Our Labor Day weekend get-away, Part I

We really missed our beach trip this summer, so we thought we'd head to the coast for a last 'hoorah' this season.  We have been talking to Mercer about Cumberland Island for ages, so thought we would take a ferry over for a day.  (We knew that we weren't quite ready to camp on Cumberland with him - but we would try out camping at a nearby state park.)  

There did not seem to be a lot of things to do at the park, so we decided to take a trip to the Okefenokee swamp since we were relatively close and none of us had been before.  On our first full day in south Georgia, we took a boat tour of one of the canals that was dug into the swamp and then branched off into a smaller path through the swamp.  The photo on the last post was actually taken on the swamp tour boat.  Here's another with Mercer at the helm of the boat.  

The swamp was actually prettier than we imagined.  There were a lot of colorful plants and blooming water flowers.  There were a lot of different types of birds too.  We thought it was going to be a lot muckier, but this portion of the Okefenokee was not.  The boat driver /tour guide - "Captain Charlie" - said that other parts of the swamp look different.  There are several different kinds of ecosystems depending on what part of the swamp you are in. 

We hadn't seen any alligators on the trip, as they are out more so during the early morning and dusk hours.  We were heading back to the channel and I somehow locked eyes with an alligator as we were passing by.  Captain Charlie backed the boat up and pulled into the tangle of water lilies so we could get right next to the little gator.    (Look closely and you'll see him too)

Everyone was leaning over the edge to peer into the water below while Charlie comes over with a long wooden stick and starts poking at the gator trying to get up under his chin and put him to sleep??  The little alligator, of course, did not like it. He swam under and we left. 

We went back down the channel - noticing how the still water looked like a mirror.  I liked the way that the water reflected images of the surrounding trees and that they got caught up in the current of the boat.  Unfortunately, my gaze was broken when we got a little too close to the edge and our boat ran through a spider's nest -- the giant quarter-sized black spider landed on me and crawled up my leg!

Mercer was busy watching the pattern the water made too in the water.  And - he discovered that he could spit in the water / watch it fly and hit the water's surface. 

The swamp park where we began our adventure actually had a pretty nice nature center with a lot of interactive toys and displays for the kids.  While there, Todd spotted another alligator - much bigger - hanging out in the open channel right next to the visitor's center.  We hung out on the deck for awhile and watched him as he watched us.  After the visitor's center, there is an 8 mile loop drive they encourage visitors to take.  There we saw alligator after alligator in the ditches on either side of the road. 

We all learned something on this trip too... that the swamp supports bears and jaguars!  Who knew?!  Also - the water was brown from tannins in the water from the plants and trees growing in the swamp. These tannins did not support mosquito larvae so there were no mosquitos amazingly. 

After the swamp tour, we hung out in the campsite, bounced Mercer's super bouncy ball, and cooked dinner on the fire.  We looked at constellations in the sky with our eyes and with the cool Google Sky program on our cell phones.  We made s'mores and reflected on how the swamp tour was.  It was a good, full day!




The next day, we took the ferry over to Cumberland Island.  I'll post more about that later this week, as there was so much to see it is it's very own (long) blog entry!!

Happy Adoption Day, Mercer!

4 years ago today, we "legally" welcomed Mercer into our family.
(Of course we opened our hearts to him just over 4 1/2 years ago.)

Happy Adoption Day!

 

We try to do something every weekend...

I suppose 'cause we work a lot & try to get through everyday life during the week... on the weekends, we try to do something fun or create some sort adventure.  We try to pack things in!

Before diving into the weekend activities - thought I'd mention that I was in San Antonio recently for work.  Todd had visited the historic city back in college; I've always wanted to go especially after working at my old firm - Urban Design Group.  They designed some portion of the River Walk 20+ years ago;  every day at the office I would pass by photos hanging on the wall.  I finally had my chance to see the River Walk as well as the Alamo.  In fact - the hotel I was staying at was right next door to the Alamo.  Literally.

The day after I got back from Texas, I went to the garden & picked a watermelon / took it home /put it in the 'fridge to chill so we could cut it open the following day.  We had 3 watermelons ready for harvest around the same time, so we shared this one with the members of the garden on a Saturday.  Here's a picture of Mercer, Jackson, and Glady enjoying it ~


About a month ago, we went to a nearby park for a picnic, to play in the stream, to go on a hike, and to look for letterbox stamps.  Todd has tried on previous trips to teach Mercer to skip stones.  This time, Mercer got the hang of it (sort of) and was elated when his stones would take a hop.  I'm pretty bad at skipping stones.  My contribution to the joy of playing in the stream: Mercer and I throwing leaves on the top of the water & chasing them down as they floated (or watching some get caught up in a whirl and going under).


At this park, there were several letterboxes stashed along the trails.  We found a couple of boxes; inside one of the boxes were 2 log books & 2 stamps!  A bonus letterbox!  I learned at a geocaching class last year that sometimes people plant "hitchhikers" -- geocaches or letterboxes that do not have a permanent home.  The idea is that they travel.  People find them & then carry them to their next destination somewhere else.  The person who planted the original hitchhiker can track the journey that it takes.   This is done on a computer program where people record their "finds" in an online log-book.  (www.atlasquest.com)

The following weekend, we went for a hike in the north Georgia mountains -- to Amicalola Falls (the tallest cascade in the southeast).  http://gastateparks.org/AmicalolaFalls/ We replanted the "hitchhiker" letterbox there on a hike where there were 2 more boxes planted.  Afterwards, we made the climb up to see the falls. Mercer did pretty well. Todd did carry him a little bit, but thankfully he did not have to carry him up any of the the 175 steps to the observation platform! 

It was a beautiful weekend & we actually ran into a couple different families that we knew.  Mercer and the son of one of our old co-workers kept climbing up and down the other side of this rock over and over and over again.  I heard that as a nation, we were just coming off of one of the hottest-temperature months in recorded history... suppose a lot of people took advantage of the cooler temps?!  



Two weekends ago, our neighbors graciously invited us to join them on a boat ride.  Each summer, we have taken a boat ride with Pam & Orie.  Seems that each year, Mercer gets a little more driving time in.  This year, he even tested the throttle of the boat (kicking it up a notch) when Orie wasn't looking!  ~yikes~

Last Saturday, we went camping in the back yard.  We try this each summer.  We wanted to give it a try to see if everything was OK with our tent and to prepare Mercer for our upcoming 3-day camping adventure.  We had friends Jackson & Glady over for s'mores, but evening drew near and a big thunderstorm was approaching; they went home / we buckled down in the tent for the night.  It did rain -- pretty hard -- but we stayed dry in our tent and little guy amazingly slept through the storm!  He did wake up at 5-something AM to the sounds of an owl in the back yard, though, which was pretty cool.  The water from our pond & stream lulled us all back to sleep.   It was quite nice.

This weekend, we were pretty low-key.  We had friends come over and hosted our third adoption pancake breakfast.  It was a smaller crowd than before, but it was nice to spend some time talking with each of the guests!  We are emailing out "birthmother" letters to all of our friends, familly, and neighbors.  It's a letter written to a counselor, lawyer, OB, religious figure... someone who may have contact with a birthmother.  IF you think that you may have a contact or a friend-of-a-friend who's in such a position, please pass this letter along when you get it.  (and - if you're reading this / don't get a letter - let me know.  I will be sure to email you one!!)

Just after everyone left the pancake breakfast, Mercer cleaned up his toys that he and his friends had pulled out, so he earned a little bit of allowance money.  He earned the last little bit needed to earn a LEGO toy he had been saving up for!  Over the past 2 weeks (since the last post about him helping with yard work), he has been helping to set the table, take dirty dishes to the sink after a meal, put his clothes in the laundry hamper (instead of throwing on the floor), and generally picking up.  It's been pretty cool to watch how much he wants to help when he has a goal in mind.  Hopefully some of this helpfulness will stick and will not only come by earning a nickel or a dime here or there!


We have a big weekend -- a big adventure -- coming up next weekend.  That will certainly warrant it's own post.  'til then, have a great week! 

Here's another photo of Mercer at Amicalola... he spent a lot of time climbing on rocks that were along the path... nature's playground!! /

wish we had a picture...

Yesterday, we were doing lots and lots of yard work while Mercer was napping.  He woke up and came out to see us in the back yard.  We were moving tree limbs and he wanted to help.

I had gloves on and told him that he needed gloves too.  He went inside without prompting.  A minute later, he comes out with my leather driving gloves on:  they're too big and they're flopping off of his hands.  He dug through a drawer with winter accessories.  He also found a fuzzy chenille scarf and put it on.  He said he "needed" it to work.

The rest of the picture: M was wearing little short short PJ's with a monster truck on his tummy and his Crocs on the wrong feet.  He helped drag some limbs to the curb with his floppy black gloves.  (Yes - with one of the neighbors walking by & commenting on his attire.) Mercer also helped sweep up the leaves on the driveway after we were done moving the limbs.  

He offered his unsolicited help... and in return, Todd gave him a dollar for helping us out: an allowance.

We have been using a penny chart to earn and take away pennies for behavior in which he gets a toy at the end of earning 50 or 100 pennies (depending on the value of the toy).  But this was the first time that that he learned he could help us out and earn money.

Todd mentioned that he could save his money and buy a toy that he wanted.  He started rattling off a number of LEGO toys... and landed on one particular series that he was interested in.  He and Todd started looking up the toys to see how much they cost and established a goal for what he would save for. 

Mercer and I counted out the dollars and coins in his piggy bank.  He's about $4 shy of the toy he wants, which isn't too far off, but is a good lesson in saving!

I started looking at websites tonight about do we / don't we reward chores with money?  There's no right or wrong so it seems... just some consensus on IF an allowance is given -- to also instill some level of responsibility that is not rewarded with money.

Wow.  4 years old & starting chores?!  Learning money management?!  who knew!!

First Day of School: 4-6 year old Montessori Class

Mercer officially started school in the "big kids" classroom at his Montessori school.  He was in the 3-4 year Montessori class last year.  Now he's in with the 4-6 year olds.  


He has a new backpack and a new lunch box.  He even had to have school supplies this year.   (If you look back to his first day of school picture - in the same spot in front of the door - you'll notice that we got him a haircut this year before school started AND he's grown a few inches!)

Last week, I went to an orientation that the school held.  Afterwards, one of the teachers pulled me aside and said that she LOVED Mercer.  He was hilarious -- kept her in stitches.  He was always cracking her up with his dancing.  (I asked if he danced around saying "oooh yeah" and smacked his bottom... she said YES!  (oh brother -- where did he get that from?!)


She then said that when it was time for studies, he was all business.  He would bring her books and say "I want to learn how to read.  I want to be smart."  Really?  WOW.  I had no idea!


Todd and I were both impressed!  We have no doubt that he will learn to read this year.  He's doing a great job at sounding out letters and words.  This school year should be a good one!

July has been HOT!

Temperature records have been breaking in Atlanta (and in DC while we were there as well).  It has prohibited us from spending as much time outside as we'd like, however, we've still done some good things.

Something we've been working on for awhile:  our neighborhood community garden.  Awhile back, Mercer and I planted some pea and cucumber seeds.  (We planted some other types of veggies too, but they didn't make it.)  The peas fizzled out pretty soon - as it was too hot and they're a cooler weather plant. 

The cucumbers have been extremely prolific.  Additionally, we purchased and planted watermelon, eggplant, bell peppers, and tomatoes.  There are some additional plants that we picked up along the way (early on there was some trading going on).  We've got some sort of hot peppers, a cantaloupe, celery, purple basil, and tomatillos (we think).   We had squash and zucchini too, but they didn't make it.

There was a lot of work in the beginning, but at this point -- it's pretty much just weeding our plot, keeping it watered, and keeping our watermelon tendrils out of our neighbors' plots.  Mercer likes to water the plot (and sometimes us) and harvesting the fruit / veggies, as seen in these pictures.  Here, he is riding home in the waggon on his "watermelon pillow."

We'll be turning it over for a fall garden soon & putting in cooler weather varieties.

I've also been trying to do some other activities with Mercer too.  (People keep telling me that it's the experiences you create that kids remember.)  It's tough to squeeze in activities between work & just every-day life, but I hope he's enjoying some of them! 

We've been doing a bit of hiking, searching for letterbox stamps (or "treasure stamps" as Mercer likes to call them), and making food items from scratch - such as peanut butter and fruit-filled popcicles.

We made t-shirts for the 4th of July.  For the white shirt, we used potato stampers -- which he thought was pretty cool. 

He wore it to the local parade we attended on the 4th.  The other that we made was a red shirt with glow-in-the-dark "firework" bursts.  He wore that one for fireworks on the square later in the evening. 

Last month, we found a scooter at a yard sale.  It took a little while for Mercer to warm up to it, but he latched on pretty quickly.  He's had a few spills, but he realizes that he can jump off and still land on his feet.  He's warmed up to riding this more so than his bicycle that he's had since February.  His bicycle gear has come in handy, though!  He's pretty serious about putting on his helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves.  (Probably helps that they're all branded with Spider Man logos & pictures.)


Speaking of Spidey... thought that I'd snap a shot of some of Mercer's favorite things these days.  He's into super heros, monster trucks, and Star Wars LEGO stuff.  He's into spinning tops and bouncy balls -- in fact -- we have a game that we've started where we close all of the doors int he hallway & send bouncy balls flying in the hallway & stairwell.  Additionally - on the softer side - Mercer loves watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon and he has to sleep with his Froggy every night. 

He "prays" now at dinner most nights... supposedly something they do at school: 
- Hands on your lap
- Sitting up tall
- Your friends are beside you
- Our food is in front of us
- We are ready to eat.
- An apple to eat. 

(Todd & I think the last one is supposed to be "bon appetite" but Mercer insists it's an apple to eat.)

Another thing he's picked up from school:  he's learning to read!  He's been sounding out letters and actually putting small words together.  It's quite cool~

The next post will be about his first day of "school" which starts next week. 
'Til then - have a good one!

Smithsonian Museums + the National Building Muesums

We went to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.  There was an "oooh" and "ahhh" factor when we first got there, but I think little guy may be a little too young to really get into it like we thought he would.   Seemed like the part he liked the best was where he got to interact with the airplanes (sit in a cockpit & steer) or hang out in the interactive children's area.  They actually have some really cool hands-on science experiments with deflection using water and air movement.  

Later that evening, we went to the city at night to see some of the monuments that we weren't able to see while walking the mall the day before. Alghough dark, we saw the Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. DC is really quite busy at night, as there were hundreds of people on the steps of Lincoln's Memorial. 

We spent the next day at Smithsonian's Natural History Museum.  He did enjoy the big animals, however, he raced through the entire museum not wanting to stop and see or learn about anything.  In 4 or 5 years, I can imagine he will be SO into this place!  They have an interactive children's area too.  There were some activities for kids his age, but it seemed that the majority of the activities are meant for a little bit older crowd.  

Look closely... little guy grew moose-ears!

The good thing:  both museums were free to get into.  (What's expensive, however, is grabbing lunch in the museum.)  The next day, we paid to go to a museum even though there's not as much to see.  

We spent the entire day at the National Building Museum.  I popped into this museum several years ago on a work trip, but Todd's never been.  They have exhibits on city planning, historic Washington, construction techniques, and some travelling exhibits on various architects.  We thought this museum would be a hit, however, because of the LEGO exhibit that happened to be there while we were in the city.

Honestly, this is where Mercer spent most of his time.  Todd and I would trade off hanging out with Mercer while the other would go see an exhibit. This way, we got to see what we wanted to -- and Mercer got to play with building blocks all day!  And they also had a children's area.  There are building-related toys in the children's area, of course.  Definitely his best day at a museum.


Out of all of the great things we saw & did in the city... he said his favorite thing was riding the Metro train!  ha.  

I do have to post this story about the Metro b/c it is something that will make us laugh in years to come as we re-read this:  so, Mercer is still learning about "timing" of going to the bathroom -- he's had several "close calls."  We were on our last train ride heading back to Jim & Becki's house.... and all of a sudden he starts to yell "the poop is coming!  the poop is coming!"  As soon as we hit the next stop, we jump off the train and start running down the platform... then up the escalator... and onto to the ticket counter.  The entire time, Mercer is yelling "the poop is coming."  The guy at the ticket counter lets us out and he starts running towards the entrance to the Metro station.  He unlocks a door and Mercer makes it... just in time!  (whew)  

Rose Marie had taken the train from NY to DC the night before. Todd's cousin, Tina, picked her up and hung out all day while we were at the museum.  Todd's sister was sort-of passing through (about 80 miles out of the way) after having taken her daughter Tara to college orientation... so they stopped over too.  Friday evening was spent hanging out with the family (and looking out the window at the "micro-burst" storm that was dropping trees and tree limbs all around the house).

It was a busy vacation.  It was not our relaxing trip to the beach, but we did get to see a lot of family between North Carolina and Maryland:  3 grandmas, 1 grandpa, 1 great-grandma, 1 great-grandpa, aunts, cousins, and an uncle.  We were glad we made the trip!