Grandma and Grandpa

Question: What could be better than spending the first part of October in RI with your Memere and Pepere? 
Answer: Getting the chance to spend the second half of October on Tybee with your Grandma and Grandpa!

Mathieu and Grandma spent two hours every day setting up train tracks and driving trains.  What a Grandma!

 

Grandma and Grandpa help celebrate our birthday by making a feast and the traditional                                                          Weber birthday cake:Cherry Chocolate

Mathieu approves

We've been very lucky to find an active, retired couple just up the street from the 4-H Center.  They travel, but need someone to care for their dogs.  In exchange for some dog walking and plant watering, Grandma and Grandma spent 6 days in a luxurious home situated right along the marsh on Tybee Island! They admitted that the guest bedroom was even more comfortable than the 4-H Center's bunkbeds!

Mathieu loved walking Dolly!

He wished the dogs would run with him around the house, but they were too tuckered out from all the walks!

River Street in Savannah

Lunch at Ellis Square

Back to one of our very favorite places: Fort Pulaski!

Yes, this is a hill of oyster shell!

Oyster shells are naturally here and not through human interference.

Ft. Pulaski has everything: Trails, river, canons, and an actual drawbridge over a moat!

Mathieu had such an amazing time visiting with his grandparents!

Back on Tybee

Reunion with out best buddy

 

 

Our friend, Wendy, just had her beautiful baby girl. 

Pepere is man of many ideas and talents.  In Mathieu's eyes, his grandfather's greatest achievements to date are his ramps and roads.  I asked Mathieu this morning, "What do you play with Pepere?" His answer: "I like to play with him.  Pepere builds ramps and roads.  I like to drive my cars and trucks on those roads. Bear likes it, too."

Bear, Mathieu's favorite stuffed animal, is in the dump truck

Mathieu's first haircut, performed by Mommy!

Mathieu's expression is NOT a sign of pain. He might have been singing.

 Mathieu loves his cousins!

Hikes along the water and in the woods

Bike Riding with the cousins!

Warning ... another plug for the Strider bicycle ...

This bicycle weighs 6 pounds and easily fits into my suitcase! I padded it with our clothes, checked in the suitcase, and viola! Mathieu's been riding his bicycle all over RI ... especially with his cousins!
The first video is 15 seconds. All the others much shorter.  Unfortunately, no sound.

Whoops! The next video is the second try.

Autumn in Rhode Island

Uncle Paul, Mathieu's Godfather

Colorful maple trees, apple trees, and long sleeves all indicate that we are not on Tybee Island!  My Uncle Paul is celebrating his 50th year as a Brother of the Sacred Heart, and Mathieu and I have traveled to the  beautiful state of Rhode Island to celebrate this happy occasion with our family.  One of the beauties of being a stay-at-home-mom is the freedom of flexibility, and so we are here for 10 days.

At first, Mathieu was a little disappointed that we couldn't go blueberry picking, but he found apple picking quite satisfactory.

Peeling apples for apple sauce

Strider Bike and Jekyll Island

Ok, so Dave and I totally feel like a commercial for Strider balance bikes. Everywhere we go, and believe me, we go every where on Tybee, people stop us and ask about the bicycle.  Mathieu has been wonderful about sharing, which is a good thing because every 2 and 3 year old at the park wants to try out the bicycle.  At this rate, we could single-handedly start a Strider movement in Savannah ... and maybe Jekyll Island, too.  Jekyll Island is another barrier island south of Tybee, and it's B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.  We visited last weekend and had great fun riding on the beaches, in the forest trails, and on boardwalks.  Well, Mathieu rode his bike and Mommy and Daddy could happily walk/jog all around this pretty place.

Off-roading.  The more tree roots, bumps, and hills, the better!

Back home in our backyard at sunset