Saturday, May 25, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Weekend road trip to Augusta
We took a long weekend for a delightful, relaxing two and a half days visiting Byron & Lauren Morris - and almost-2 Emma and baby boy due in August - down in N Augusta, SC/Augusta GA. (Their house is near the Savannah river, the border between the two states.) Lots of time to catch up on each other's lives, see a bit of their hometown, eat good food and talk about good food, relax at the house, attend Sunday morning services at 1st Presbyterian of Augusta, and even hit up a few yard sales.
It was great to continue the friendship with Byron that began when Jim meet him at Orientation Week as freshman at Wheaton, and in recent years as we have gotten to know Lauren (since their 2006 wedding in Merida, Mexico, which Jim 'stood up' in). And now these two guys have two little girls!! They quickly became good buddies, with Emma happily calling for "Gemma" (or "Dora", as Gemma insisted) and "Timo" throughout the days, with her sweet smile and disposition.
Much of Byron's family lives in N Augusta, and his parents graciously offered to host us all for the weekend. They were so kind and easy-going with us all there - and we loved being in their barn-converted-house: simply amazing!
A Saturday afternoon "nature walk" on the family's property (70 acres next to the Savannah River). Gemma kept checking to make sure that the dog stayed close to us. "Where's my dog?" she would say if she got out of sight.
Isn't the moss hanging from the trees incredible? It was hard to capture on camera. I like this photo below because it shows Gemma's energetic, confident spirit.
A family pic of us! Huzzah! Thanks, Byron, and thanks for making a joke so we adults would laugh.
I must note that this was Timo's first road trip for vacation purposes. Obviously we also did the trip from Indiana to North Carolina when we moved, but I'm not counting that. He did pretty well in the car (with fussy spurts), and was very happy & flexible throughout our visit, and enjoyed chewing on blocks while the girls played. He had no trouble staking out a closet to sleep in - and took longer naps than he does at home!
On Sunday afternoon, Mr Morris Sr. spotted a turtle on the driveway and we all trooped out to see it and put it in a bucket (for a cousin who requested it for culinary purposes...). Great entertainment for the kids. Well, all of us.
Pool time! The water was still pretty chilly since it has been a mild spring, but the kids didn't mind much. There's Mrs Morris Sr in the background, in addition to two other grandkids/cousins who live nearby. (Gemma loved playing with the older girl cousin and hasn't stopped talking about her since we got home.)
Sunday night we four adults were able to go out for dinner & dessert while the grandparents babysat. Awesome!! Downtown Augusta was interesting to see, with historic buildings and contemporary businesses and a variety of restaurants. We ate at one that served their food tapas-style, and so shared the plates. Yum.
It was great to continue the friendship with Byron that began when Jim meet him at Orientation Week as freshman at Wheaton, and in recent years as we have gotten to know Lauren (since their 2006 wedding in Merida, Mexico, which Jim 'stood up' in). And now these two guys have two little girls!! They quickly became good buddies, with Emma happily calling for "Gemma" (or "Dora", as Gemma insisted) and "Timo" throughout the days, with her sweet smile and disposition.
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| taken in front of Byron & Lauren's house |
Much of Byron's family lives in N Augusta, and his parents graciously offered to host us all for the weekend. They were so kind and easy-going with us all there - and we loved being in their barn-converted-house: simply amazing!
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| view of the side patio of the house, adjacent to the pool |
A Saturday afternoon "nature walk" on the family's property (70 acres next to the Savannah River). Gemma kept checking to make sure that the dog stayed close to us. "Where's my dog?" she would say if she got out of sight.
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| nice self-portraiture, Jim (4 people!) |
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| Emma bringing some flowers to her mommy |
Isn't the moss hanging from the trees incredible? It was hard to capture on camera. I like this photo below because it shows Gemma's energetic, confident spirit.
I must note that this was Timo's first road trip for vacation purposes. Obviously we also did the trip from Indiana to North Carolina when we moved, but I'm not counting that. He did pretty well in the car (with fussy spurts), and was very happy & flexible throughout our visit, and enjoyed chewing on blocks while the girls played. He had no trouble staking out a closet to sleep in - and took longer naps than he does at home!
On Sunday afternoon, Mr Morris Sr. spotted a turtle on the driveway and we all trooped out to see it and put it in a bucket (for a cousin who requested it for culinary purposes...). Great entertainment for the kids. Well, all of us.
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| Wow, Jim, you've got two kids in your arms!! |
Sunday night we four adults were able to go out for dinner & dessert while the grandparents babysat. Awesome!! Downtown Augusta was interesting to see, with historic buildings and contemporary businesses and a variety of restaurants. We ate at one that served their food tapas-style, and so shared the plates. Yum.
Thank you, Morrises, for a wonderful weekend together!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Afternoon tea at Duke Gardens
On a sunny afternoon last week we met up with Dad & Mom and some grad students from Indonesia for teatime at Duke Gardens - celebrating the end of the school year! We hung out in one of the newer sections of the garden, the White Garden, with its pond (and 11 ducklings), terrace, and well-coordinated flowers and bushes (all white of course). So beautiful! It was too sunny to get great pictures of the plants, but Jim took some of the group. Mom brought thermoses of tea and the students contributed some Indonesian food, like gado gado (veggie salad with peanut dressing) and fried veggie patties and tofu and lentil chips. Even Timo enjoyed chomping on the veggies. So much to enjoy and explore in these gardens. Fun times!!
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| Grandpa and Gemma saying hello to the ducks. |
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| Timo got passed around a bit - and was quite content. |
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| Our group (Jim took the photo) included Dan (left, also ISI staff), students from Indonesia, and Dad & Mom |
Monday, May 6, 2013
Bananas and Books
Breakfast time: bananas for Timo - so yummy and sticky and sweet.
And a cinnamon roll for Gemma. (Thank you, Jaja, for keeping us well-stocked with weekend cinnamon rolls!) "Delicioso!" says Gemma (learning some Spanish words from Dora the Explorer).
...followed by reading book after book in Daddy's lap. This one in the pic was Shel Silverstein's poems of Where the Sidewalk Ends.
And a cinnamon roll for Gemma. (Thank you, Jaja, for keeping us well-stocked with weekend cinnamon rolls!) "Delicioso!" says Gemma (learning some Spanish words from Dora the Explorer).
...followed by reading book after book in Daddy's lap. This one in the pic was Shel Silverstein's poems of Where the Sidewalk Ends.
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| Wait a sec, Timo, you're too young for coffee. |
Saturday, May 4, 2013
From Redding to RDU: Jack was here!
We had a great (though short) visit with cousin in-law Jack this week, while he was in town from Redding, CA for a work trip with a company in Cary. Jack has a really interesting and cool job, as an artist, helping enable companies to conceptualize their businesses and work on expanding & improving their services. (Or something amazing like that...I can only give my "dummy's version" of a description.) Fortunately we were able to have him over one evening for a few hours.
Gemma took a real fancy to Jack and climbed into his lap to read books before bedtime.
Meanwhile Timo was getting his nightly, long bath in the sink and splashing huge puddles onto the counter and floor. He has lately suffered from dry skin and some kind of allergic reaction (perhaps to dryer sheets? or laundry detergent? or coconut oil used as a moisturizer?), so one of the things the pediatrician recommended was a 10-15 minute bath every night, followed by a liberal slathering of Eucerin/Auquafor. Timo loves the bath (and it's gotten easier now that he can sit up by himself) but he isn't a big fan of the Eucerin. Good news, it's working and his skin looks so much better after a week of this.
After the kids went to bed, we ate dinner together outside, listening to the birds singing loudly in the trees and catching up on life journeys over the last couple of years. Next time we will have cousin Susie and 5 year-old Abi with us, too - please!!! Oh, and next time, how about WE go to Redding?!
Gemma took a real fancy to Jack and climbed into his lap to read books before bedtime.
Meanwhile Timo was getting his nightly, long bath in the sink and splashing huge puddles onto the counter and floor. He has lately suffered from dry skin and some kind of allergic reaction (perhaps to dryer sheets? or laundry detergent? or coconut oil used as a moisturizer?), so one of the things the pediatrician recommended was a 10-15 minute bath every night, followed by a liberal slathering of Eucerin/Auquafor. Timo loves the bath (and it's gotten easier now that he can sit up by himself) but he isn't a big fan of the Eucerin. Good news, it's working and his skin looks so much better after a week of this.
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| Timo loves, loves, loves to stick out his tongue and make cute noises |
After the kids went to bed, we ate dinner together outside, listening to the birds singing loudly in the trees and catching up on life journeys over the last couple of years. Next time we will have cousin Susie and 5 year-old Abi with us, too - please!!! Oh, and next time, how about WE go to Redding?!
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