JOEY WAVERUNNER

CRUMK, SADINO CLASS OF 2013

I think you can look at group pictures like these and tell which moms take a lot of pictures and which don't.   :)
A practiced child looks at the camera until specifically instructed to stop smiling.

Floating sleeping baby

FROZEN TREATS

The Frozen Treats youth uniform.

Skiing, first time, long time

OOOPS, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

When we got home from the NC/Ohio trip, it was just in time to unpack and spend a Memorial Day afternoon in Kaki's & Paka Rick's pool.

 Full disclosure: Kaki did not buy us the matching shirts. I actually did that myself. I'm turning into my mother-in-law.

Grandpa on waverunner

CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER

So how did I get from visiting my grandparents in Cleveland to D.C. so fast?

They are filming Captain America: Winter Soldier on the streets of downtown Cleveland. You might remember that Cleveland doubled for NY in The Avengers.

 We were reading the paper at Grandma Higgins' house and saw a picture of an awful looking car crash. Turns out, it was part of the filming. Once I told Joey that they were filming the next Captain America, I was informed that we had to go see him! I told her that they were just filming car chases, and that we weren't going to see him... but apparently we had to go anyways! 

 There is the D.C. Metro sign, green fire hydrants (Cleveland doesn't have green ones) and then we got to see them practice the car chase, and then film it for real. We must have seen them shoot and reset 1/2 dozen times. Joey's make-shift cape served two purposes, 1st as a cape, second to keep her warm. It was freezing! And the wind off the lake didn't help.

HOT DOG!

I was at FIU last week with the girls. Sam had two appointments, one with the infant development lab, one with a child one. She was participating in studies, looking at TV screens while they monitored her eye movement.

While I was filling out paperwork at the child lab, she was playing kitchen with Joey. A toy started to make music. Sam stopped to dance. Sam will dance to an elevator floor ding... she will dance to anything! When the toy stopped making noise, I started to sing The Hot Dog dance for her, so she could keep dancing. She abruptly stopped, walked quickly and purposefully across the room towards her stroller, where my phone was, reaching and pointing. 
Me: "No Sam. No Phone!" (I said it firmly, but confused, because she already knows this.)
Sam looks at me, patiently, still pointing at the phone. 
Me: Comprehension dawning across my face "Do you want me to play the song on my phone so you can dance?"
I play the song, she beams and starts dancing her little butt off. 
The assistant next to me: "SHUT UP! How old is she?"
Me: "10 1/2 months."

Between her walking since 8 1/2 months, her following instructions, her dancing, clapping, hi-fiving, waving and saying hi & bye, giving kisses, general good temperament and good behavior... they were AMAZED by my Samantha.

Sometimes, you just need to take a moment to be a proud mom and BRAG. It's healthy!

SAY CHEESE!

Boy those two don't like taking pictures!

(Grandma & Grandpa Higgins, not the girls.)

BEAT DOWN BY GRANDMA

CHARGRIN FALLS BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

Our required picture in front of the falls.

 I've never seen the water level so low!

 Sam got to go on her 1st carnival ride with NO PARENT! 

Thanks to her being the size of a 13 or 14 month old, and such a good walker, and with a little help from a big sis! Not bad for 10 months old!

 Sam LOVES rides!

 That's my girl! Hands up high! (Makes the butterflies in your tummy bigger.) 

 A barrel full of monkeys.

 This a pirate ship type ride. And yes, that is us, front seat.

That's just how we roll! 

TRACK BALL

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY...

Fishing in Grandpa Higgins' lake is SO easy and fun, it will spoil you to fishing anywhere else.

Joey did some more exploring and found a bird's egg. She came running in to show Grandma... oops.

Joey is getting really good at Track Ball. 

You have to be if you're playing against Grandpa!

PILLOW FIGHT

PILLOW FIGHT

Joey and Sam got to play with Hayden when we went over to visit with Sally and family.

 Naturally, a pillow fight occurred. (with no instigating from the adults, oh no!)

 And the pillow fight pictures are the best I got. The attempt of a "nice" picture of the three of them together ended with Hayden falling over in his chair and Sam making a break for it. 

OVER THE HILLS AND THROUGH THE WOODS...

To Grandma's house we go!

 There is just so much to do at Grandma's. Swinging, exploring...

 Grandma's neighbor has baby goats...

Of course, we always ride the whoops down Dines Rd...

 And my mom accomplished her mission... to break Grandpa Higgin's out!

This is are cookie party to celebrate his release!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN...

Thanks to the mini van, we could tow the bikes on the trailer, instead of having to ride them the WHOLE time, and we could sleep comfortably, or watch movies and take turns driving. (Joey, the movie nazi, decided which of the Disney movies she had selected to bring, we were going to watch next.)

We had frequent stops for Grandpa to call into the office and conduct business.

This one, at a McDonald's, lasted over an hour. 

But only the boring get bored. There is ALWAYS something to do!

Joey would pick flowers, or find coins in the parking lot, or harass Sammy...

 Sam didn't care what she got to do, so long as she was out of the car seat!

CHEROHALA SKYWAY

The Cherohala skyway is a lovely winding road that connects the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and the Nathala National Forest in North Carolina. (Hence the name Cherohala skyway.)

It is a very popular way for motorcycles to get to The Tail of the Dragon from I75.

We took it on our way out. Dad and I rode motorcycles, Mom towed the empty trailer. I put a movie on for Sam, but I wanted Joey to pay attention to the beautiful scenery we were going to pass. So I gave her Mommy's fancy camera to take pictures of everything, so that Mommy could see them later, since I might miss something, paying attention to the road and all, while I was 

on the motorcycle.

When we pulled into the gas station before I75 an hour later, she had taken approximately 200 pictures.

But I didn't delete them all. I'm going to print some of them and put them in a little photo album for her.

Joey's trip on the skyway! 

Every time my mom thought of pointing something pretty out to her, she could hear the camera going off before she even said anything. 

Unfortunately, most of the pretty pictures came out blurry. Which will happen when you are taken pictures out of a moving car window.

But the point was for her to pay attention to the beauty she was passing and it worked!

Ooh la, la! How beautiful!

A POEM LOVELY AS A TREE

We went hiking in the (Alfred) Joyce Kilmer memorial forest that was near Deal's Gap.

The poem that he is known for:

Such a beautiful forest! It is a designated wilderness, so as such, dead trees are not removed.

Joey is such a good hiker, she led the way and still set a fast, adult pace up and down those trails!

Sam swears she could have kept up.

 Grandpa doesn't understand how to "wind down" the kids before bed.