April 1, 2009 (The rest of the Murray trip)

I can’t believe that the last time we updated you was in March. I wasn’t even finished with my trip to Kentucky. Sunday was a rainy and cold day. We all (Me, Mommy, Nana, James, Chasney, Aunt Jackie and Uncle Mike) all went to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I don’t know why they call it a barrel and I did not have any crackers. I did have some good food to eat, though! I am a good eater, people are always surprised how much I put into my mouth during a meal. And I like variety, like Mommy does. Breakfast was fun, especially when Aunt Jackie and I were sharing some of her food and talking. She is funny and really nice. I got to walk through the restaurant (I guess you could say that I walked through the “cracker barrel” although I am beginning to think that this name is just a play on words because it did not seem like a barrel when we walked and if there were crackers, I would have found them and eaten them. Especially since I call many things crackers and they are almost always eaten). Anyway, people always smile and say hello when I walk by. Mommy loves this because Mommy loves to say hello to people and they are much more apt to say hello back if I am with Mommy. She is so sneaky like that.

After breakfast we drove (in the rain) to Aunt Ruth’s house to visit. I fell asleep in the car so when we arrived, Mommy, James and Chasney sat in the car (which was sitting in the rain) so I could stay asleep for awhile. Mommy figured that I would not be happy if I woke up after 15 minutes, but this did not bode well for the rest of the day if I was asleep at 10:30 am (as you probably remember, my nap is usually at 12:30). Mommy really enjoyed the time with Chasney and James, they listened to the radio and hung out, just like they used to. Mommy really misses spending time with Chasney and James, but was really glad to see what nice young people they are. I woke up after 40 minutes so it was time to go inside. When I got inside, there was a party! Aunt Ruth’s daughter (Elaine) was there, along with Elaine’s daughter, Crystal, her boyfriend (I apologize but in the excitement I did not get his name), and also two of Elaine’s grandchildren were there. It was a full room! I was not myself and a bit clingy to Mommy but had a good time playing with the Chinese checkers like I did the day before.

Uncle Mike and Aunt Jackie had to go back to Memphis and everybody else had to go home, so Mommy, Nana, James and Chasney picked up lunch (Subway for this meal, and it was a great deal! Those $5 footlong sandwiches are very good and quite economical! Especially since we had drinks and chips from Wal-Mart back at the hotel) and headed back to the hotel to eat. The hotel had a fun breakfast room right off the lobby, which was right next to the indoor pool area. We ate in the breakfast room, then I immediately ran through the lobby to look through the windows into the pool. You know I love to swim! After lunch we all got our bathing suits on (except Nana, she prefers to stay dry) and went to the pool. I wanted to jump right in without any help! Mommy is a bit concerned that I do not have a fear of water. I splashed and played and James and Chasney swam and jumped. Mommy even played the “jump and catch the ball” game with them. Nana is always so prepared, she brought small blow-up ball that transformed a swimming pool to an acrobatic adventure for James, Chasney and Mommy! That Nana!

James got some water in his ear and started to feel yucky after we finished playing in the school. We all got cleaned up and went to dinner (Wendy’s this time). James felt so yucky that he just put his head down at the table (which of course Nana told him not to do because he put his long hair into his shake). He, Chasney and Mommy were going to a movie that night but he felt so yucky that he did not go. He loves movies and he, Chasney and Mommy used to always go together, so he must have felt really yucky! It was time for me to go to bed right after dinner (there was a 1 hour time difference which I did not understand, but it felt really late to have dinner). Nana had to turn off the light and sit on the floor between the beds for me to go to sleep because I did not understand why I was in my “bed” if Nana was right there ready to talk and play with me! James fell asleep at the same time I did. Chasney and Mommy went and saw “Race to Witch Mountain.” They liked the movie and had a fun time. Chasney did see an ex-boyfriend there, but seemed to be okay about it.

It was another rough night of sleep for Mommy and me this time. My cough got worse, not better, the room was dry and hot and having 5 people in a room sleeping can be tough for a light sleeper like Mommy.

The next day James woke up feeling much better! Mommy and Chasney woke up tired and I woke up with my cough, but otherwise okay. I don’t remember how Nana was, but she seemed fine to me. It was Monday morning and the weather was better. We drove “down memory lane” and went past Nana’s parents’ house (Papaw and Mamaw is what Mommy called them), went past Papaw’s old shop, drove through downtown Murray, took some pictures, went to the cemetery to visit Mamaw’s grave site, went to the Murray State bookstore, went to Wal-Mart (again), went to a park to play, then picked up lunch at Taco Bell. Wow, it was a lot of activity! Oh, did I mention that I was up at 7 am so we were out of the hotel by 8? That might explain our ability to do all of those things before lunch. I had a really good time at the park, and Chasney and James are great with me! They helped me climb on the jungle gym and slide down the slides. Mommy and James played a quick, fun game of tag.

After lunch I took a nap. Mommy stayed in the room, checked some email and took a little nap too. Nana, James and Chasney went to the pool. Both Chasney and James had friends come visit them at the pool and they played and played. I bet they played with the fun small ball too. When I woke up, Mommy and I went to the pool too! Chasney’s friend left and she was sleeping on one of the chairs. James and his friends were in the pool so Mommy and I joined them for more splashing and playing and jumping and throwing and catching.

This was our last visit to the pool. Chasney and Mommy had already determined that it would be more fun for Chasney and James to go home after dinner so they could sleep in the next day and not get up so early when Mommy, Nana and I had to get on the road to home. We went to the Sirloin Corral for dinner, it’s a buffet-style restaurant that has so many different types of food, you could eat for hours. Since I like variety, it worked out well for me. I can’t even tell you everything I ate but I tried lots of new things.

After dinner it was time to drop Chasney and James off at their house and head back to the hotel for me to go to bed. I had such a good time with them, I was sad to say goodbye. I hope to see them again soon!

The next morning we got up early (as usual), got the van all packed and headed out! I am not sure if you know this, but James is sometimes forgetful and left his toothbrush and a few other necessities at the hotel. Luckily, one of his friend’s mom worked at the hotel and returned the items. This may not sound like a big deal, but remember it for later. When we were packing (ok, Mommy was packing) the van, she found another bag of James’ items, but these we just brought home with us. We stopped briefly to visit with Aunt Ruth on the way out of town. We told her beforehand that we had already eaten breakfast and could only stay for a minute to make sure that she did not fix us something again. She just is not feeling well, can’t get around very well and should not be serving us. But, that is always how she has been and we appreciate that she is such a great hostess.

After all of this we were on our way home! We only stopped a few times, one of them to have another Subway footlong for lunch. After we got home, Mommy was really glad not to eat out for awhile. We had an early dinner with Daddy, then Nana left to go see her puppies and kitty (Gizmo, Lilly and Sophie) and I went to bed. Mommy, of course, had the van and all bags unloaded before dinner. The luggage was put away and you would have never known that we were on a trip. This is just how it works with Mommy. That night, Chasney called and said she needed to talk to Mommy. When Mommy called back, Chasney asked if James had left his bag of Mountain Dew soda in the van (which he had). James had been accusing his family in Kentucky of taking his Mountain Dew! I don’t know what the morale of the story is, but you should probably be careful blaming other people for things.