While we were visiting Lake Martin, Damon busied himself with plenty of projects. His water canons were a big hit (best. dad. ever.), he installed wheels on his parents’ gate (best. son. ever.), and then he started planning his foray into the best. Uncle. ever. category.

As a kid, when Damon and his sister Vicki were at The Lake for two weeks in the summer, Albert (their dad) would set up a treasure hunt for the kids. This usually involved money and possibly diving to the bottom of the lake (a shallow part). Damon has probably told me in more detail, but I’ll spare you.

Damon decided it was time to bring the treasure hunt into this century and introduce it to Fuller, Nick, and Vivian. It stemmed from our Memorial Day present, a Garmin GPS. (What? You don’t give Memorial Day presents? You totally should.)

Damon and I picked up a nine piece puzzle from the dollar store and wrote a “secret message” on the back. We then wrapped each piece in saran wrap with an identifying symbol so the kids knew exactly what they were looking for.

Damon then attached each piece to nine different trees along the road.

Then he used the GPS to determine the lattitude and longitude of the clue and saved it in the GPS as “Clue One,” “Clue Two,” etc.

Damon planted an invitation to the kids in the mailbox. Getting the mail was a daily ritual for the kids, so Vivian (the only one who can read) was thrilled to find something in the mailbox for them.

The package contained a CD with a message from a mysterious looking man in the shadows. (The mysterious looking man looks like he needs a haircut.)

Soon after the message was played, the computer blew up.

Just joking. That only happens in the movies.

We took off in the golf cart and followed the GPS directions given by the lovely British woman trapped in the gadget. Vivian and Nick were having a grand time finding the clues and bringing them back to the golf cart. Fuller was moaning and groaning, and then threw up around clue four. Damon quickly drove Fuller back to the house while Vivian, Nick and I walked to clues 5, 6, and 7 which were all in the emergency landing area for medivac helicopters. We accidentally found clues 7 and 6 in the wrong order, but it didn’t matter. The kids were having fun!

After the nine clues were found, we ventured back to the house to put the clues together. It was rather easy for the big kids and soon they were looking at a picture of Diego.

Once they realized they had to put the puzzle upside down, it became clear. Or did it?

Turns out the message on the back was out on the lake, so we had to wait until Grandpa Albert came home and helped us go to the secret location of the treasure.

The treasure was found, the bag opened, and the loot distributed to the cousins. Candy, hats, kickboards, and some silly string were welcomed with open arms by the kids. Nick was constantly heard saying, “This is so much fun!” And Cool Uncle Damon enjoyed giving the kids an updated version of something he enjoyed as a kid.

Next year we will have to figure out how to top it.

Technorati Tags: Lake Martin, GPS, treasure hunt

Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but those thousand words don’t tell the whole story.
Alli Crumley, July 2008

If you follow our flickr stream, you will see we didn’t fall off the face of the earth, but continued with our family vacation in a meager fashion.

What the pictures do not tell you is Fuller got worse before he got better. With the threat of severe dehydration on our minds, we called an actual ER doctor (thanks, Uncle John!) and received our medical training advice to keep giving him liquids and popsicles. This saved Fuller from a traumatizing ER trip. (It also meant that the number of family members in the hospital was kept to one- my sister Austina spent three days in the hospital with pneumonia.)

Uncle John also called in a prescription for phenegrin to help calm Fuller’s stomach. Since it was Thursday night and Friday was a holiday, he had to call it into a 24 hour pharmacy in Montgomery. It was pretty much a three hour round trip. The things we do for kids!

I’m happy to say Fuller started to get better that evening (and we never gave him the phenegrine), making the rest of our vacation a bit more pleasant. We are bummed to say my dad caught whatever Fuller had, so we issue our official blog apology here: Sorry Grandpa Fred!

The actual July 4th celebration was the usual: lots of family, lots of food, and playing in the water. Fuller didn’t partake in much of it, since his diet was restricted to liquids, popsicles, and simple starches (crackers). Damon showed Fuller how to take a long nap, which really rejuvenated Fuller and made us think he would make it to the fireworks later that evening.

Mother Nature however decided to throw up a storm of her own, making our side the lake a little tumultuous. We decided to skip the fireworks in favor of keeping our son on the path to healthiness.

Getting Fuller healthy was important so he could travel to Americus, Georgia for my cousin’s wedding. While he wasn’t as into the actual wedding part, the reception was a big hit for Fuller. First we all rode the trolley from the church to the reception. Fuller and Damon even rode it back to the church for another round trip. Then there was dancing with all kinds of little girls (the one above is my cousin). We also allowed him a few bites of cake before going on another trolley ride just for the heck of it. Fuller wasn’t into the sparklers used to wave goodbye to the happy couple, but over all he was thrilled with the fun of the day.

The rest of the weekend was going to church, playing with cousins, and then hours in the car getting home again by way of Lake Martin (to pick up the dogs). Our vacation may be over, but the laundry still reminds us of the fun we had and fill us with hopes of a healthy trip next year.

Friday afternoon Fuller and I returned from VBS and started the fun of packing. Soon after we arrived home, Damon was there and packing turned into a sprint so we could get out of the house sooner.

Since Fuller had such a busy week, I knew he was tired. So we wouldn’t allow Fuller to watch movies in the car until he had his “quiet time.” Fuller threw his blanket over his head and slept for a good two hours.

Because Grandpa Albert and Grandma Linda would be leaving on Saturday to pick up some of Fuller’s cousins, we thought they would not be at the lake house when we arrived. But we were able to leave two hours earlier than we had planned, so when we arrived, it was a surprise to the sleeping grandparents.

Fuller went into the house, found his Grandpa Albert napping on the couch and woke him up. Albert was a bit disoriented, not sure if he was dreaming or not.

It is the way a great vacation should probably begin, napping and resting. Yesterday I took a two or three hour nap while Fuller and Damon worked on projects.

And now, I think we can have a lot of fun this week, since we are properly rested.

Three!

Damon and Maple are gone until tomorrow evening, having left this morning on a hiking/ camping trip to Silers Bald Winding Stair Gap. He was invited by his friend Bob a few months ago and has been planning his strategy little by little for a while. Damon trained by losing weight, going on hikes around Lookout Mountain (and taking Maple) and planning a menu for himself that he tested a few times out by the fire pit.

Since I have a new camera, my old Canon Powershot has been handed down to Damon just in time for this hike. Hopefully he will come home tomorrow with lots of pictures and can share what he cooked. To help inspire him, I gave him a copy of Campfire Cuisine, which is not just about hot dogs and baked beans.

It will be a little strange being just Fuller, Lively, and myself today and tomorrow. But we have planned some time with friends and of course have Sunday School and church tomorrow. I guess before we know it, Damon will be home!

It looks like we are in marathon mode to get to our annual lake vacation. Today we have a museum playdate, my mom returns for a few days on Sunday, Moms’ Group next Wednesday, then starting on the 22nd we have VBS at our church where Fuller will be old enough to participate.

Looking back to last year, I described this time before vacation as an obstacle course, but I really think this time it is just a marathon where we take one day at a time. We are looking forward to our lake vacation, but it will not get here any sooner if we just sit around.

Of course, I have never ran or even trained for a marathon so maybe the analogy doesn’t really work. If it doesn’t, don’t bother telling me. I like my bliss.

The thing about this year’s lake vacation is it will be interrupted by a visit to Americus, Georgia for my cousin’s wedding. It interrupts our plans of just being lazy, but we will see lots of extended family, meet a cousin’s new baby, and enjoy some wedding cake.

What are your summer plans? Traveling? Visiting? or just sitting around?

It is 9:45 and Fuller is in bed, but not asleep. Today he was being an absolute angel. When he was sent to his room for quiet time (playing quietly in his room with the door closed) I went in to let him out and Fuller was asleep on the floor. I guess his weekend of fun caught up with him.

When we travel to The Lake as often as we do, I sometimes feel a bit dried up in my descriptions of what we do there, especially when it is as short as a weekend. The usual highlights were swimming, boating, riding the sea-doo, relaxing, and having eggs and bacon for breakfast. We mixed it up by swimming in a heated pool (thanks, Aunt Frankie) and going to church on Sunday (not something we normally do when at The Lake). And Albert has increased his breakfast menu to include pancakes for the kids.

I’m not complaining, I really like going to The Lake for get aways. The predictability of our visits is what makes it a comfort, relaxing, and something we always look forward to. And Fuller keeps talking about going to boating and playing with Albert, so I know he is already counting the days until we go back.

Technorati Tags: family vacation, Lake Martin, Alabama

Fuller’s awareness of the space-time continuum is getting better. When we told him we were going to visit Grandpa Albert and Grandma Linda, he waited a whole day before demanding to get in the car and go.

This morning has been difficult, with Fuller’s demands not being met. I have been trying to involve him in the packing process, but he keeps being distracted by toys or a piece of lint. And then he requests to get in the car, now.

I have given him hope we will be traveling soon after Daddy gets home and mows the grass. There isn’t an exact time for this event, but it does give him something to look forward to. Because when I put the bags in the car in the next 20 minutes, he will be disappointed again.

Travel updates found on twitter.