One flight of stairs, one torn tendon and two sore throats.

Last week we packed the car and took off for a tri-state trip to see family and friends. We logged around 1,500 miles and around 22 hours of sitting in a car seat! For the most part I was a saint in the car seat -- singing, reading and sleeping. But by the time we reached Greensboro on our way home from Atlanta I had had enough. I even went as far as peeing all over my car seat to try get out. As you can imagine, it didn't work!

Our first stop was in Nashville to see PawPaw and GiGi. We had a great visit playing and helping around the house. I also got to see JoJo! The two of us played non-stop, took baths together, jumped on the couch, laughed and cried, but most importantly, had fun and enjoyed each others company.


OK, I know, it looks bad, but I promise it's not what you think it is. I was actually mad that Dad kept trying to take the horn away from me. Be sure to check out our Flickr site to see more of our pictures and to see a picture of Dad and I laughing and playing the horn while riding the ducks!

Dad built this Physical Therapy table for PawPaw to use to stretch. I tested it out first and it seemed to hold up pretty good.

Playing with a box turtle we found around the pond.

We took PawPaw over to Cheekwood so Mom could visit a similar Art Museum/Park to the Museum Park she runs here. This is a very large Hare that we ran into while hiking around.

Bella and Maya drinking a blackberry smoothie while having lunch with some of Mom and Dad's friends.

We stayed until Thursday when we headed down to Chattanooga to see Grandma and Papa Richard. We had a great dinner in town with Grandma before heading over to see some of Dad's friends.

One flight of stairs...While visiting Dad's friends I got to play with Drew and Anna and about 7 other kids. Anna was holding me while standing on the top step on their deck. She let go of me before realizing that I didn't have my feet under me properly. As she walked away I began to fall backwards head over heels down the first four steps. After bouncing off the fourth step I turned my body and began logrolling down the rest of the steps before landing on my back and looking up at Mom who was a mere step behind me trying to stop my fall. I was back up and running in mere seconds with only a few bruises on my back and head and an abrasion on my shoulder. I think Mom was more scared than I was.


After a short visit in Chattanooga we headed to Atlanta for Aunt Cindy's 50th surprise birthday party. We had a great mini-family reunion with lots of good food, stories and cousin-time. I had to hold my own as the youngest cousin. Here I am driving JoJo around in the Beep Beep!

Shhh...this is my Christmas gift for Dec 2009. We brought it home and Mom placed it in the attic so I'd forget about it and then be surprised on Christmas morning. There is only one problem...I saw her put it up there when we got home.

Yep, we went with a somewhat empty car and came home with a new fire truck, the bike and of course, as you can see, Beep Beep tied to the roof. The ride home from Atlanta was AWFUL!

Here's why:

One Torn Tendon...Dad was trying to show off in front of all the little cousins by riding the zip-line in Uncle Frank's backyard. The zip-line was about 300 feet long and starts about 25 feet off the ground. Cousin Tom had his tent set up directly in the path of the zip-line and Dad made the mistake of thinking he could clear it. As dad tried to pull up his feet his foot crashed into the tent, breaking all of the tent poles and grabbing Dad's leg and pulling it backwards while the rest of Dad's body continued to go forward. Dad heard a loud pop and instantly let go of the zip-line and tumbled down the hill while grabbing his knee. It turns out that it was a torn tendon behind the knee where it attaches to the calf muscle. The swelling and pain made for a very uncomfortable 8-hour drive home.

Two Sore Throats...Before leaving Chattanooga Mom came down with a sore throat. As the weekend went on her throat got worse and a fever developed. Needless to say, the ride home for her was bad too! While driving home we got a call from Uncle John that cousin Paden was just diagnosed with Strep Throat. Today, I woke up and the first words out of my mouth were "Maya throat hurt, Maya doctor." Mom and Dad think I was just saying it because they were talking about taking Mom to the doctor. I was very mellow today but never developed a fever and Mom's rapid strep test came back negative. It may be her allergies from the many pets we ran into on our journey. Whatever it is has Mom sidelined like never before. I think we'll celebrate Mother's Day next week!