Fun Up North

Go Nothe, Mommy? See Jeepa? See Jeema? Go Nothe now, Mommy?" Elianna asked me this EVERY DAY, she was so looking forward to going up north to visit Chad's grandparents. (They always sign their cards "G-ma & G-pa," hence the nicknames "Jeema" & "Jeepa.")

The girls did pretty good on the drive. The portable DVD player right in front of Elianna's face blaring The Wiggles and Veggie Tales probably helped. Selah, mercifully, fell asleep. She does NOT like car rides of any duration, so an extended drive of any kind is a nightmare in the making.

Elianna couldn't wait to get in the lake. One of her favorite activities was filling her plastic boat with water, climbing up onto the dock, then pouring it out on the other side. I can't believe the effort and time she spent on this very pointless endeavour, but she thought it was great fun.

She was a bit leery of the little fish that would swim up, especially when she reached for one and it didn't move! (I think it was dying.) She picked it up, then jerked her hand back and told us to make "Gamma pick it up!" I really don't think she expected to just pick it up like that. (And EW, who knows what was wrong with it!!!) The fish is in this picture - that's what she's looking at.

On Sunday afternoon G-pa & G-ma took us out to eat. Yes, to a REAL restaurant without a play structure!!! Chad and I have been out to eat a grand total of TWO times in the last year, and both times it was no fun dealing with the two munchkins. I was a little nervous about how they would behave, but miraculously they both kept themselves fairly well entertained! The food was delicious - a big fancy Sunday Brunch at a golf course. Elianna had never seen a buffet before, and her eyes were as big as saucers while we loaded up her plate. So much food, so little time...

Sunday also happened to be G-pa's 70th birthday!

Happy Birthday, G-pa, and MANY MANY MORE!!!

We taught Elianna to sing a rude, irreverent version of Happy Birthday (involving monkeys and zoos) to celebrate the occasion. Also, since it was G-pa's birthday, G-pa and I decided to let G-ma and Chad win a couple rounds of "Hand & Foot," a fun card game. (We just didn't want to hear them whine the rest of the night if they lost.)

When we went to church Sunday morning, Elianna flatly refused to go in the nursery. We decided to let her try sitting in church with us. First was the song service, and she immediately loved it. She grabbed a book, stood up tall on the pew and SANG right out. She had no idea the tune or the words, she just sang away. Whatever the last word of a line was, she would belt it out a second or two behind. With everyone else singing, you couldn't really tell, but then it was time for the special singer. An older woman was singing with a classical operatic style, and Elianna kept trying to sing along. Chad and I thought we'd just ignore her, rather than cause more of a disturbance trying to get her to stop. Well, at the end, the lady hits this super sonic high note, and Elianna gets this wide-eyed grin and takes a deep breath... Chad clamped his hand on her mouth before she could attempt it, though. I had tears in my eyes from laughing at this point. We decided it was time for a potty break - anything to keep her from singing.

We only got to ride the pontoon boat once on Saturday, since a storm rolled in while we were in the middle of the lake!!! Not fun. We could see lightning just beyond the trees, and I felt like there was a huge bulls eye on our boat as we putt-putted back to the dock. Elianna was oblivious to both storm and rain. She LOVED the boat and begged continuously for another boat ride.

Goofing off and relaxing in the house...

In the house, Elianna kept busy with her little table, chairs, dishes and play food. (G-ma found this play food in Alabama that looked so real!!!!) Elianna kept bringing play pears to G-pa, and once he put it in his pocket. After that, she would just run up and stuff random foods into his pockets. G-pa also trained her well: in the morning, he would tell Elianna, "G-pa wants coffee. Tell G-ma to make coffee." Elianna would dutifully run over to G-ma, plant her hands on her hips and yell, "Make Jeepa coffee!" G-pa thought it was great!

Chillin' with Mommy on the dock

Lil Sis was NOT happy about being relegated to the cabana...

Giving G-ma her leg work-out!

Selah loving being snuggled by G-ma

Elianna's first time tackling corn on the cob... she loved it!!!

We had such a great time, and Elianna has been begging to go back ever since. We will hopefully be able to go up for a couple days when Aunt Melanie and the gang are there, so that the cousins can all play together.