Scary Morning

I had quite the fright this morning--Miles was up at 6:30! Ruby quickly caught on and wanted to get up too, around 7. Miles was surprised when it started to get light outside. He was expecting it to

 be Halloween (meaning nighttime) all day. He wore his costume to school this morning, but wasn't as excited as I thought he'd be. He seemed a little worried about people thinking he was really Spiderman.

Last Sunday we took a family outing to the trolley museum and Trax Farm. Miles loved sitting on the old tractor at the farm, riding a John Deere trike, and climbing over the pumpkin pile. 

Changing Hues

You may notice, if you look closely, that our house has some new color! The painters finished up while we were away so we came home to a new look. You'll have to come see it in person when you get the chance.

The kids and I took a walk around the block this afternoon and Ruby walked a pretty good part of it herself. It was a beautiful day. 

We also went to the grocery store and they rode side-by-side in the car cart, at Miles' request. He assured me that he would beep the horn for her. She was thrilled to be so close to him for our tour through the aisles. It's been a busy, fun week. Ruby is making lots of different sounds now, including motor sounds for her cars, a word that sounds kind of like "ball" and occasionally "mama" and "dada."

I just noticed the sibling resemblance in these photos. Other people keep telling me that Ruby is starting to look more and more like her brother. Do you see it?

Home, Sweet Home

Camping on Saturday--Ruby was a scruffy ragamuffin in her multiple layers, with a layer of dust on top of everything else.

Miles shows off his hot chocolate mustache, and 

 the kids gather around the table for their morning meeting.

Here are some pictures from Wednesday, when we 

visited Tybee Island lighthouse. 

Our whirlwind tour came to a close yesterday, with a long last drive from Point Lookout State Park. 

We had a great time in Savannah and camping over the weekend. George spent Thursday morning at Georgia Tech's Savannah campus. He delivered his talk at noon and had lunch with his colleague from Maryland. The kids and I visited the Jepson Center, an art museum with interactive exhibits. They had a short program Thursday morning for 3-5 year olds. They talked about the black-and-white photos on exhibit and made a craft with black-and-white paper, glue, and decorations. Miles really liked the hands-on area, including a clear plexiglass wall we could draw on with markers. Ruby got hold of the markers too and soon gave herself a cute black beard and black fingers. Luckily it all washed off pretty easily. They also dressed up in the artistic costumes. (That's Ruby, sporting the Native American cloak.) These were the only pictures I took in Savannah--which is a shame because the city is so lovely. Besides our walk to a pizza place for dinner and to a candy store on Wednesday night, I was on my own with the kids and too occupied with them to get out the camera. 

After the art museum we took a trolley tour of the city and had some gelato. Since I didn't get to enjoy any chai lattes during the trip (we didn't visit a single coffee shop!), the chai latte gelato hit the spot. Miles really enjoyed riding the trolley and hardly asked any questions. The driver was doing the narration thing the whole time and he mostly just sat and listened. Ruby was wiggly though, and hard to contain. After the ride we headed back to the hotel for her nap. Miles and I ate the leftover pizza and I packed up our stuff for another road trip. 

We drove to Wilson, NC and stayed there Thursday night (after a late dinner at Cracker Barrel). And guess where we had breakfast on Friday? Another Cracker Barrel, a few hours down the road. 

We made it to Richmond by noon on Friday, to visit Darin and Jen and meet their new baby.  We stocked up on wine at Costco and groceries for the weekend. It was rainy, and although we were all set to camp that night...all our friends called and said they wouldn't be at the campground until Saturday. Luckily we were still in Richmond and our  friends immediately offered up their guest room. Miles had a great time playing with Evan and Jacob and we added one more destination to our road trip.

Saturday morning was cold but clear and we drove to Point Lookout for a fun day of hanging out with friends. Miles had quite a crew of kids around now and kept busy keeping up with them. Ruby had her first camping trip and handled it like a pro. She even napped in the tent in the afternoon, which was a rarity on Miles' early camping excursions. 

We weren't quite prepared for how cold it got on Saturday night. That sure made us appreciate those soft warm hotel beds! 

Savannah

Here are some pictures from yesterday, on the beach at Tybee. Miles and Ruby had a great time playing in the sand and chasing the seagulls.

We're at our hotel in Savannah now. So far we haven't seen anything except the hotel. Miles and George are at the pool and Ruby's napping. Miles is excited to ride a trolley later. He's been trying new foods on this trip. Monday he tried steamed shrimp and last night he had shrimp, crab, and mussels. He was easily convinced to try these "small creatures" after we assured him that they would be dead. George did the dirty work of peeling the shrimp and cracking the crab claws for him. He's excited to have a shellfish dinner with Opa and Grandpa sometime.
On our way off the island today we stopped at the lighthouse and walked up all 273 steps, 154 feet, to the top. It was a nice hike and Miles did very well. The view was spectacular. We've had great weather so far on this trip. No rain and just one windy day. We're hoping it holds up for our camping trip this weekend!
I don't think we've lost any more possessions....and Miles doesn't seem to miss his blanket. He's been so tired at bedtime though (and dinnertime for that matter) that he hasn't had a chance to miss it.

Road Trip

We made it! We arrived in Tybee Island, GA this afternoon and spent some time on the beach before dinner. It is very windy but otherwise lovely. We're staying in a hotel on the beach and we have a 2-room suite, so the kids are sleeping next door while George and I enjoy some quiet time.
We stayed in Charlotte last night, and seem to have lost 2 items already--a ball we were playing with at the pool that got sucked into the filter, and Miles' treasured blanket. He went to bed without it (accepting one of Ruby's blankets as a substitute), so hopefully that won't be too painful.
Miles and Ruby both enjoyed playing in the sand. Miles was very clear that he didn't want to get in the ocean, and Ruby approached it with her usual enthusiasm, but fell backwards into the ripples and got a little wary. The pool here is too cold, even for Miles, but I'm sure we'll find plenty of things to do.
The drive was better than I expected. Miles has had some long days (no sleeping in the car for him, even at 6am yesterday when we left home) but he's happy to watch his videos. Ruby slept, played, and snacked in the back seat with me. She's adored everywhere we go and is feasting on the attention as usual.

October, Already?

Much to my dismay, the signs of Fall are here. At least one person in this house had been sneezy, stuffy, coughing, or sniffly for the past three weeks, but everyone seems to be healthy again. Ruby learned to "blow" at the sight of a tissue, whether it's coming at her face or not. I also noticed that my hands have taken on that cold-weather look with a fine cast of white, dry skin. Thanks to all the hand-washing or just the cold dry weather. Time to stock up on a good hand cream and chocolate, to boost serotonin and combat seasonal affective disorder!
Our upcoming road trip will at least offer some respite from the cooler temps. We're headed to Charlotte on Sunday, Tybee Island on Monday, and Savannah on Wedenesday. Then we'll be driving back north to meet friends for a camping trip in Maryland on Friday. I have a feeling that we'll be exhausted when we get home--at least George and I will be!
Miles is excited for vacation, and curious about our destination. He knows what a savannah is--the wide open grassland, and seems to think that "Georgia-Savannah," as he calls it, may be similar. He asked me yesterday if there would be restaurants there, since it's just a wide open space, with lots of sand. He'll be in for a nice surprise I think, but he may be disappointed not to see wild animals wandering around.

I've tried to post short videos here but there seems to be a glitch. Photos will have to do for now.
I caught a rare moment of Ruby and Miles "dancing" on the porch. I think he was really just trying to get her out of his way, but it became an improv dance step.
Ruby loves to be outside and we take frequent strolls on our block. She also loves to sit in the Jeep and "vroom." We store it under the back porch and one day she crawled into it while it was still under there. I heard her thump her head under the porch floor when I stepped out from the kitchen. She's determined to have her way--nothing stops her.