The Boat
Elizabeth was very excited to get to ride on Gege and Gramps' boat and especially to get to wear her "boat coat" that she had been talking about for about 3 months. She seemed quite pleased with the coat's design, particularly the color--good job, Gege and Gramps!
She never would sit on Gramps' lap and help drive. Who would want to drive when you can play with the radio?
These first few shots are from our very first afternoon there. Our plane got in around noon, and I think we were on the river by 3pm--no need to waste time!
Elizabeth wasn't a big fan of going too fast in the boat, but she loved it when Gramps would stop for a bit so she could sit on the back of the boat and dip her feet in (or Anna and Thomas could dip most of her body in!).
The second day out we took the tube with us, and miraculously, Elizabeth decided she needed to ride. She barely moved the whole time, and the truly amazing part was that she barely spoke! She did say later that she liked it, though.
The Game
On our third evening there, we went to a Dust Devils baseball game, the AAA team that they have in the Tri-Cities. Elizabeth still wasn't completely adjusted to the time change, so we really weren't sure how long she might last. Sure enough, during the first inning she decided it was too loud and started crying. We got the kid an ice cream sandwich and let her run around in an open area along the 3rd base line, and surprisingly everything was fine.
Also aiding her recovery was the fact that she got to run across the field with Dusty (the mascot) and all the other kids after the 5th inning! Right before we (yes, I was the lucky one who got to run with her) ran out on the field she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, this is a great adventure!"
You can see her in this picture right in the middle in a red dress, and I'm in front of her in a red shirt. We had some video, too, but it's pretty shaky because Ed was laughing so hard...
After running across the field, she decided it wasn't so loud after all, and it was okay to go back to our seats with everybody else. As luck would have it, Dusty pretty much hung out right in front of us for the rest of the game!
Anna got her a giant pink #1! The excitement of this gift got her through to the bottom of the 9th, when she very calmly requested to go home, and so we went with a very happy, very tired little girl.
The Birthday
We were lucky enough to be able to help celebrate Gege's birthday on the 17th. That night we took the boat down the river to a restaurant for dinner...
and on the way back home for cake and ice cream, we were treated to an absolutely gorgeous sunset. Happy Birthday, Gege!
The Parks
This was the first time we had been out there during the summer with Elizabeth. We discovered that the Tri-Cities has great parks.
She was sure to wear her new "Super E" cape... gotta look good when you're meeting people.
One of the parks (that is right on the river and has some beach access as well) had a wading pool for the kids, and it was free! We're not accustomed to free pools around here. Elizabeth had a ball--she was not pleased when it was time to go meet Gramps for lunch even though she was shivering and had purple lips.
Smores!
Bob and Julie have a fire pit in their backyard, so we thought it would be fun to make smores one night. Since Julie won't be around for Elizabeth's birthday, she went ahead and gave her her gifts while we were there--which included this fetching wing and tutu ensemble. Elizabeth wasn't that into the smores. She ate the chocolate off of hers (smart girl) and then spent the rest of the evening flying around the yard as Peter Pan.
Spudnuts!
So these pictures are mostly for my dad (Calvin). He had read or heard about The Spudnut Shop out in Washington state several months back. He mentioned it to me, but I hadn't thought anything about it since. Well, on our last afternoon there, we just happened to eat lunch at a restaurant in the same shopping center as the Spudnut Shop, so, of course, I had to stop in for dessert, and Elizabeth was happy to join me in the taste test. A spudnut is a doughnut made with potato flour, and turns out, tastes pretty much like a doughnut...go figure!
The Plane
Elizabeth did great on the plane rides (two flights each direction). Going out there was a piece of cake, but our return flights were pretty bumpy--note the spilled juice down the front of her shirt. Thank goodness for the Princess Lea headphones that Ed borrowed from work so that she could watch Sleeping Beauty...and Snow White...and a few Thomas episodes.
She was certainly glad when we were back on the ground in Atlanta. The Super E cape helped her navigate us to baggage claim!
Huge thank you's to Bob, Julie, Anna, and Thomas for a great trip!! And to Sully, as well, for tolerating Elizabeth's intolerance of him.
