up entirely too early on Sunday morning so decided to go feed the ducks at Memorial Park. I thought it would be a good time to go first thing in the morning as the ducks should be hungry at this time of day. I was wrong. First, we got there before the park opened. And the ducks were still asleep and really not interested in food. We still had fun. We spotted a few turtles, snake and a family of baby ducklings--all of which Isaac loved. And our pugs loved going for a special outing.

We decided it was due time to get some flowers on our porch so found some Sunday afternoon. Isaac wanted red flowers which was good because that's what Donavan and I wanted too. He's holding his dear Pablo, the penquin in the photo. He is very attached to Pablo. Isaac has been taking good care of the african violet plant in his room and is really excited about watering the plants this summer.

Strawberry Pickin'

We've been to Washington Farms a couple of times in the next week to pick strawberries. The berries are delicious and it's been easy to quickly fill a couple of buckets. Isaac's favorite part of these trips are the animals. He loves looking at the bunnies, chicks and pig. He's convinced that we need a bunny. I've explained that Mommy is allergic, but he thinks the bunny should live outside. When we get a house we'll discuss it--that is not likely to happen anytime soon so I figure he will have forgotten about the bunny by the time we move into a house.

Playing soccer

We went to Will and Drew's (friends) soccer games over the weekend. Isaac loved playing with some of the boys in between games.

I'm not sure if it's the transition back to east coast time since our trip to California or Isaac going through a "phase." He hasn't been wanting to sleep in his bed. He wants to lay on the couch with me or Donavan. He's been really clingy and exhausted due to getting up early, going to bed late, etc..since we got home. Over the weekend I was convinced he'd gotten the horrible GI bug I had last week, but he seems fine. Last night was the first full night of sleep for him since we returned. Maybe he's finally getting re-adjusted. I just checked on him napping in his bed and had to capture this photo.

We picked strawberries this morning and they are delicious. I forgot to take my camera. By the time we left the farm Isaac had strawberry juice all over himself. This year he did understand not to pick the green berries, but didn't understand why he couldn't munch on the bright red ones while we filled our bucked.

It's pool time in Athens

It was close to 90 degrees in Athens on Saturday so we opened our pool. haa haa haa One of the (few) benefits of apartment living is having access to a pool in our back yard. Isaac wanted to have lunch outside so we grilled brats and went swimming for a few hours. We had to physically remove him from the water to come back for a nap. He was exhausted and we didn't want him to get anymore sun.

Trip to Annaheim and San Diego, California

Donavan had a conference in Annaheim, California last week. We just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go with him. Isaac and I are Donavan's American Express--he "can't leave home without us." The three of us headed out a few days before Easter and spent 3 days over Easter weekend at Disneyland.

Isaac's favorite part of Disney was the characters. He loved Mickey's Toontown where we could walk through Mickey and Minnie's houses. We also saw Chip and Tales treehouse and Pluto's dog house. The character breakfast we chose was excellent. It was in the Storyteller's Cafe housed in the Grand Califorian Hotel. It was laid back, not overly busy (probably b/c it cost an arm and a leg), and characters came up to our table for an individual visit. Isaac wanted to share his breakfast with each character. Dale actually took the grapes Isaac offered. We saw Little John, Chip and Dale, gorilla from Tarzan and several others. When we were leaving we came across a racoon (not sure what the character was from), but Isaac wanted nothing to do with it. In fact, he said "coons live outside." It was really funny that he embraced all of the other characters--even some he didn't recognize, but would have nothing to do with the racoon. Q

The hardest part of Disney for Isaac were the lines. Of course he didn't understand waiting in lines--who does? But he was a trooper. Our tickets allowed us to enter the park 1 hour early on one day. It was great b/c our bodies were still on east coast time so we were up and ready to go by 5:30 a.m. and hit the park by 6:30 to get in line for the 7 a.m. early opening. It was a really good time to be in the park. There was no wait time for rides. Isaac loved Dumbo, the Elephant ride and turning the wheels on the teacups in Alice in Wonderland.

Donavan was able to enjoy all of the "big kid" rides at the park. As a single rider he was able to jump to the head of the line. It was really cool because at times when the wait times were over an hour he was in and out of the ride in 15 minutes.

On Tuesday, Isaac and I went to San Diego to meet up with Mimi and Poppi Powell. Poppi presented at a conference in SD so we were thrilled to be able to spend a couple of days with them while Donavan was conferencing. In SD we went to Sea World. We watched the Shamu show, visited the penquins, flamingos, and turtles. Isaac's favorite part was the Seasame Street playground. The Elmo--flying fish ride was pretty cool. Mom and I enjoyed going a couple of times. They had a large area with soft blocks that Isaac really enjoyed. He was more interested in the play areas than the animals--I think Disney wiped him out of waiting in lines and crowds, etc.. he enjoyed being "free" to roam.

Before heading back to Annaheim to meet up with Donavan we headed to the beach for a morning at Coronado. It was a beautiful morning and Isaac loved playing in the sand. The water was pretty cold, but he and Mimi got wet up to their knees.

This was Isaac's first "long" plane ride and he did surprisingly well. All of our other plane trips have been from Atlanta to Indiana or Michigan which are less than 2 hours. The trip to Orange County was just shy of 5 hours. We took a lot of diversions and it helped that each seat had individual televisions screens. The flight was not full so we were able to spread out in the plane. Isaac is a really good traveler.

Easter Egg Hunt at St. Joseph's