POTW

Sweet potatoes + topless dinner = bathtime

POTW

Visiting the Street

by Gracie

On our way up to Vermont, I stopped at Sesame Street to visit some of my old friends.  Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, Oscar, Grover... they were all there.  It was great to see them all.   They seemed glad to see me too.  There were parades and shows going on throughout the day.  Every time I saw one of my friends from the street, they waved happily.

There were all kinds of thrilling rides around the neighborhood.  I rode spinning rides, bouncing rides, and flying rides.  Nope, I was not scared at all.  I think that my mom was scared.  She claimed that she was not scared to ride, but that she was scared for me to ride.  Likely excuse for her to stay off the rides with Allison most of the time.  I heard that when she was little, she was scared to go on the tiny kiddie ferris wheel, and her much younger cousin had to hold her hand and drag her onto the ride!!  Once again, thank goodness that my fearless dad makes sure that maximum fun levels are achieved.

 

Here we are, ready to go.  Now look waaaaay up there.  See the bottoms of my shoes!?  This ride was the best.  It took us way up high, and the dropped us, and we bounced bounced bounced.  I laughed so hard.

This one was a hot air balloon ride.  There were lots more rides too, and I loved every one of them.  By the end of the day, I was exhausted.  Allison did get to ride one ride too.  She rode the carousel on a bench with Mom.  I think she liked it a lot, even though she didn't even get to sit on a horse.  There are times that I am thankful that I'm not a baby anymore!

Bye 'mo!

Lovin' some cousins

by Gracie

Allie, Shawn, Riley, me, Eric, & Jarrett

I also had a fantastic time in Vermont.  I must say that there are many great things about Vermont, but the best part of Vermont is cousins.  I love the grown-ups too, but cousins are just so much fun.  I wish I had some cousins living much closer to me.  I had a blast playing outside with them.  We bounced on the trampoline, swung on the tire, swam in the pool, played on the playground, dug in the dirt, and lots more.

I had a great time with all my cousins, but especially Riley.  I would be perfectly pleased to be permanently superglued to Riley's side.  As soon as I saw her each day, I'd grab her by the hand and drag her away.  If she left the room for a minute, I was looking for her.  She read books to me, quizzed me on my letters, numbers, & colors, let me play in her awesome room, and generally looked out for me.  We took a tour of the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory together, where we adopted Cowbear and Curly.  I'm not sure, but I think my parents, aunt, and Gram were there too.  I was too attached to Riley to notice!

5 months, 10 states, & tons of family

by Allison

I turned 5 months old yesterday, and am learning new things everyday.  I've become quite good at picking up toys, and whatever else I can reach, and I enjoy putting these things in my mouth for a taste.  If I can't grab anything, I'll just stick my hand in my mouth.  I love eating.  I haven't found anything that I don't like yet, but I haven't had peas yet, and Gracie has warned me about peas.  I'm rolling back to front, and needing less support to sit up.  I'm generally a gleeful girl, and I speak in a sort of happy growl that makes my parents laugh.  Stats coming next month.

Much more importantly, I am now an interstate traveler.  We drove and drove (GA, SC, NC, VA) and drove (DE, MD), and then stopped for 1/2 a day at Sesame Place (PA...more about that later), and drove (NJ, NY, VT) and drove some more, and finally arrived in the beautiful state of Vermont where I got to meet half my roots, and see a lot of neat places.

I found that the best place to hang-out was with Gram.  I especially enjoyed an outdoor nap on the porch swing with the fan blowing on us.  We certainly couldn't have enjoyed this in the miserable Georgia heat!  Vermont was just right.  I went to my first cook-outs, where I got to meet all kinds of aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends.  I had my eye on all that good food, but all they offered me was baby food.  I enjoyed lots of outdoor time, lots of sitting with new people, and even had my first evening without my parents!  I got to hang-out with my grown-up cousin while our parents went out to dinner.

Here I am with a couple of my cousins.  All of them are really nice.

G's first rollercoaster, with Aunt Shari

I also attended my first fair at Franklin County Field Days.  I liked watching the flashing lights and hearing the wild music as the rides whirled around.  I am told that there were also lots of animals (cows!) that my sister really enjoyed, but I slept through that part.  I thought I smelled something!

I loved my time in Vermont.  Naturally, Gracie wants to have her own say about it, so there will be more about our trip coming very soon!