Pancakes Are For Sharing

Both my boys are big fans of pancakes. I, therefore, am a big fan of the frozen pancakes that you zap in the microwave. Jack really prefers his pancakes with chocolate chips, and I don't often buy them that way. So, it takes some improvisation, but usually I can manage to turn a regular ole pancake into a chocolate chip pancake...albeit a bit messier than your typical chocolate chip pancake.

One day last week, after preparing pancakes, I left the kitchen to work on some laundry. I heard lots of laughter coming from the breakfast table. Sam (who had already eaten) had climbed into the seat beside his feasting big brother. And, naturally, Jack decided to share the delightfully messy pancakes with his little brother.

Wedding Weekend

This weekend we journeyed back to Chattanooga for the wedding of Josh's cousin, Ryan and his lovely bride Julie. We were also able to spend more time with Josh's uncle who is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. At certain moments, the wedding was bittersweet knowing the father of the groom was unable to attend because of his current residence on the hospice wing of Memorial Hospital. Join me in praying that his pain is eased and those around him comforted.


Birthday Princess & her summer sipper

 We also managed a small belated birthday celebration for Josh's sister, Kristy. She is such a funny gal, and so much fun to celebrate. When I was expecting Jack a few years ago, my mom bought a couple of little gifts for after our ultrasound. Once we learned we were having a Jack instead of a Jill, the mini tiara my mom had purchased from a friend's jewelry store was set to be returned. Josh's sister objected and insisted on buying the tiara for herself! For the past three years, she has adorned herself with the mini tiara on her birthday. I was overjoyed to see her slip it on after we arrived at lunch Saturday afternoon.

"They call this a challenge?"

Speaking of lunch, we dined at Cheeburger Cheeburger, which has one incredible burger. The menu lists a burger called "The Pounder," which is nearly $11 and weighs in at 20 ounces before being grilled. If you finish the pounder, you get embarrassed/recognized with a photo on a Wall of Fame in the restaurant. Of course, Josh loves a challenge. So, of course he jumped on the opportunity to defeat a food challenge. I was so proud...

Waiting for the fun to begin

The wedding was so lovely, and the weather was perfection for an outdoor gathering by the lake. Ryan and Julie wanted all their neices, nephews and cousins to participate in the ceremony with a parade of sorts. The smaller ones rode in wagons and strollers, while the older kids pushed and pulled. Jack and Sam did pretty well, especially since we were working off limited naptime for Sam and zero napt for Jack.

And they're off...

Somehow they made it by the cupcakes without incidence

But, Jack gave the chocolate cakes an EYE-full!

You can see more of the fun in my May picasa album.

Please Pass the Potatoes

If you are a stranger to this blog, then you may not know that our little Sam likes to eat. Also, if you are a stranger to this blog, then who are you and what are you doing here? Seriously, the only people that read this are people that already know me and most see me with some regularity. Even though I follow many blogs of folks that don't know me, I'm pretty sure I have no similar followers! Anyway, I'm afraid our little Sam is already showing the signs of becoming an emotional eater.

Yes, it's true. My 14-month-old eats to feel better. On Saturday, big brother was graciously sharing his after-dinner Rice Krispy Treat from Zaxby's. All was well, until it was gone. Sam cried. a. lot. Before I knew it, Jack had shoved a half of a french fry in Sam's mouth, and silenced him. Scary, huh?

What about this morning? He sobbed when he realized he'd polished off his bowl of oatmeal. I'm. talking. tears. people. So, more cheerios, pancakes and part of a granola bar were quickly added to the breakfast menu.

I forgot to pick up peanut butter crackers when I was at the grocery store today. You know the little circle crackers with peanut butter-like spread in the middle. The boys love them. They are a great way to stall until dinner's ready if I need Sam to sit in his high chair. They are perfect for preschool lunch. Well, I thought I'd just improvise. I have Ritz crackers, and I have peanut butter. What's the difference, right?

You tell me...

Can you put a cherry on top of a cherry?

So, I'm sure I've made my feelings for Chick-fil-A clear. Hands down it's the best fast food restaurant anywhere and the best food for the money. On top of that, there are just so many little extras. Can't think of many other places that have complimentary table covers for your toddlers or will bring your food to your table so you can go ahead and sit down with your children. Who else has hand sanitizer right beside the playground or little bend-y straws for the kids (or adults...they don't discriminate) or little plastic cups of cheerios for the ones even too tiny for nuggets?

Well, just when I thought I'd seen it all and my affection (a.k.a. love/extreme desire for one in our county) couldn't get any stronger...CFA went and earned another notch in it's awesome belt. At the CFA in Commerce, I spotted a shelf in the women's bathroom with a basket of baby wipes (name brand too!) and another basket with at least a dozen diapers in what appeared to be varying sizes!! Seriously?! Could this place BE any awesomer?

Everything deserves a proper "Goodbye"

I've noticed over the past couple of days that Jack has taken to saying "bye-bye" to anything and everything. At church he points out the "teeple" & then says "bye-bye" as we drive away. Yesterday he was drawing a picture with a pencil & paper when it was time to leave. I told him it was time to go to church and we needed to put our things away. He gave me his supplies and promptly said "bye bye" to the pencil and the paper.

We pass the high school & the construction site for the new high school almost daily. He loves to point out the "ba-ball" (football) stadium and the "tra-tors." Of course, they both merit a daily "bye-bye" as we move along on our journey.

Here's a picture of him saying bye bye to some rice as he inhales it. What? You didn't know that it tastes better if you put your whole hand in your mouth? Well, now you do!

Summer Nights...

I was looking at my pictures from the weekend and thinking about what to write about tonight. I settled on a combination of Summer Nights & Jack's favorite things. We had a great weekend pretty much spending time as a family, which was a perfect way to gear up for the busy month ahead...also leading into the craziness that is football season. The fun began Friday night when I served English peas* with dinner. Jack is a fanatic for peas. He loves them and will sit and eat them one by one or two by two until he is completely covered in green pea goo (pretty sure that's the technical term).

After dinner I thought it would be fun for the 3 of us to go to Sonic. I know...small town life is thrilling! But, Josh and I agreed that summer nights basically boil down to a few things: Sonic/DQ (they can be substituted interchangeably); Braves baseball on tv; catching/watching fireflies; and of course a cute little dance number featuring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. Anyway, Jack was thrilled to have his very own Cherry Limeade*. (Also of note, you can see his new haircut pretty well in this photo.)

Jack is also a big fan of bathtime*, especially if it involves bubbles! He'd probably stay in long enough to get pruney ears if we'd let him. Finally, each night when we're out playing in the yard or on our way home from wherever (most likely Sonic or DQ)...we must find the moon*. Jack is currently obsessed with the moon. He loves following it all the way home, waving to it, finding it in books, and pointing out things crescent shaped and calling them moons.

These are certainly sweet times and we are enjoying every minute of these long summer days with our pea-grubbing, moon-hugging, cherry limeade-slurpin', bubble bath-loving boy. Hope your summer nights are just as much fun as ours.

*denotes a favorite thing

Whew...it's over!

Yes, the inaugural Kitchens that Cook is officially over. Could you hear my deep sigh of relief on Saturday around 6:30? I would have liked to have seen a little more traffic, but for the first time holding the event and the fact that it was a holiday weekend, we were not disappointed. I don't know the final numbers, but we raised about $5,000. Josh enjoyed cooking & filming with Kathy. We heard lots of positive feedback, and we're hoping it can become an annual event.

I was thankful to have my mom come up and watch Jack for us most of the day on Saturday. Dad was able to join us for dinner. He brought Jack a harmonica, which he enjoyed playing. After cleaning up the depot, putting in an appearance at the after-party, I was ready to crash...but managed to stumble into El Campesino with the rest of the family for dinner.

Sunday morning we packed up the cooler and headed to Atlanta for the Braves game with the Walshs, who live in Charleston. Mike went to med school with Josh, and he and his wife were in Atlanta for a wedding. Since this week is Mike's 30th, we met them at the Varsity for lunch and joined them at the ballpark. I just knew our day would be spoiled by rain, but it was a great day! We actually took Jack to one of the faux-Varsity locations before one of the Thrashers games last year, but this was his first trip to one of the official greasy Vs! He was a big fan of the frosted orange, but who wouldn't be?? The big crowd and loud "what'll ya haves" seemed to intimidate him a bit at first, but he settled in quick and enjoyed a naked dog and his first FO.

Liz bought a big group of seats together and we actually ended up being in the shade and having a great view of the field. Because of the steep seats, Jack couldn't really walk around though. He grew a little restless a few times, but managed to make it through the whole game with the help of frequent paci breaks, a giant chocolate chip cookie, dancing to the loud music, peanuts and of course...a coke!



Today we joined some friends for a Memorial Day cookout with ribs and all the fixings. I'm having trouble keeping straight what day it is since Josh was home today and we missed church yesterday. Anyway, it has been a busy, long weekend, and I'm so thankful that the rain showers seemed to cooperate with our schedule.

If you are what you eat...

...then Jack has been many new things this past week or so! Yes, despite the temporary hiatus from most things food our little one is beginning to pick up some steam. He's always enjoyed some of the basics: turkey, chicken, cheese & fruits, but other than those he wasn't very adventurous and stuck mostly to his chocolate milk and diluted juice. We're glad to see him exploring alternate food groups!?!

1. Brownies and Ice cream...this is a food group, right? Apparently best shared with the ones you love, Jack loved every minute of this dessert especially eating it with a straw as a fork.



2. All things spicy. Jack enjoyed some jambalaya last Thursday and on Friday showed his extreme fondness for the salsa at El Campesino.



3. Coke Zero...through a straw, in a big cup...however he can get it! This little guy loves coke. It's terrible...we're terrible, I know.

I know these are all great nutritional choices. Seriously though, he has started eating a few more things and eating better portions of his standard favorites, so we'll continue to reward him with ice cream and coke...ha, ha, ha!

For the Record

For the Record, I was one of those moms. You know...set good habits now, so the kid forms a life long love of fill-in-the-blank (hopefully, with something good like carrots or broccoli.) For example, no chocolate for my kid (he'd never know what he was missing), other sweets would be okay only in moderation, etc. For the record, that was before I was actually a mom...

Even chocolate on his belly, and yes I'm sure it's chocolate!

And for the record, you couldn't have said no to this face either! Just admit it!

Look out, Kobayashi

So, Jack has recently taken to consuming his food in an alarmingly quick fashion. His favorites to engulf are raisins and cheese. Next stop Nathan's.

Still not walking, but I'm guessing his speed crawling burns more calories, and if he keeps this up, he'll need the extra exercise!

When it all comes together...

Yes, this is my stove; and No, I'm not kidding. I guess I was on a roll from my double batch of lasagna on Friday and our Sunday chili for the Super Bowl Party with the Sunday School class. This afternoon/evening was one of those moments when it all came together so I just had to share.

A little bit of background (you know how I tell a story...lots of details!) I usually go grocery shopping on Tuesday mornings while Jack is at Early Steps. Josh usually works in the ER on Monday evenings and leaves the house by 7:30. The combination of these two realities means Monday night dinner is usually whatever I can scrounge up and fix semi-quickly. Typically, spaghetti, chili or leftovers. Well, since we had just eaten lasagna and dined Italian on Saturday, spaghetti was right out! We ate chili at the Super Bowl party and the fridge was barren of leftovers (since we ate lasagna for lunch!) I found some chicken breast tenderloins in the freezer and defrosted them in hopes I receive some light bulb idea. My typical use was not an option (chicken parmesean). Then, I remembered I had potatoes that could be mashed and some english peas. Homemade fried chicken tenders, here we come! I have a great recipe for a simple breading and a method that produces crispy tenders that aren't burnt, but I must confess I had tried it a few times without great results. For some reason, I gave it another go and tonight's finished product was a success! Josh was even psyched to take the leftovers to work for his middle of the night meal. Anyway, as everything was on the stove. I couldn't resist the photo op for my Project 365, which is going pretty well. I do think it's funny that even when I don't take a photo of my child that day, I still end up with a photo of my child!

After dinner, Jack & I quickly jetted off to Bible Study, well he played with Andrew & James, while Andrea & I headed to Bible Study. Again, what wonderful friends! Since Josh works on Monday nights, Andrea insisted Jack could come over while I joined her at the study. I'm so glad she did. The study was great. It's so neat to meet new people and hear their perspective on God's word. I was so hesitant to join the study because our Mondays are so hectic...trying to fix & eat dinner and spend quality time with Josh before he leaves. While my family is important; I realized tonight I was being selfish with what I considered "my time." When really it's all His time.

I think for tomorrow's 365 photo I'll take a picture of my kitchen sink! It's been a mess since Friday. I've run the dishwasher twice already and still have a mess of work to do! Anyway, that's my main reason for ignoring it tonight...I need a photo op for tomorrow! So, even when it all comes together...it doesn't really all come together. Case in point, what my child was doing while I was frying chicken fingers. He found some juice in the pantry and managed to roll it into the dining room (without me really noticing either!)

The 3 R's...

Saturday was full of the 3 R's: Relaxation, Relatives & Retail Therapy. Last year for Valentine's Day, my sweet hubby gave me a massage from Spa Sydell. I have tried to use it on a couple of occasions, but something always came up. On Saturday, I was finally able to cash in on the relaxation, and it was excellent. While all of it was incredible, I could have let the therapist massage my feet and hands all day...that was the best! So, thank you again, Josh!

During my 60-minute massage I kept going back in forth in my head thinking about how God has blessed me. I'm married to an incredible man, who is my best friend and makes me laugh every day; I've been blessed with a wonderful and healthy child; I have fantastic family members and dependable, supportive friends; and much, much more.

The other thought that I bounced around is much less profound and just sort of weird. I found myself wondering about the therapist: "how long had he been doing this?"; "was there a part of him that found it weird to touch stangers all day, every day?"; "does he have regular clients? if so, does he talk to any of them during their treatments or is it the silent treatment for everyone?" Anyway, as weird as it seemed to have thought these things, I did leave feeling very relaxed and thankful for life's many blessings!

Since we were going to be in Atlanta, we talked to Josh's parent about meeting up with us for lunch. Fortunately, his mom already had to be in Atlanta for some school obligations (she's hard at work on a doctorate degree). So, it worked out perfectly for us to hang out with them as well. So, Josh, Jack & Grandaddy hung out while I was at the spa and Grandmommy was in class. The guys picked me up and we did some window shopping until school was over. Once class was out, we all had lunch at Maggiano's. It was oh so yummy!

Afterwards, we headed into the mall and did some more window shopping. Josh had found some shirts at T.J. Maxx for Jack, but I wasn't having any luck with any deals. After spending some time in a couple of furniture stores (a fair amount of that was spent in the massage chairs), we were losing our steam. Then, I remembered I needed some frames and had some coupons for Babies R Us. Jack was also losing his steam. So, his grandmommy graciously took him and his lovee to the glider section at Babies R Us. I picked up my diaper deal, and Josh and I headed to Michael's next door. I found a couple of frames I liked and we returned to find Jack asleep. We let him nap for quite a while, but eventually had to get going. The nap energized him for most of the ride home. So, he watched his new Valentine's gift from his Grandmommy & Grandaddy: Fraggle Rock. He liked the puppets...especially the dog. "Woof, woof" he says.

S'mores, anyone?

Friday night we had a few friends over for dinner. With the hectic-ness that surrounds the holidays, it felt like it had been a while since we had been able to just catch up with one another. The kids really enjoyed each other. And despite four boys under the age of 4, the adults managed to survive too, but not without a few twists.

After dinner, we ladies began clearing the table, putting away the food, cleaning, loading dishes, etc. I asked Josh to get Jack out of his high chair and wrongly assumed that meant Jack would then be under his supervision. Well, the fellas all stayed in the dining room continuing to talk (and they say all we do is gab!) About 10 minutes later, we realize that we are down one little guy...Jack. We look in the laundry room, our bedroom, and he was nowhere to be found. Then, we hear him crawling around UPSTAIRS! That's right. He crawled all the way upstairs and was just hanging out by himself. I know you're thinking, "why don't you put up a gate, blah, blah, blah!" We have a gate, actually two of them, but they are sort of a pain in the rear (especially at the bottom of the stairs.) I typically only put it when it's just me and Jack and I'm not in the room with him. Anyway, since he was perfectly safe and sound we all got a good laugh out of it.

We also managed to keep the house from catching on fire. We have a little S'mores maker with a lazy susan. It is a lot of fun and I knew the older boys would like it(Tate & Brit that is, not our husbands, although they enjoyed it too!) Tate may actually have a future in professional S'mores assembly. It kept wanting to make them for everyone. He managed to eat a few himself too. In fact, this is one of my favorites!

Where we're going...

Jack can officially see where we're going...not just where we've been. This week signified the turning around of the car seat. I know he didn't grow any overnight, but he just looks so much older and more grown up sitting so upright...weird, I know! Must be one of those mom things. As you can see, he's still silly when turned around.

Wednesday night we asked the Shaws to join us at the Magical Night of Lights at Lake Lanier Islands. I'm a sucker for Christmas lights and a little eager to begin some silly holiday traditions with Jack, I guess. The lights were good...Britton (the Shaw's nearly 3 y/o) enjoyed them the most. At the end of your driving tour, there's a silly holiday carnival. Thankfully, Jack's not old enough yet to care about riding anything.

Brit took a trip on the carousel and the train, while the big boys tossed skee ball. Derek one a nice prize for all the kids. We finished our stay with a stop at the fire pits, where you can roast marshmallows. (Which they charge for by the way...as if you didn't pay enough to ride through.) Overall, it was fun and I would go back. If you do decide to go: 1. try to get as many people in your car/minivan as possible (I think 9 is the limit); 2. bring your own marshmallows and coat hangers and roast away (we even saw a family who brought their own graham crackers and hershey bars!); 3. pre-purchase your ticket online (you save $10 from the gate price) and use the coupon code 5253 when checking out to save an additional $5.

It's the season of thanksgiving and the season for a very big celebration at our house. Jack turns ONE on Friday! Wild, right? It seems like I just started this blog and now he's a year old. Here's Jack with someone I'm very thankful for, his great grandfather. It was great spending time with family today for Thanksgiving and all the great food ain't bad either. Enormous thanks to Josh's sister and her fiance who delivered a massive spread for dinner (they felt bad b/c Josh was on call and couldn't join me and Jack in Athens). We thought they were bringing by a plate, but instead brought enough to feed an army! How thankful we are for such wonderful family!

Our little Picasso

We have a stainless steel fridge, so the front is not magnetic. It certainly means a clean look, but there's no place to display our little ones first piece of artwork. One day a week Jack goes to the preschool at our church for a few hours. On Thursday, he made this.


Cute, huh? I guess we have a budding artist on our hands :) I wonder if they let him choose which hand to make the turkey with. He is definitely favoring his left for most things these days. He feeds himself mostly with his left hand. Last night, we were at Cracker Barrel and Josh put a little bit of ranch dressing on his spoon and let him hold it. He knew exactly what to do. It was so much fun watching him figure out how to use it. Oh, there's a Krispy Kreme in Commerce now! So, we learned that Jack likes ranch dressing and hot doughnuts!

Today we went to Tallulah Gorge with some friends. I'll post some photos soon.

Sorry for the links to the photos. Blogger wouldn't let me add photos tonight.

Doughnuts for Democracy?

Tuesday after we voted we headed down to Athens to visit my grandfather, who is in the hospital. On our way back home, we found ourselves staring at red, glowing Hot Doughnuts NOW sign. It lured us in like a moth to a flame. We resisted the urge to order dozens and requested one each. When we arrived at the window to pay we heard, "did you guys vote today?" We proudly replied we had and showed our stickers. "No Charge."

I read on Facebook about free coffee at Starbucks & ice cream at Ben & Jerry's for voters. This is something I could get used to. Can we have an election every month? (Minus the campaign ads, of course!) Some of us are really wishing for a do-over and not just for the doughnuts. :)

Visitors

Thursday morning found Jack and I welcoming visitors again. This time in the way of his Grandmommy and cousin Sean, who were out of school for fall break. They arrived just before lunch and we all had some time to play before meeting Josh for lunch. Sean really enjoyed feeding Jack. Although it usually ended up being a little messy, the two seemed to be having a great time.

They played most of the afternoon until I basically made Jack take a nap. He might have been content to skip it all together. We watched a movie while he napped and I started on dinner, which I needed to take to some friends in our Sunday School class. After Jack had dinner (with help from Sean), I set off to deliver the meal. On my way home, I got a call from Josh who was finishing up a shift at the free clinic and was ready to break away for dinner.

We met him at the clinic and then headed to El Campesino, one of Josh's mom's favorite places here. We always have such great service there and the wait staff loves Jack. They are always teasing him and making faces for him to laugh.

On Friday morning I had a MOPS meeting to attend. Grandmommy and Sean decided to stick around and play some more with Jack while I headed to the meeting. We had a great meeting and a wonderful speaker, Ivy Hall of Initials, INC, which is based here in Clarkesville. Ivy's a great speaker and a phenomenally sweet person. She is one of those people that no matter what whenever she is talking to you she makes you feel like she is truly interested in what you are saying. I feel like I probably don't always give off that same impression...something to work on.

After the meeting, Tate & Brit came home with me for the afternoon, but not before a stop at Josh's office with Andrea & Andrew. After our brief pit stop we picked up Wacky Packs and lunch for everyone at Sonic and headed home. Grandmommy, Jack & Sean were all waiting on us. We also had another visitor!

We're having the yard re-seeded in hopes for a more positive result and the guy was there tilling up the backyard. The boys couldn't wait to get outside and watch the real live tractor. Even Jack enjoyed it oohing and aahing as his hair blew in the breeze. Just after lunch our company left and it was just me and the little boys. We sure enjoyed our visit from Grandmommy & Sean.

After Derek picked up the boys, I started on dinner. Once Josh got home, the three of us enjoyed a quiet evening at home. We watched a movie after putting Jack to bed. It was one of those relaxing evenings that is the perfect ending to an active week.

Saturday morning we headed down to Athens for the UGA/UT game. We enjoyed a fun tailgate with the Carrs and a nice victory for the dawgs. We're halfway through the season and our easiest games are behind us. Here's hoping the dawgs can finish strong like they did last season.

Busy Beach Bums

Not sure anyone has ever used the words busy and beach bums in the same sentence, but that's what I feel like we have been for the last several days. Last Tuesday afternoon we left town and headed to St. Simons Island for a few days of relaxation. Jack did okay the first couple of hours in the car, but the last couple of hours was pretty rough! Here's a picture of him enjoying a pickle while Josh and I eat a quick dinner during our road trip. He loves pickles!

We got in and got settled just in time to watch the women's olympics gymnastics coverage to begin. The next morning we set out for a hearty breakfast and had heard some good things about the Fourth of May Cafe in the village. It was great. I had blueberry pancakes. Josh had eggs, sausage and home fries. Jack tried his first grapefruit. It was pretty comical. The day was pretty rainy and cloudy. So, after some driving around, we headed to the pool. As always, Jack enjoyed his swim. Before long another downpour arrived. So, we all did some napping, reading and more olympics viewing. Dinner was at Barbara Jean's, which has the best crab cakes ever! It was growing dark once we got back to our condo, but not raining so we took Jack down to see the ocean real quick. It was neat, and his hair was blowing everywhere!

Thursday was still a bit overcast, but decided to introduce Jack to the beach. We started him out in the wet sand then moved him close enough to have a bit of water rise around him. He explored the sand extensively, which included tasting it. He was a little unsure about the ocean and wet sand. Later he tried some drier sand, which still didn't taste all that great. He did enjoy playing with his ball on the beach. In fact, later when we went and had some family pictures made he got pretty cranky since his afternoon nap was so short (I just had to go to the Bailey Boys store!). Anyway, the ball was the only thing that cheered him up. You can look at the whole mess of photos from our sitting (but, I'll warn you there are a quite a few!) Needless to say, the ball appears in several photos. Later at dinner, Jack wailed through our entire meal...not a happy boy!

Friday was our final full day at the beach before heading home and it was great! We started by renting bikes in the morning and touring the south end of the island. We biked to the lighthouse, village and Avenue of Oaks. It was great fun, although Jack didn't enjoy getting in and out of the seat on the bike. He didn't mind the ride too much...in fact on the way back to our condo he fell asleep on the bike. I'm not sure how this was even remotely comfortable.

Later we headed back to the beach for our final afternoon. The sun was finally out, but the breeze kept us comfortable. Jack just played with his ball most of the time, but did enjoy watching Josh chase a crab. We went to Chelsea for dinner. They consider themselves casual gourmet, and Josh and I agreed. It was comfortable casual dress (the waiters even wore shorts), but the food was 4-star. Josh tried the crab and/or shrimp bisque just about everywhere we dined and this was the best of the week! He had mahi mahi and I had salmon. It was fantastic...even our salads were great! It was a perfect way to end our trip! On Saturday we got up early and traveled back. Jack did a little better on the trip back. We got back in time to get started on the mound of laundry and get Jack off island time!