We went to town.


Mommy and Daddy took Kennedy and me to play Putt Putt golf.  It was the first time I had played and I played all 18 holes.  My folks thought I might get tired and quit, but they don't know me.... I never quit and I loved it.  I had TWO holes in one!!!!!    Yippy!  Daddy beat me by one stroke.  No wonder I loved it.

My two holes-in-one got me to thinking... has anyone in my family had a hole-in-one in regular golf?  The answer is yes:  Andy and Bubba have both had one.  GGF has had two!  And my dad and PaPa have both had an eagle on a par 4 hole.  It may be in my genes to be a good golfer.... I hope!

For today's fun activity, we went to a costume shop and everyone dressed up in an gangster outfits.

Mimz looks like a gangster Ma Watson!  From left to right: Cousin Holly, Kennedy, Quan, Jensen, Daddy, and Mimz.  With me front and center. 

We were overran by dragon flies today.  This one landed on Aunt Helen's book.  What a cool picture.

Back in Texas, PaPa and Grandma are having an outdoor kitchen built.  This is the start of it.

Bridget is home from her company vacation in Quebec.  While on the white water raft adventure, the raft was headed towards a large rock.  A lady jammed her paddle into it and then let go of the paddle.  It rammed into Bridget's side.  She had to get off the raft.  Turns out she has broken ribs and it is painful.  Hopefully it heals quickly.

In Alabama, I am still having a great great time.  I dug this hole and was so proud of it. 

I am really enjoying these big kids.  They all like me.

Quan and I flew kites.

We went to an amusement park and I rode rides.

Daddy and I rode the rafts.

This picture shows Mimz and me leading the other cars in this race.

Daddy and I rode another bumper car.

This is where we are staying in Gulf Shores, Alabama on the west beach.  We are very close to the shore.

Cousin Holly, Aunt Helen, Daddy relaxing, while I am out playing with the big kids.  

I like to fight no matter where I am.

I had a blast playing with Kennedy and Quan.Quan is Kennedy's boy friend and he and I have become fast friends.

We caught a starfish in this bucket.

That is Jensen in the pink shirt.  She played with us too. 

Snack time.  We had a big tent to provide us with shade.

After spending the day on the beach, I ate a big bowl of cereal, then I fell asleep while Mimz was preparing for dinner but when it was ready, they could not get me to wake up, so they just let me sleep.  They had hamburgers prepared on the grill.  I have been eating very well, I guess I am making up from my little bout of illness.   I did wear sunscreen, but my checks still got a little bit pink.

Everyone is having a great time.  Daddy and Donnie joined a gym for the week and they go workout every day.  They really enjoy that and each other.  Mimz said everyone is impressed and complimentary of my manners and sweet personality. I love the beach but my eyes are sensitive to the salt water.

Back in Tomball, GGM and Barbara shopped at Sams Club and then came outside to a dead battery.  They got a new battery and made it home without further incident.  Texas heat is very hard on batteries.

At my Taekwondo studio they had a special class on Sunday from 4 to 6.  Barbara went for the first hour of instruction. The second hour was sparring.   An old instructor is back in town for a month and he came to teach a class.  Barbara likes all four of my instructors and she liked this one also.  They all teach a little differently and they all are good.  This instructor focused on teaching good form on basic kicks.   Barbara wished I could have been there.  He helped everyone improve.  A good thing he did for the little kids, was when they were kicking him, sometimes he would be knocked over.  He is a very tall man and when he fell it was impressive.  The kids felt like they could conquer the world.

We had a great day on the beach.  I love everything about it.
Mimz has to make space on her phone so she can take pictures tomorrow.
Daddy and Holly prepared dinner for us.

The big day has arrived!  Alabama coast here we come!  Mommy, Daddy, and Mimz started loading the roof luggage carrier at 4:20am.  I would have helped but no one woke me up.   When they did wake me up at 5am and I saw that we were getting into the car, I said, "This is so much fun!"

We pulled out of the driveway at 5:20am and I went right to sleep.  We met Cousin Donnie and Pattie for breakfast in Beaumont.  I didn't eat much.  I am still having a bit of a BM problem.  Back in the car, I went right back to sleep.  We drove through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, first time I have been to these states. I have been to Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Massachusetts, and Vermont.  Also Canada.

We drove over the Mississippi River. We drove through Lafayette, LA the town where Mommy was born.

We arrived safely and everyone said I did great on this long trip.  We went out to the beach and I had a great time in the waves.  I really enjoyed running, falling, and rolling around in the sand.  I was covered from head to toe.  Mimz took me up to the house and gave me a shower with the hose outside.  The adults stayed on the beach until dark but Mimz and I stayed on the porch.

I was just thinking about family:  PaPa is in Nigeria, Africa.

Bridget is in Quebec, Canada.

Morgan is at her beloved Camp Longhorn.

And we are at Gulf Shores, Alabama on the west beach. 

 Here are some more pictures of Bridget on her company vacation.

 

 Bridget is right in the middle of this picture.

 Bridget is on the front row, third from left.

I woke up at Mimz' home a little sick, but after I was up and around I was feeling good and even rode my bike before going to school.

Tomorrow is the first day of our vacation and Mimz was busy getting the car in good working order, so Barbara and GGF picked me up from school so Mimz could concentrate on vacation preparations.   We stopped at Mimz' home on the way home, and of course, I whined that I wanted to stay with Mimz and help her and I would play by myself, but to know avail.   I did take my balance bike over to Barbara's so I could show GGM how well I can balance on a bike.  I sure don't need the training wheels that are on my real bike.

Besides riding my bike we played kitchen and Car Town and I sort of rested on the bed while we played Fireman rescuing babies.

We also popped air filled water balloons and played with a big balloon, keeping it from hitting the ground.   I was ready to go to Taekwondo class, where I did the exercise part, then I sat on the sideline and watched.  I still get tired quickly.  After a 20 minute rest, I got back on the floor and worked with Master Parks and the three "babies."  I don't think I am one of them.  I asked Barbara if I could join the big people, she said I had to do what Master Parks asked me to do.  When we finished, Master Parks sent the little kids upstairs to play and she told me to join the big people.  That made me happy. 

Mommy and Daddy picked me up and we went over to Mimz home to bring things for the trip.  Mimz told me I was going to have to help remember to bring Monk Monk on our vacation.  I quickly replied, "Mimz, just put him on your list!"

I got to spend the night with Mimz.  We were in bed before 9pm, watching Emergency and talking about our vacation before falling asleep. 

Mommy took me to Mimz and Mimz got me off to school.  She took me to my swim lesson.  Miss Sherrie has been working on the backstroke with me and I did it all the way across the pool.  I wore my goggles the entire lesson.   I had my first breaststroke lesson and Miss Sherrie said I was a natural.
Miss Sherrie reminded us again to look at Michael Phelps swimming the backstroke and the breaststroke on YouTube.

After my swim lesson, I rested without an argument, so I must have been tired.   I was having some tummy/BM problems still so I did not go to my Taekwondo class.   I did go outside to ride my bike and I asked Mimz why my legs are so tired.  This little bout of stomach flu or whatever it is has sapped my energy.

We played with a ball.  I am a great catcher now...even very little balls.

I spent the night with Mimz. 

Tuesday July, 22, 2014
Bad start to the day.... I woke up at 4am.  I threw up and had diarrhea.  I think this might be the fourth time I have thrown up in my entire life.  So I am very lucky in that respect.

I was looking good by 8am, but I said my tummy hurt, so I did not go to school.  I laid on the sofa from 8 to 11am watching TV.

Then I got in the bathtub and when I got out of it, I was a new boy.  I was ready to play.  Barbara really needed to go to the grocery store, so GGM and I went with her.  I was feeling good the entire time we were away from home.  I helped bring in groceries and put them away.  We all played Car Town and threw a few balls for maybe ten minutes.  Then I decided I was ready to watch TV, so I laid on Barbara's bed the rest of the afternoon.  I did not take a nap.  I was not sick any more, but I was still not 100 percent.

We bought me a sack of balloons at Wal-Mart.  We have been playing with one balloon for a couple of weeks.  It is lots of fun to bat it into the air and see how long we can keep it from hitting the floor.  We did not open the sack today.  I was not ready for that much hard playing.

I wanted to go to my Taekwondo class and I did the first ten minutes of exercise, then I decided I was tired, so I sat on the sideline benches and watched.  I learned just by watching.  All three instructors asked about me and they all were glad I felt well enough to stay and watch.

I have a full schedule tomorrow.... I hope I fell well enough to go to school, and have my swim lesson and Taekwondo lesson.

I climbed upstairs and of course I noticed some major changes to Car Town.  I went back downstairs and told GGM and Barbara they owed me an apology.  They asked what for.  I said for messing up Car Town.   Things were missing and some cars were gone.  (There are forty plus cars and about ten were gone.)

We had a rough morning.  I was argumentative and loud and that did not go over well.  But finally I turned off that mood and played nicely.  GGM, Barbara, and I fished and played with my kitchen.

We fixed GGM lots of food and she ate it all.

 Here I am washing the dishes. 

We threw another thousand balls, played three games of Old Maid, and two matching games.

 GGM had some real dishes to wash and I agreed to help her.  I washed....

 ...and she rinsed.  We played Car Town until GGM decided it was time for her to take a nap.  We sat an alarm for 3:30pm which was the time I could go wake GGM up if she was still napping.  Barbara and I played another matching game and watched Adam 12 and Emergency.  I was suppose to be resting, but I didn't.

Master Thomas led my Taekwondo class.  He is kind but very firm.  He always asked what we did to help our Mom or Dad.  Today I said I washed the dishes... I really did.  He had us stretch and work on kicking techniques.  They we practiced Form 1.  An older girl helped me, but she didn't have much luck.  Then Master Thomas had one or two at a time perform for the class.  When it was my turn he got me through the first part of the Form and I did pretty well.  Barbara was so busy watching how he was getting me to perform, she forgot to record a video.   Mommy was there for half of the class.



  

Sunday July 20, 2014
Just like he promised, Daddy took me over to Mimz home today so I could see her and Jolly. 

Now this is a good picture of both Jolly and me... we are both smiling.

Uncle Scott will come get Jolly on Monday, so I had to tell Jolly bye and I would see her next time.
Daddy grilled dinner on Mimz grill for us.

Saturday, July 19, 2014
Mommy and Grandma were somewhere doing scrape-booking so it was a guy weekend for Daddy and me and we enjoyed ourselves.

I spend an hour with Mimz while Daddy went to work out so I got to play with Jolly, which I really enjoy.  Daddy said we can come back tomorrow to see Mimz and Jolly again.

They have not told me, but GGM and Barbara are going to very slowly start dismantling Car Town.   There is not room for the Bridget Bridge or the zoo in town so they will be the first to go.  They hope I don't even notice, but that is pretty far fetched.  I am more observant than the average guy.  As it turns out they made some major changes to car town replacing the "cardboard box police station" with a real plastic one.  And replacing a small fire station with a larger one that has been on my craft table.  They also boxed up my soldiers and removed some cars and some "clutter" from the town.  There is no way I will miss not notice all of those changes.

Friday July 18, 2014:

I slept almost 11 hours last night in Barbara's bed.  Barbara thinks she might have gotten five hours of sleep since I am a cuddlier... but she loves me anyway.   I am too heavy for her to carry to my own bed and I insist in sleeping in her room when I spend the night.

First thing I did was get GGM to play Car Town.  I got in trouble for talking back and ended up in Time Out.  GGM doesn't put me in Time Out... Barbara does.  When the timer went off, I decided I was hungry so I went downstairs.  I helped GGM make her bed while Barbara fixed my pancakes.  She had grits and bacon and we shared it all.  I was a very good boy for the rest of the day.

 I put on my camo boots and helped Barbara push the water puddle down the street to the sewer. 

My camo boots have come in handy.

 I have been popping air filled water balloons inside and they sound like a loud fire-cracker so we brought them outside to pop a few.  They are not very loud when they pop outside.

 I helped GGM peel some hard-boiled eggs.  I get better at peeling eggs every time I help.  "Practice makes permanent."  They were used to make some deviled eggs.

We threw another 1000 balls at each other in the big TV room.  GGM and I do most of the throwing and Barbara spends most of her time filling the bottom of her shirt with balls to replenish our "ammo."

I have not been willing to let Barbara read to me for about a week, but today I did let her start an iPad interactive book until it got stuck and I didn't want to restart the whole thing so that was the end of that.  We have not finished Charlotte's Web.  Barbara still hopes we can get back to it soon.

I look forward to my Taekwondo class.  I have yet to say I don't want to go.  If fact I always ask to stay for the second class.  I don't have very good technique but I get lots of exercise and have lots of fun and enjoy the entire process.  I don't' always pay attention, but what four year old does.  

Daddy picked me up after class and we started our "guys weekend."



 

After school today I got to ride my bike for a long time.  Jolly likes to ride with Mimz on Pops' scooter.
We met Barbara at Neal's Restaurant at 3pm.  I was unhappy because I wanted Jolly to come with me to Barbara's home.  I told Mimz I was sure it would be okay with Barbara and GGM and GGF would want to play with Jolly too.  I did not get what I wanted.  I got over it with a minute of our trip home.

But I had not been home two minutes when I got in trouble big time for hollering at GGM because she did not play something the way I thought she should.  On my way to Time Out, I talked back to Barbara, so I ended up in a double Time Out and got two swats for more back talk.  After that I was a perfect little boy the rest of the afternoon.       

I did ask Barbara if it would be okay if Jolly came over to her house on Sunday since it was Jolly's birthday.  She said no (of course).  I said, "You won't let her come even if it is her birthday?  The answer was still no.  She is through with pets.  I knew Jolly's birthday was not this Sunday.  Mimz told me Jolly's birthday was around Thanksgiving. 

My Taekwondo class was just medium good.  It was geared more for the older people, which I guess sometimes it has to be that way.  The second hour nine people were awarded the next higher level belts.  Three people broke boards.  Real boards, not the break away boards I break.  They took their boards home as souvenirs.   Master Parks husband of thirty years was there taking pictures.  They will be posted on the club Facebook page.  I bet my picture will be on there. 

I am very observant of the condition of the sky. I always make a comment about the chance of rain if there are dark clouds in the sky.  Mimz and Barbara both have noticed me to that.  Both Daddy and PaPa are very interested in the weather.

I've had a stuff nose for the past couple of days.  I can use the saline solution spray in my nose all by myself.

Jolly is a cute little dog.  She was driving Mimz crazy wanting her to play ball.  She would squeeze up between Mimz legs and ask her to play.

*

 Oh, was I surprised when Mommy dropped me off at Mimz' home!  Jolly was there.  Mimz is going to take care of her for a week.  I enjoyed taking her for a walk before I went to school.  We told my school when I would be on vacation in Alabama.

 I took this great picture of Jolly... pretty good for a four-year-old, I think.

Barbara met Mimz and me at my swim lesson.  I did better today than I have in several weeks.  I need Mommy to get me another pair of goggles from the Swim Shop on Louetta to have at the lake. 
I played with Mimz and Jolly and before we knew it it was time for us to drive to my Taekwondo class.  I fell asleep and Mimz had a hard time waking me up.  I sure do sleep soundly.

 Oh boy! You won't believe what happened in my class today.  There were only two students and Master Parks said she had to have more students in class than people in the audience, so Mimz, Barbara, and another mom, joined for the stretching part of the class.  Talk about fun and funny. 

They had a good time and did pretty good at doing the exercises.

The last part of the class Winter and I did kicking, punching, and board breaking.  I think I may have broken five or six boards.  I don't know if Master Parks "helps" make the board break or not.  

I ate a good dinner and got to have a hot fudge brownie sundae.