Georgia Tales (Nephew Edition)

So what follows are the adventures of my Summer visit to Augusta, Georgia during the year of 2012. Each tale, for one reason or another, seemed share-worthy to me at the time of recording. Thus, you are now reading chronicles of thoughts I had, things that happened, and toddlerish-5-year-old-quotables.

1. Sunday morning, after my party-hardy joint birthday bash for Mom and Franklin, I experienced my first ever 'What happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas' moment. I awoke to a tattoo of a Dalmation and puppy paw on my left shoulder. I vaguely remembered getting this washable tattoo, at the request of my 5-year-old biggest fan, but I had forgotten about it after I crashed for the night. 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning I was met with the problem of how to hide it before I went to church since my dress was sleeveless. I decided to squash any attempts at being covert and offer the town full disclosure of the previous day's festivities.

2. I spent time with God in the parking lot of a nearby high school- As I sat there in the Sun with the wind slightly blowing, I realized that I could not see another soul all around me. That never happens in New York. Even if I'm in my apartment, I HEAR people (and often see them) outside. In that parking lot, I was thoroughly alone (except for God), and I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated it. I wish I could find away to experience that exact conglomeration of nature at least once a week in NY. Maybe if I drive further out in Long Island.

3. Sunday was also the first day I drove my sister's truck. It took about 20 minutes of driving and feeling uncomfortable for me to realize she no longer has a rear-view mirror. I KNEW something was off. I just couldn't find it. Once I realized it was missing, I felt incredibly awkward and in danger. Try driving a car without a rear-view. It's so weird!

4. While cleaning up Franklin's play room after he and his cousins demolished it, Mom and I would frequently have to ask him what such-n-such piece went with or to. He always knew exactly with what every tiny toy part belonged. At one point, however, we pick up this disgusting small random broken toy part. Mom says, "Franklin, what is this?" He says, "Oh, that's a tweasure. It goes in my tweasure box." He has the habit of picking things up off the ground and bringing them home to be treasures. He won't get his hands dirty when baking, but he can touch germy gum on the cement because it looks like a 'tweasure.'

5. He walked up to me when I was combing my hair and said, "Let me tell you a secret." I leaned down, and he whispered "You're pretty."

6. On our way to get ice cream, Franklin told me that his mommy and daddy couldn't have chocolate because they were dieding. Mommy had to died because she had a baby and after you have a baby you have to died. Daddy had to died because he had a big tummy. Grandmommy doesn't have to died. Her tummy isn't as big. She can have chocolate. He also doesn't have to died because he is little.

7. When Franklin saw me taking out my journal, he asked me what I was writing. I told him that I had friends who loved to know the things he said because he was such a smart kid, so I was writing down the things he said because I couldn't always remember them. He told me "Oooh, I am a very smart boy. Why don't you write that in your book?" haha So I did...

8. My sister told me that in order to get a good spot in carpool line at Steven's Creek, I had to arrive by 3:20 because school got out at 3:25. I didn't trust her. I arrived earlier because I'd SEEN the Steven's Creek carpool line before and did NOT want to get stuck in it. I arrived at 3:00 and parked out front, the very first car, in the same place that parent's parked in front of Blue Ridge when I was a kid. I saw a no-parking sign, but I figured that was for like actually PARKING there. I was just in car pool line. I noticed that after 10 minutes, no one had come up behind me except a few buses. I figured my sister must have been right. I continued to wait. No one ever came. Finally, at 3:30, I realized that I was in the wrong spot....that the kids caught carpool on the SIDE of the school. So I jumped out of my car and ran to the side to get Franklin b/c the kindergarteners are always first, and now I was late. When I got there, I finally found my little man. I took his hand, and we started to walk back to the car, when over the LOUD SPEAKER I heard the message, "WHOEVER IS IN A BLUE CHEVY TRUCK IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL, YOU ARE BLOCKING THE BUSES. YOU NEED TO MOVE IMMEDIATELY, BLUE CHEVY TRUCK! IMMEDIATELY!" What kind of car was I in?? A blue Chevy truck. THAT WAS ME. I had failed at carpool. I tried to get Franklin to run with me back to the car, but he was confused, and his legs are small compared to mine. So we walked hurriedly. When I got near, I had to deal with 2 Soccer-Mom-Upper-Middle-Class Suburbanite Bus Chaperons demanding to know WHY I would park there. I was terrified and stammered for words. Finally I managed to get out "I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING." Then their demeanors immediately changed from Satanic to Godly and merciful. They said it was ok, just to please move. I said I would...but when I got to the car, I realized the carseat wasn't in properly and then had to spend another arduously long 3 minutes installing that thing while Franklin kept saying "You are going to need to practice this carpool thing so you can get better at it, Aunt Megin." hmmm #CARPOOLFAIL!

9. Franklin walked over to me while I was sitting at the computer, sniffed me, and said "You smell like a cat. I'm not kidding. You really do." Once again, I say hmmmmm

10. Franklin went to tell me a secret but spoke into my left ear. I reminded him that one was 'broken,' and that he had to use my right one. He asked me if I'd been to the doctor. We've had this conversation before, but I amused him. I explained why my ear was broken, that I went to the doctor, and how long it had been broken. He then told me I needed to go to Dr. Middlebrooks, the Dr. that took the tubes out of his ears a few years ago, that Dr. Middlebrooks was good and could fix my ear and maybe I needed my tubes out. He said every little kid gets tubes, his were blue, and maybe I needed to take mine out. Then he told me his mommy saved his tubes and that he'd seen them in his car once. .... weird. haha I didn't try to explain that he wasn't BORN with tubes in his ears. I just jotted down 'tubes' in my journal so I'd remember this story.

11. While I was working on something for Jenn and Evan's wedding, Franklin asked me what I was doing. I said I was preparing something for my friends' wedding. He said that my wedding was the most sad day of his entire life because he thought that if I married Uncle Jesse, he'd never see me again. He hated my wedding. Please don't say wedding. Then I said that I lived in NY before I got married. He wanted to know why I didn't move back. I said I had people there who needed me. He said he needed me too. I said that I didn't know if there was anyone else to do my job in NY. He asked why I would ever move there if I loved him so much. Why would I ever leave him? I told him that I took the job in NY BEFORE he was born and I didn't know how hard it was going to be. He told me that I should have asked Jesus about it because Jesus knew Franklin would be born and that it was hard. I told him that I did ask Jesus and thought he was telling me to go to NY. Franklin told me that sometimes Jesus is talking to someone else and I probably should have waited longer for him to answer. :) This was my favorite story of the whole weekend. How adorable... yet heartbreaking. He then hugged me and told me he loved me.


12. When talking about airplanes, he described the kind that his mommy flew on when she went to Orock Obama's house. (My sister went to DC on business last year).

13. While playing with my bracelets at dinner, I made the Olympic shape out of the rings. I showed my brother, and Franklin wanted to know what it was. I said it was a symbol for the Olympics and then had to explain to him what the Olympics were, a place where the whole world comes together to compete in games. He wanted to know when it would happen again. I said in 4 years. He was excited. He said he'd be big enough to play it then because he'd be 9.

14. While driving to dinner in the car with my dad, my brother pulled up beside us in his car and honked and waved. Then he proceeded to pass us. Franklin screamed, "HEY! UNCLE BRYANT CUTTED US AND DIDN'T EVEN USE HIS BLINKER!" Apparently my nephew can drive better than my brother. haha

15. When I told Franklin how cute he was, he made an annoyed/mad face and then said "Grrrr babies are CUTE! I'm HANDSOME! And girls are PRETTY! Duh Aunt Megin!"

16. When eating lunch with Franklin at his school, he randomly said to me, "Why don't you take out your book and write down that Ellis and Franklin will be the most handsomest brothers in the whole world." I promptly obeyed.

17. When eating his sandwich, he told me that he had to take a bite because the bite wanted to go to the party. I said, "The party in your mouth?" He said "The party in my TUMMY! It's the hottest party in TOWN!" Where does he learn this stuff? You can't make it up.

18. He said he was bored at school (he just started a new school. He's been in a private Christian school, but it's very expensive and my sister couldn't pay it anymore, so this year, he's in public school for the first time). He said he knew what they were doing already (he did actually), so he had to talk. Then he ended up sitting by the teacher, but he likes it there because no one bothers him and he likes his teacher. He thinks sitting by the teacher is fun. He said when he gets bored, he misses his old school. He said he missed Catechisis class!!!! (That's his religion class). How adorable.

19. Ellis is now laughing when I play peek-a-boo, sitting himself up when you hold him laying down in your arms, and obsessed with watching TV. He loves his baths and kicks his legs like crazy. He's a lot like Kyler in his movements....meaning that he NEVER stops. He's got the cutest little grin. We went on our first date yesterday. I can't wait to have more adventures with him.

20. When Franklin told me he wanted to go to putt-putt, I said we had to wait until Tuesday when Grandmommy could go with us. He made a sad face and said, "But I don't want Grandmommy to go!" When I asked why, he said it was because he wanted us to have a "date." hehe We took our date to get ice cream and let the rest of the family come to Putt-Putt with us...where Franklin made so many holes-in-one. He thinks so long as the ball never stops rolling, it counts as one putt. He would run after the ball, hitting it all around, saying it was his first putt. Crazy kid. In actuality, most of his putts were holes-in-five-or-six.

21. Last night we made green waffles. He said they reminded him of his mommy's face mask, (you know- the skin masks for your face? haha). Frank said the waffle reminded him of the waffle he found under his couch one time, moldy and old. We loved our green waffles :).

These are only a FEW wonderful things. There were many more I forgot to write down. I hope to memorize every moment with him so that I can remember it and experience it even when I'm away. Franklin and Ellis are the most incredible joys. I'm afraid to have kids b/c of the commitment, work, money, etc... that is required, but I tell ya'- I sure do love this kind of love and getting to experience it. I can't imagine what it will be like, loving a child MORE than these two babies. Maybe I'll just be an Aunt forever. Who knows.

My newest love :). Widdle Ellis :)

Ready to play Putt-Putt. I love his shirt. It was a bday present from his favorite Aunt Megin.  He said the grey dog was dirty, and the white dog was clean. I was a little afraid then and wondered if my bday shirt to him was encouraging racism. I don't want him to think dark skin (fur) = dirty. eeeek!

When I said I wanted a picture on the turtle, he told me we already HAD one! I couldn't believe he remembered the picture from back when he was three. But we took an updated one still :)

Look at those eyes!!!

Hand-me-down doggy hat! I'm glad he can wear it. I was sad when FJ outgrew it!

Our blueberry-lemon cake with green icing :)

After dinner at LongHorn Steak House

He wanted to take this picture because we were both wearing our sweatshirts that you can touch hands through. You can't tell, but he has me holding one of his hands through his sweatshirt pocket and the other hand through my sweatshirt pocket....ALL his idea. We had to take three different versions of the picture to do all the things he wanted. haha

Being a silly kid during our lunch at his school

Hottest party in TOWN! in his TUMMY!

Making Green Waffles as a Family

His proud creation