Tully Travels to Washington DC...

I had the opportunity to travel with Ashley and Tully to Washington DC the week of September 18, 2011.  Mommy had a conference to attend so Grammy and Tully played while mommy worked.  Tully is about 5 1/2 months old.

He was the sweetest and best little boy... I loved spending every minute with him!

We flew out of Tulsa on Sunday, Sept 18, 2011

We packed a little bit of luggage... okay, so it was a lot of luggage, but it was all important stuff!!  We took Tully's smaller stroller in the black duffle bag; along with a small car seat to use in the taxi.  Tully had the two red bags and the small ice chest with some of Mommy's frozen milk;  Mommy and Grammy had the black and blue suitcases.  Thank goodness there were no luggage fees for the stroller or car seat.  We checked two bags and carried on two bags plus the cooler of milk.  Whew, it was a lot of stuff, but we managed it all.  Ashley laughed to think she used to travel to DC every other week and took only her purse and a carryon that had all of her business suits and necessities for work.

Mommy got our boarding passes each time and we were set to go.

This was not Tully's first flight, so he knew the routine and slept almost the whole flight!  Arriving in DC we found our room to accomodate our needs quite well...

Tully had his own place to sleep...

This desk converted quite nicely into a changing table!

We had a comfy chair for feeding Tully...

and he had his clean play area as well.

Mommy left for work Monday morning and after Tully woke up we hung out in the room for a bit but ended up going out in the stroller every day; and some days we strolled several times.  We just planned around naps and he was such a good boy.

This was one of our first places to go and explore.

Tully loved the bright colored flowers... and they were everywhere!

and he liked the fountain that was at the far end of this same area.

He was watching the fountain so intensely.
It was an overcast day with a nice fall temperature.

When mommy came in from her first day of conference for some snuggle time with Tully, she found that he had cut his first tooth today!

He went around all day feeling his tooth with his tongue.

To be Continued...

See later posted related links:
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Last Day Headed Home

Double Knot?? No Problem for Tully...

Another Labor Day weekend story... while Ashley, John and Tully were here to visit mommy decided to bake some brownies.  I sat Tully on the island in the kitchen so we could watch mommy.  His shoes were untied, so I tied them both in a double knot.  He immediately reached for his newly tied shoestrings...

Each shoe was in a double knot... 

Tully started pulling on the ties.

I asked him what he was doing?  He looked up at me as if to say,
"who me?"

...and then, went right back to work!

He leaned in a little closer...

He tugged at those strings...

...and pulled some more!

Ta-Da!!!  That was easy!
Amazing what a little determination will accomplish.

He looked at his job well done!
He then grabbed the knot on his left shoe...
I know he was thinking "now, I'll just undo this other one!"
  ...and he did in a matter of minutes!!
Guess Grammy will have to tie that double knot a little tighter next time ;-/

It is so fun to watch him figure things out and observe as his coordination develops.  It is hard to believe he is already 5 months old!

Garter Snake Play Time...

My critter stories continue -- Labor Day weekend Ashley spotted a garter snake in the back flowerbed.

You can see him here under the table.

John and Dennis had to play with him for a bit!

I would never hold him, but since Dennis did...
I could get a closer picture!

I asked him to put the snake down so I could get a full picture of him,
but Mr Garter started moving fast and it was towards me!
I was too afraid to ever get him in the whole picture!

Also, he was slithering the direction Tully was sleeping on the patio!
Granted the snake was not close to him, but he turned that way!

"Mommy Ashley" jumped bare-footed right between that snake and Master Tully, shooing him away!!!  Of course, the new Mommy was screaming the whole time, but her maternal instinct kicked in!  We all had to laugh, watching her was really funny, because she was as terrified of the snake as I was!  Believe me I was screaming at John and Dennis both to get him!  Ashley did manage to divert him in another direction...

...which was towards the pool. 

I was surprised when I saw him go straight
into the pool, he did not even hesitate!

He swam along the edge a little ways and then crawled right out on another edge.

...and of course, headed to another flowerbed!

Dennis and John managed to catch that little rascal once again and gave him a new home that was further away.  One day Tully will have to read this story and know he was truly never in danger!  :-D

Puppy Love At 5 Months Old...

 On a recent visit with Tully I captured a few pictures of him interacting with his loving dog, Zachry.

I love my doggy!

I give him hugs...

and kisses!

Zachry, can I touch your paw?

Yeah, go ahead!

He wants to lick my drool, but Mommy won't let him!

Mommy says I drool a lot...

You want me to rub your belly?

Okay, just a little rub.

Come over here and hang out with me...

...but no kisses!

Hey Zac, look over here...

Grammy wants to take a picture of me sitting up like a big boy!

Okay Grammy that's enough pictures, Zac is tired.

Tully certainly is not a camera ham.  He'll be playing or laughing and if I get the camera out he'll just stop and look at the camera as if to say "what is that thing in your hand?"

He turned 5 months old on September 5, 2011... gosh, time is going by fast!  He changes everyday and I love my visits with him.  While he has reached for toys and things for a while now, yesterday was the first time that he has actually reached his little arms up for me to take him... just makes my heart melt.

Bicycling With Family And Friends...

One activity I enjoy doing to get some exercise is cycling.  It is low impact and not so hard on my body. I love the camaraderie and being outdoors!  I sometimes ride with my daughter (Ashley), my husband (Dennis), or with friends.

Ashley and I have been riding two nights a week on a couple different trails in the Tulsa/Broken Arrow areas for the past few months.

We are getting ready to head out for our evening ride.

As we were leaving the neighborhood we looked at each other about the same time... I commented, "man, you can feel the heat from the pavement!"  She said, "that is exactly what I was thinking!"  It was 109 degrees that day!  Whew!

This is the trail we ride most often.

Parts of the trail is shady, so it gives us some relief from the sun on those scorching hot days.  I usually look at the temperature before we start and they have varied -- 99, 103, 106, 109, 97 101, etc; and it even reached 111 degrees one day when we started pedaling.  I am certainly looking forward to the cooler temps that just arrived today as I post this blog!

We take plenty of water and just hit the trail rolling!

Here we ride alongside a main road...

The trails just seem to wind and curve throughout the trees and hills.  We cross several little bridges...

and have underpasses to avoid many of the streets, but sometimes we do have to cross major streets.  You can see our trail goes under the road here...

We were sad when we saw this sign go up!

I assume they are closing the trail for repaving or such, but I don't really know for sure.  Hopefully, it won't be closed for long!  The trails are well maintained and are used by many people riding or walking; we always see others on the trail each day we ride.

A connecting trail we enjoy is the "Creek-Turnpike Trail"... and I guess we'll be riding it more now!

We usually head west on it from Memorial Road.  Again, the trail provides some shady areas and is quite hilly in places, so we get a good workout.

One thing about it each day we ride, we usually get to see the beginning of the sunset.  Here is one along the trail.

Ashley heads under one of the overpasses...and over the bridge.

Dennis and I continue to ride one day a week with our regular bicycling group here in town.  We often ride from our local city to a nearby city, we then load our bikes onto a bike trailer or in a pickup; and after dinner we head back home.  We cycle one-way usually for a distance of 21-30 miles depending which city is our destination.

Recently, I ate at 3:30 before a ride at 5:30... uhhh, that is not enough time between in this extreme heat... was not pretty!  Needles to say I only got 17.5 miles in that day ...I was thankful for the sag wagon!

When our evenings start getting short on daylight, we will do what is called an "out and back" ride.  We will leave from a local restaurant, pedal out for a certain period of time and then back to the restaurant to eat before dark.

Dennis and I sometimes ride on Sunday mornings (before his golf game); he enjoys riding before it gets hot.  I also have a friend I have ridden some with in the mornings, when she is available.  It sounds like I ride bikes all the time, which is not true, but I do like to ride 3 days a week when possible.

So, if you ever want to join in on the group fun... tune up your bike, grab your helmet and water bottle, and come enjoy one of our beautiful sunsets!

Another ride...another sunset!