1 + 1 = Trey (3)

Lite Brite

William — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:52:39 +0000

Heidi broke out our old Lite Brite for Trey yesterday and he had a blast playing with it. However, he wasn’t as interested in making pictures with it as he was just punching all the holes in the paper.

Share This

NFW’s “Your Big Backyard”

William — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:57:20 +0000

Last year my mom got Trey a subscription to the kid’s nature magazine “Wild Animal Baby“. The magazine is put out by the National Wildlife Federation (NFW) and is geared towards kids age 1 to 4.

Each month we’d get a new issue and Trey was eager to read it. We’d always explain that the mail was “for him” from Granny Sarah; it made him feel really special that he was getting mail just like mommy & daddy. Plus, he like the magazines so much that they would often make it into his nightly rotation of bedtime books.

This month my mother upgraded Trey to the next NFW magazine for ages 3-7 – “My Big Backyard“. We got our first issue last week and it is perfect for the stage in development he is at. It has three animal stories and activities that he loves. The best one in this issue was a couple pages you cut out & fold together to “make your own little book”. It is called “Monkey Business” and has 10 little pages about different monkeys around the world.

I don’t do many product promotions on our blog (wait, what are all those Google ads doing to the right there?), but this is one I highly recommend. The cost is $19.95/year for 10 issues and the profits go to the NFW whose “mission is to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.”

Thanks Granny Sarah for entertaining & educating Trey with your gift!

Share This

Aunt Rachel’s Wedding

William — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:51:05 +0000

Trey’s aunt Rachel (Heidi’s sister) got married this weekend at the Don Cesar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, FL. We were joined on the drive down by Heidi’s cousins Jeremy & Natalie Weber who attend Covenant College in Chattanooga, TN. The weekend was so crazy and packed full of activities that Trey’s normal morning, nap, and bedtime routines were completely gone. However, between the tired, grumpy spells Trey had TONS of fun.

Friday afternoon was the rehearsal on the beach and then we had a great dinner with the wedding party at the Jensens’ home. Trey really loved the attention he got from all the new faces.

On Saturday, the wedding took place just after sunset and Trey was dressed in a cute little outfit his great-aunt made (he looked like he was still on the set of “Get Low”). Trey was the ring bearer and performed his duties quite well. We sat on the front row during the ceremony (I was videoing) and Trey was very well behaved on Heidi’s lap (a stash of animal crackers helped out a lot).

The real highlight of the weekend was at the reception after the wedding. Rachel and her husband Erin kick started the night of dancing with an incredible tango. Then Trey got into the party spirit when the Cuban jazz band started playing. As you can see in the video I posted, Trey loves to dance. As soon as he would wear out a dance partner, he’d find someone else to cut a rug with. He was going strong until we made him leave at midnight. I’m so glad that night we got to “turn the clock back” and get a much needed extra hour of sleep before driving back home the next morning.

Share This

Videos from Rachel’s Wedding

William — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:23:06 +0000

We made a quick trip to Florida this weekend for Heidi’s sister Rachel’s wedding. Trey was the ring bearer and had a neat little outfit he wore that Heidi’s aunt Jan made. In this first video you can get a good look at his stylish outfit and the star pillow he carried the rings on.

This second video is of Trey on the dance floor at the reception. He danced all night long – we have no idea where he got all the energy, but it sure was entertaining!

Share This

Pumpkin Patch Time

William — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:40:29 +0000

I kept seeing all our friends posting pumpkin patch pictures of their kids on Facebook so I figured I needed to get Trey to one. Elliot Farms is just a few miles down the road from us and has an annual pumpkin patch, hay rides and corn maze.

Unfortunately, I’m a bit behind the times and the patch was looking pretty patchy. Nonetheless, Trey had a great time riding & pushing around a toy tractor to see all the animals on their farm. Goats, turkeys, peacocks, chickens, cows, guinea fowl, and longhorn cattle.

After looking at what was left of the pumpkins (many of which were smashed or cracked at this point), we went over to the neighboring field of zinnias which were all in bloom. I gave Trey a nice little lesson on why the bees and butterflies go around to all the flowers. He was pretty fascinated by it all until he stepped in a fire ant hill.

Share This

A Quick Visit to Sweetwater

William — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:35:26 +0000

Between our busy travel schedule, Heidi’s work schedule, and Trey’s twice a week school it has been hard to find a good time to visit Peepaw and Grammaw in Sweetwater, TN. Sunday afternoon Trey and I made the 4 hour drive and stayed that night and all day Monday.

Trey had a fun time playing games and reading books with them. The day was quite warm so we also spent a good bit of time exploring the farm. Trey really enjoyed crawling around in the hay bales.

Share This

Georgia National Fair

William — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:48:43 +0000

Trey got to visit the Georgia National Fair not once, but TWICE thanks to a friend giving us a free season pass. On Friday we attended after Heidi got off work. We visited the building with the photo exhibits and saw several images we won awards for. Then on Saturday Trey and I revisited the Fair to see the alpacas, horses, cows, and pigs.

We only let Trey ride a couple of the attractions (due to the outrageous co$t). By far his favorite was the ferris wheel that he rode with Mommy. Another highlight was the circus – Trey laughed hysterically and clapped for the monkeys’ act. Just before leaving we caught the fireworks show over the lake.

When we returned the following day it was chilly and overcast. Trey wore a hat made of alpaca wool that I brought him from Peru. I swear the alpacas at the Fair paid extra attention to him because of it.

Share This

Checking Out New Cars

Sarah Haun — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:23:29 +0000

Part of Trey’s adventures in Richmond included helping Granny Sarah and Granddaddy Haun shop for a new car. They were looking for a mid-size family car, but Trey was on the lookout for a “race car.” (Fortunately, almost all of the car dealerships had several sports cars in their showrooms.)

Trey made friends with the car salesmen and enjoyed looking at all the different models and colors that were available. After a couple of weeks of searching, the final choice was a new 2009 Nissan Altima sedan. Trey was in agreement with our selection because it was white like his daddy’s Chevy Impala.

Share This

Trey the Painter

Sarah Haun — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:08:40 +0000

Granddaddy and Granny Sarah moved into their new house in July and have spent the past few months making several upgrades and renovations. Trey was especially eager to help paint a fence that surrounds the patio area. He was very serious about this project and was a good handyman. You can see the outstanding results of his labor.

Share This

Uncle David & Aunt Brittany Visit

William — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:25:50 +0000

Tonight, my brother David and his wife swung by my parents’ in Richmond on their way back to their home in Maryland. They had been down in East TN visiting our grandparents and attending the CNC homecoming. We had a good time hanging out and eating a yummy dinner.

Share This

Echo Lake Park in Richmond

William — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:18:57 +0000

Today was my first day with Trey in over 3 weeks! I drove straight to Richmond after my plane landed in Atlanta yesterday and this morning he was thrilled and surprised to see me. Apparently he talked often during my absence about how Daddy would come to get him in a white car. As soon as he saw me this morning he went into a frenzied dialogue explaining to me all the things he had been doing with my mom at their house.

After some play time at my parents’ house this morning, we drove down the road to Echo Lake Park for a picnic lunch with my mom and brother Philip. After some fun on the playground we had lunch and then Trey and I walked the 3/4 mile trail around the lake.

Share This

Fall Festival & Rainbow Fall Cookout

Sarah Haun — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:36:32 +0000

The FALL FESTIVAL was at a small Methodist Church located near the IMB. (The aide on Philip’s school bus is a member of this church and invited us to come.) Philip’s Sunday School Class (the “Rainbow Class”) had their annual FALL COOKOUT at a county park not too far from Bon Air Baptist Church.

Share This

Richmond Week 2

Sarah Haun — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:30:09 +0000

Here are a few photos of Trey that I took this week. His swimming skills have really improved since last year. He will dive off the side of the pool and doesn’t mind getting his face wet. I will take him to the pool again this coming week.

Also, I included a couple of pictures of Trey and Philip together. Trey is literally all over Philip much of the time. He crawls on him, “rides” him like a horse, sits on his lap, etc. Sometimes Trey gets a little rough with Philip, but Philip takes it like a man and doesn’t retaliate.

Share This

Trey meets Lottie

Sarah Haun — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:09:16 +0000

Trey visited his granddaddy at his workplace yesterday at the International Mission Board in Richmond, VA. He also got to meet a life-size cardboard version of Lottie Moon, an early missionary to China. She wasn’t very tall was she?

Share This

Honest Trey

Sarah Haun — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:00:14 +0000

Trey and I went to our neighborhood KROGER store today to buy some ingredients for an African meal. As we were leaving, Trey stopped by one of the toy machines in the entrance and opened the hinged door to see what was inside. He was surprised to find a toy in a clear plastic case. Trey (not realizing that I was quietly observing him from behind) immediately tried to push the toy back up into the glass globe. When that didn’t work, he pushed the toy as far back as he could in the opening, quickly closed the metal hinged door on the machine, and then started to exit the building.

At that point I stopped Trey and told him that I was proud of him because he was honest and didn’t keep the toy for himself when he hadn’t put any money into the machine to pay for it. At that moment, one of the KROGER employees (in the photo) entered the store, pushing several grocery carts. I told the man how proud I was of Trey and went on to explain what he had done with the toy. The man said, “I’m going to get that boy a sticker!”

I asked the employee if I could take his picture with Trey. The man (who was very tall) knelt down beside Trey and shook his hand. Later that night, I asked Trey to tell Granddaddy Roger what he had done at KROGER with the toy that he found in the machine. He replied, “I was honest ‘cause I put the toy back.”

How many three-year-olds would willingly put back a free toy? (Not many that I know!). I would like to publicly congratulate William and Heidi for the way that they have taught Trey to behave in a store. Not only is he honest, he NEVER begs or cries for any item that he sees. Sometimes he will take something off a shelf and look at it for a few minutes, but he always puts it back without complaining. He is a JOY to take shopping!

“Granny Sarah”

Share This

Trey in Richmond

Sarah Haun — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:43:41 +0000

Trey has adjusted easily to Philip’s schedule. He wakes up by 7:00 a.m. and is asleep before 9:00 p.m. He never gets tired of watching and waiting for Philip’s school bus. In fact, if we are riding around town, every time that Trey sees a school bus, he asks me if it’s Philip’s bus. Every morning Trey and Philip go outside and sit on the porch about 8:15. They play together on the glider for 10-15 minutes until the bus comes. The bus driver said that Trey could come up a couple of steps and look inside the bus. Trey was really excited about it.

Tonight Trey and I went on a walk around the big block after supper. When we stopped by our neighbor’s house next door, Trey went right in and asked if she had any toys! This is exactly what William would have done at the same age.

It has been cloudy the last two days, so I haven’t started painting the fence. Trey is real eager to do it and keeps asking when we can start.

Today we watered the areas of the yard that have been recently seeded. And as always, Trey loved sweeping, so he basically pushed stuff around all over the brick patio.

Share This

Trey Visits the Haribo Museum

William — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:21:40 +0000

You can read about our visit to the Haribo museum in our past post: Trey’s Sixth Day in France

Share This

Traveling with the Grandparents

Heidi — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:02:49 +0000

While Daddy and Mommy are in Peru, Trey will be staying with William’s parents in Virginia. Since we were all at the wedding in South Carolina this weekend, the Hauns took Trey home with them. Already, Trey is having a great time. They stopped for lunch at IHOP on their way back to Virginia. Trey was ecstatic that he got to eat a pancake with banana slices for a mouth and strawberries for eyes. Just look at that smile!

Share This

The Junior Photographer

Heidi — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:51:03 +0000

Our friend Carla Smith went to boarding school with William in Cote d’Ivoire. She then joined us at Carson-Newman where she and Heidi became good friends and study partners. On Saturday, we went to Table Rock State Park in South Carolina for her wedding.

We brought a toy car to keep Trey occupied, but his favorite “toy” was mommy’s small digital camera. It kept him quiet and content, but I didn’t expect him to run the batteries completely down. Here are a few of the photos that Trey took. One of my favorites is his first self portrait, but I think we ended up with probably 20 self portraits once he figured out how to do it.

The photo from across the aisle was a great moment. As he stood there focusing the camera, many of the people noticed him and smiled. I told him that they were smiling for him. He looked sheepishly above the camera to see, and of course that made the people smile more. It’s the story that makes the photo.

Share This

Daddy on the Computer

William — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:33:50 +0000

Trey took this picture of me today.

Share This

The 3-year Dr. Visit

William — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:56:52 +0000

Trey hasn’t seen a doctor in over 18 months. There are several reasons for that: he hasn’t been sick much at all, he didn’t have any shots he needed, and he has a doctor for a mommy. However, the time came for him to get a second chicken pox shot and could use a general wellness checkup (Heidi also decided to give him a flu shot since we were already there and it didn’t cost us anything extra).

Heidi has been working/playing with Trey this past week to prepare him for his doctor visit. She bought him a Fisher Price kid’s doctor kit and each day she pretends to give him a checkup with the toys. Blood pressure, shots, checking lungs/heart, etc… Trey loved it and then would play doctor too. I had no idea how effective that preparation/playtime would be.

We headed to Primary Pediatrics near downtown Macon for his doctor’s visit. The place was packed with kids showing various flu symptoms. When we were called back to our room Heidi started playing doctor with Trey. Trey was comfortable with the nurses and doctor using their instruments on him when they came in. Most surprising was that he didn’t cry or even flinch when he got his shots! He was really thrilled when the nurse gave him a lollipop after his shots.

A special thanks to Dr. Cawley for making Trey feel really comfortable and to the nurse that did such an incredible job giving him two shots so quickly and painlessly! Let’s hope all future doctor’s office visits go this smoothly.

Share This

Labor Day Rafting

William — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:12:14 +0000

We spent our Labor Day on our neighborhood’s lovely Lake Wildwood. We pulled out the inflatable raft I bought last summer and took it out in the water.

We stayed in the shallow area (1-2 feet deep) so that Trey didn’t have to wear his life jacket. At first I pulled Trey back and forth in the raft. Then he insisted on pulling me. He actually did a pretty good job, our little muscle man! Then he and Heidi took turns pulling each other in the raft.

Later we put Trey’s life jacket on and he and Heidi got in the raft. I hung onto the back and played the role of outboard motor (since we can’t all fit in it together). We went across the little cove to where the ducks hang out; we freaked them out a bit since they don’t normally get visitors over there.

Share This

Trey’s First Day of “School”

William — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:09:50 +0000

The church we’ve been attending in Macon just started a “Parent’s Day Out” program. For a $85/month, Trey gets to go to the daycare from 9am-1pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays (yes, I did the math and it is a mere $2.66/hour – not bad for quality childcare!). It is going to be really good for him to get more social time with other kids his age.

Another plus is that the daycare is at the church he is already familiar with and several of his classmates are kids he sees on Sunday morning. He didn’t cry or whine or anything when we dropped him off. In fact, when I arrived to pick him up he told me “not to come in here.” Guess he had fun!

Share This

Warm Springs with the Grandparents

William — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:48:26 +0000

My dad is a big history buff so I knew FDR’s Little White House in Warm Springs, GA was something he would love. It is Georgia’s most visited State Historic Site and rightly so as it has a great museum & facilities.

My brother Philip suffers from a disability that requires him to wear braces when he walks and he has to use a wheelchair when it comes to longer distances. It was neat to see the braces Roosevelt wore in his day (the best of the best at that time) and compare them to those Philip had on today. Medical science has made leaps and bounds in the last 70 years and Philip is much more comfortable thanks to that! In fact, even his wheel chair is 100x better than those Roosevelt used – who’d have thought you could improve so much on the simple concept of “wheel+chair” so much.

Labor Day is the only time of year when the pools that Roosevelt used during his time at Warm Springs are filled. The last time we visited the pools were empty, but today they had crystal clear, warm, spring water in them. Both Trey and Philip were very tempted to get in!

One advantage of having a Friends of Georgia State Parks membership is that you and 6 others get into any historic site for free. Today we saved $32 – that’s almost half of the cost of the annual membership! Don’t you want one?

Share This

Rock Eagle Mound

William — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:50:38 +0000

Rock Eagle Mound is one of Georgia’s six ancient Indian Mounds. We had already visited the big three: Etowah, Kolomoki, and Ocmulgee Mounds. This mound is unique in that it is an effigy – a massive pile of rocks in the shape of a bird. Though called Rock Eagle, many scholars believe the bird represented is actually a buzzard or vulture – birds of significance in early Native American beliefs about death.

The mound is located just north of Eatonton, GA and we drove up there as my parents were driving down to visit us from Virginia. We ended up arriving at the UGA 4-H Center right as my parents pulled in – perfect timing.

We walked up to the tower at the base of the effigy to get a better look. The eagle is so huge that from the ground it really looks like a shapeless pile of rocks. It’s only when you get up high that you can see the impressive figure. Making it even more impressive is when you realize it was built 1000-3000 years ago by men & women dragging these thousands of rocks in from miles away on deer skins.

Share This

Underwater Man

Heidi — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:15:57 +0000

While we were in France, I used every opportunity that Trey and I were in the water to teach him to swim. I tried to challenge him a little more each time but in a fun way. He absolutely loved the beach, but we also played in the Darriet’s small above ground pool.

One day, we were joined by Alexandra and Nicolas. While they competed in breath-holding , Trey was watching closely. They left and Trey gave it a try. He had so much fun going underwater, eyes wide open, that he just kept going under again and again and again.

The next time he went to the beach with William he kept up his underwater antics and kept plunging under the water every chance he got. It’s good to see he’s getting a lot more comfortable with water.

Share This

A Few Feverish Days

William — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:48:40 +0000

You wouldn’t know it from this picture I took today, but our little Trey is sick and has a fever. For the past 4 days each of us has been hit by flu-like symptoms – fevers, aching, sinus problems, and coughs. Trey has had it the worst and the fever continues to linger. We’ve spent many hours just laying on the couch watching Thomas the Train and listening to books-on-tape.

Today Trey felt a little better (though he still has a fever and is very tired) so I took him out in the woods out back. Unfortunately he’s so weak that we spent only about 10 minutes out there and he was beat. Nonetheless, we saw some cool fungi and I got him to smile & laugh a little. After we got back inside he fell asleep on the couch for another 30 minute nap.

Share This

Bye Bye Forest

William — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:54:18 +0000

One of our favorite places to go for walks is the Georgia Industrial Children’s Home just a few miles from us. We found out about its great hiking trails from a Georgia mountain biking website. They have a forest farm with hundreds of acres of pines in perfectly symmetrical rows. Trey and I even made our little short film “Saving Medici’s Giraffe” in those woods.

A few weeks ago we drove there and saw a sign that said “Closed for Logging.” This week we went back and found our favorite forest had been destroyed. They didn’t cut all the trees down but it still looks really bare.

As sad as we are to see the trees gone, this is a case of good tree cutting. These trees were planted for the express purpose of being logged once they were mature. By logging this tree farm, one of Georgia’s natural forests gets to stand. I believe video artist Jym Davis’ short film “Sarah in the Woods” best describes our feelings.

Share This

Video from High Falls Cookout

William — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:27:22 +0000

My camera club friend Weldon Marsh was videoing when we had our cookout at High Falls State Park to celebrate the end of our state parks tour. He recently edited the footage into a short, mini-documentary and put it online. Enjoy!

Watch in HD on Vimeo.com

Share This

Haribo Museum (Sixth Day in France)

William — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:16:49 +0000

On Heidi’s last day in France, we all went to Uzès to the Haribo Museum. We thought about taking the interstate, but all interstates in France are toll roads. It would have been 12 Euro (for each of our 2 cars) each way. Instead, we took our time (2 hours) driving through the French countryside.

The museum is attached to the Haribo factory, but since we went on a Saturday, we were not able to tour the factory in motion. The museum was a great destination nonetheless. You can’t beat a museum that gives you samples of their goods as soon as you walk in the door. I know, I know, the entire museum is just one huge advertisement culminating with a giant candy store, so we bought into the corporate ploy for the day.

The founder of Haribo invented the gummy bear, the “golden bear.” Trey was fascinated by the giant statue of the “yellow bear” that stands outside the museum.

After we finished the museum and bought our fill of yummy (not available in the US) candy, we walked over to a small amusement area with trampolines, inflatable moon walks, and ropes courses. Admission to the museum gave us two free tickets. Nicholas chose the trampoline and Trey chose the moon walk. Thankfully the worker allowed Heidi to join him. He didn’t have much fun jumping by himself.

Share This

Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger

William — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:26:24 +0000

Share This

Trey’s Fifth Day in France

William — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:19:26 +0000

Day #5 in France was a nice, laid back day of sight-seeing for us. We took the bus and the tram from Pérols to Montpellier and walked through town to the central square downtown.

Our main purpose for going into town was so that I could exchange some money into Euros. After visiting the bank, we let Trey ride a carousel in the square. It was extremely over-priced, but he really wanted to ride so we gave in. The vendor gave him a little ticket with a picture of the carousel on it and he was THRILLED. We put him on the horse and as it started the vendor came by and collected the ticket. Trey’s face dropped and he was upset and on the verge of tears for the entire ride.

In the afternoon, we headed over Palavas-les-Flots a town on the ocean with some famous canals and a marina. We had some beach fun then ate at a great restaurant that specializes in mussels. For 9 Euros you get a big bowl of fresh mussels covered in buttery garlic sauce, bread, and a glass of wine. Delicious.

After Trey went to bed, Heidi and I went on a late night walk through Pérols with William Darriet and his girlfriend Sophy. I was trying to get some night shots of the village. Since it was festival week, there was a band playing “retro” music in the town square and all the old folks were out dancing. We couldn’t convince William & Sophy to dance.

Share This

Trey’s Fourth Day in France

William — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:49:29 +0000

The week of Pérols’ festivities was still going on, so we headed downtown in the late morning to watch the abrivado. Abrivado is an event where men on horseback drive bulls down the main street of town. The now ceremonial event is an homage to the days before cattle trucks when bulls were herded from the pastures to the arenas down the main streets of the villages. In order to pull this off safely, the bulls were herded by a dozen or so men on horseback. You can see my photos from that event over on my blog at whaun.com.

After lunch we drove west to the coastal town of Bouzigues to get oysters for supper. Before purchasing the yummy little raw molluscs, we went to the beach. It wasn’t the prettiest beach since it was on the inter-coastal lagoon but the water was warmer than the actual sea had been recently. If you missed it, be sure to read our earlier post about buying & eating the Bouzigues oysters.

Share This

Trey’s Third Day in France

Heidi — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:02:33 +0000

On Wednesday, while mommy and daddy went hiking up Pic Saint Loup with Frederic and Nicholas, Trey went to the aquarium with Madame Darriet. He had a blast. When we finally returned from the hike, Trey burst into my room with such excitement. “Mommy, I went to the aquarium…and there was a biiiiiig shark.”

That night the town was having another running of the bulls as part of a week long festival. Unfortunately for the Darriets, the bulls are run around their block. This means they are trapped in their house and can’t park their car in the street during the event. In the photo to the left, you can see 3 boys climbing on the closest window on the right – Trey was in that room and slept right through the racket the bulls & boys were making right outside.

Share This

Trey’s Second Day in France

Heidi — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:29:00 +0000

On Trey’s second day, we slept in late enough to get over the last of our jet lag. After a late breakfast of delicious French pastries and coffee, we drove down the road to the village of Lattes. There we went on a nature walk and enjoyed picking the wild blackberries we found along the trail.

After lunch, we all went to the beach. Pérols is a suburb of Montpellier and is located right on lagoon. You just have to cross a bridge and you are at Carnon on the Mediterranean Sea. Since this is peak vacation season in France, the beach was packed. To us, the topless rule on the beach seemed to be abused by those who really shouldn’t be bearing all. The water was very cold, but that didn’t stop Trey from enjoying himself.

Share This

Trey’s First Day in France

Heidi — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:23:21 +0000

Trey and William arrived at the Montpelier airport around 1pm on Monday after a long overnight flight from Atlanta. Considering the lack of sleep and discomfort of plane travel, they were both in pretty good spirits. William led Trey just outside the doors of the baggage claim area to meet me. Trey had a finger in his nose and a blank stare until he saw me. It was so sweet.

We returned to the house for some lunch then walked over to the village arena to watch a game called “Taureau Piscine.” (Bull pool). The youth of the town go into the arena with a young bull and try to persuade it to get in a centrally located makeshift pool. Trey was more interested in playing with his (already) favorite pick of Nicholas’ old toys, a bulldozer.

Nicholas went for a swim in the family’s small above ground pool and Trey finally decided to get in once Nicholas was getting out. He had a blast.

Later on in the evening was an old fashioned clown and puppet show. However, it was not the most appropriate show for a three year-old (oversized-head Satan character and a decapitation of a marionette by another ghost marionette). We left.

Once Trey was tucked away in bed, William and I joined Helene and Frederick and Nicholas for an evening stroll down to the nearby lagoon.

Share This

Back in Macon

William — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:43:26 +0000

Trey and I returned from France last night and are taking it easy today trying to recover from jet lag & exhaustion. We’ve got lots of photos to post from the last 3 weeks and will try to work on those over the next week or two.

Share This

Sprewell Bluff with the Joslins

William — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:20:49 +0000

The best Georgia State Park to visit that is under an hour’s drive from Macon is Sprewell Bluff. We took our visiting Minnesotan friends (the Joslins) there for a picnic and some fun in the Flint River.

Hugo and Trey had a blast in the water and the adults spent a lot of time stacking rocks (like we’ve done there before). Before leaving we hiked up to the lookout point to get a great view of the river bend as the sun started to go down.

Share This

Trey’s 3rd Birthday Party

William — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:37:44 +0000

A couple nights ago, Trish Erwin baked a cake for Trey and Stryker-Ann’s birthdays. Stryker-Ann is the daughter of Paul Vosteen, the media dude I’m working with here in Corsica and she is turning 13 next week. We let her blow the candles out and Trey watched because lately his blowing consists of spewing quite a bit of saliva into the air.

After the cake & ice cream, Trey and Styker-Ann each opened their birthday present. I had bought Trey a Lego Bulldozer/Motorcycle kit – unfortunately I didn’t realize it was from the Technics series which is more complicated than regular Legos. After almost an hour of working on it, I got the bulldozer finished and he instantly said “Now make a motorcycle!”

Share This

1+1=Trey (3) –> 3 years

Heidi — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:08:03 +0000

My baby boy turns 3 years old today. What an honor and a joy it has been to see him learn and grow and experience the world around him. He is inquisitive, rowdy, loving, agile, sweet, funny and simply the cutest kid ever. All the labor pains that it took to bring him into this world seem like mere scratches in comparison to the joy that he has brought us. Happy Birthday, Trey. We’ll pretend all the celebrating in Corsica is for you…and not for Napoleon.

We love you more than tongue can tell.

Share This

3 Years Ago Today

William — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:56:21 +0000

'pluginspage','http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">

Share This

Bouzigues Oysters

William — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:13:28 +0000

Each time we’ve visited the Darriets in Southern France they have treated us a wonderful meal with oysters from the town of Bouzigues. Bouzigues is on a lagoon separated from the Mediterranean by a thin strip of land where the city of Sete sits. The town is best known for its oysters which are raised and harvest in thousands of racks or bags in the lagoon’s brackish waters.

Share This

Taureau Piscine

William — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:20:28 +0000

The title says it all: “Bull Pool” Heidi translates it as “accident waiting to happen.” Our friends we visited in France live right next to the arena where all the bull-related events take place. One of those events is “taureau piscine” which is basically involves letting a young bull run around the arena full of kids. The kids try to get the bull into the pool. Apparently there is some sort of point system, but if it didn’t really matter since it was just chaos down there with kids running around.

We decided to let Trey just watch the game instead of participating (ha!). After the bulls had been put away Trey went down and played with his bulldozer/digger in the sand. He had just as much fun as the other kids and didn’t risk his life in the process.

Share This

Where’s Mommy?

William — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:33:16 +0000

This photo was taken on our overnight ferry ride from Marseille to Ajaccio. In the bar/lounge they had this massive illuminated globe that Trey enjoyed spinning. It was a great opportunity for me to explain to him where we were in relation to Heidi and the route we had taken to get across the seas.

Share This

On to Corsica

William — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:46:21 +0000

Our family finished a wonderful week in Montpellier, France with our friends the Darriets. We didn’t have internet access there so I’m way behind on blog posts.

Now Heidi is back in the US at work and Trey and I headed south to the Mediterranean island of Corsica. I’m joining a team on a media project here and Trey is my photography assistant.

Here’s a photo from Marseille, France before we boarded our overnight ferry to Corsica.

Share This

Ready for Take Off!

William — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:57:18 +0000

We’re in our seats on our flight to France and thank God that not only are we right next to a bathroom (normally that is bad but with a 2 yeat-old that is very, very good) but there is an extra seat next to us too.

…though that does annoy me a bit since they told us there was no room for Heidi and she flew out alone yesterday. Oh, well, I can’t complain since my dad gave us these FF miles. Thanks Daddy!

Share This

To France and Beyond!

William — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:27:17 +0000

Today Trey and I are boarding a plane and headed to Montpellier, France to spend a week of vacation with Heidi and our friends the Darriet family. Next Sunday Heidi will return and Trey and i will head to the island of Corsica. We will spend a week there while I help a team out with a multimedia project.

In preparation for the flight I got Trey a Buzz Lightyear action figure which he really loves. Hopefully it will keep him occupied on the plane & ferry.

Share This

Trey’s Squirrel Vendetta

William — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:07:10 +0000

So you’ve seen that sweet, adorable side of Trey – now for the other side. In this video he explains his deep hatred for squirrels and what he wants to do to them.

Share This

Something About That Name

William — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:35:22 +0000

Share This

Bragg Jam Festival

William — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:04:10 +0000

July 25th was Macon’s annual Bragg Jam Festival and with our guests the Joslins we decided to attend.. The main focus of the festival is it’s “Concert Crawl” during which over 40 bands play on 8 different stages across town. We went to the “art/kids” portion during the day and were joined by our friends Rachel & Allister Lowery from Decatur.

We had a serious mix-up with parking & trolley rides and ended up walking well over a mile to get to the event. Once there, the kids had a blast on the playground and moon bounce.

After a PB&J sandwich lunch we took the trolley back to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and walked through downtown back to our car.

Share This