Having just been released from the hospital and with who knows how much medication in his system, he wasn’t very responsive during the short time we had with him. You’ll notice in the video below that he seems pretty distant and tired.

Back in Macon, Trey recently asked me if Peepaw was dead yet. I replied with “No, did you think he was?” Trey replied with an observation that was impressive for his age, “No, but he’s really old and misses Grammaw. I think he wants to go to heaven.”

Heidi’s best friend from high school came with her husband and son who is Trey’s age. Between the two of them, the Randall’s gang of boys, and all the other kids, there was plenty of entertainment.

We had a small scale fireworks show (that still amazed the boys) and by the time the ball dropped all of the kids had passed from exhaustion at various locations throughout the house. Trey managed to hold out the longest but our little Superman finally crashed on the couch.

Trey got to sail with me and his granddad and then later he and Heidi took Kenny’s kayak out for a spin as well (video below). Trey’s newborn cousin also joined us but he stayed on solid ground for the afternoon simply enjoying the fine Florida weather.

For a mere $5 you get a chilly 45-minute boat ride. Then there’s cheap hot dogs, hot cocoa, popcorn, and boiled peanuts. Plus free photos with Santa. This year Trey wasn’t as apprehensive about seeing the bearded man.

* photos & video from November 2011

We had to pull over into Chick-fil-a as soon as Trey spotted the Christmas creature. After he high-fived the guy we went inside where a normal human was dressed as Santa. Trey wasn’t interested in sitting on his lap for a photo op until he realized you got a tin of candy if you did. Then he was all for it.

Trey’s lines were both in regards to a Christmas tree at the center of the production’s plot:

“Maybe we can decorate it with Spiderman.”

“I don’t think that captures the modern spirit.”

During their weeks of rehearsals Trey’s teacher had told us they were having a hard time getting him to pay attention and participate. We tried to encourage (and discipline) him into better cooperation during practice. However, after Heidi and I saw the play, we determined he was just bored. Singing hasn’t been a big interest of his and the long periods of dialogue in the play where he had to just sit there had him pretty disinterested. I kind of feel bad now for giving him a hard time about not paying attention.

When you watch the singing below, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. He really doesn’t seem to thrilled about what’s going on around him and he’s in his own little world entertaining himself.

And here’s the 2010 one:

And here’s the 2009 one:

And the 2008 one…

In this video you can see Trey using his Spiderman skills to escape from their dog.

With my family in town Trey and I slept down the road at my great-uncle Tommy’s house. They were out of town and graciously let us use their place. Trey and I had a great time playing shuffleboard in their basement and visiting his horses in the fields out back.

Over the last year Peepaw’s mental health has deteriorated significantly. He gets very confused about his whereabouts and who people are. That sometimes leads to him getting very frustrated. He scared Trey a little on our visit when he mistook him for an unwelcome stranger in his house and gruffly told him to “Get out of here.” Trey was just as confused but seems to accept our explanation that Peepaw is just old and gets “mixed up” sometimes. Trey mostly shrugs and says “He’s just being silly.”

At one point Trey was showing Peepaw a Lego toy when Peepaw took it and put it in his mouth having assumed it was candy. Trey just thought that was hilarious and ran excitedly to tell me about how silly Peepaw was acting.

I do find it a huge reflection on my grandfather’s true character that as the dementia sets in, he has never become violent or verbally abusive. He sometimes get agitated but hasn’t sworn at anyone or yelled. In fact, several times he has apologized profusely after getting frustrated or being curt with someone.

You’ll notice in the video that Peepaw mentions bringing Trey home with him even though he’s already at home. That’s the biggest issue with his dementia – he usually doesn’t recognize that he is in his own house and gets upset that no one will take him home.

Here’s a recording of the last minute before they fell asleep. It’s pretty funny to hear his friend saying that he doesn’t know how to fall asleep and then suddenly falling asleep as Trey explains how. Trey calls to him a few times and then slips off in to a deep sleep himself.

This is just a clip of a typical meal out back with Trey. For this occasion he was wearing his viking outfit and eating some leftovers I had brought home from Ruby Tuesday.

When I was growing up I LOVED Thundercats and now Trey is following in my footsteps. We’ve got the 1985 Season One episodes and Trey has been making his way through the vast collection.

You can’t exactly buy a Thundercats costume at Walmart, Target or Party City these days, so we had to go the DIY route. Heidi made Tygra’s whip out of yarn and some styrofoam balls we painted red. I made the Thundercats logo badge and we used some blue PJs that he is about to outgrow as the base of the outfit.

Unfortunately, Heidi was on call all day & night Sunday so I had to apply the face paint myself and take him to our church’s fall festival. I did my best with the red and yellow face paint we had. The final result ended up a bit more red than it should be. Even though it didn’t look spectacular, Trey thought it was the greatest thing ever!

Watch the video below and you’ll see the face painting process and Trey singing the “Fff-undercats” theme song.

As you’ll see in the video, Trey was thrilled to have some company so I took him to school over an hour late so that he could play with them.

This weekend I took him down to a park where he could try again. He had forgotten about the previous accident and this time had softer grassy areas to fall into. The experience went really well and he caught on quickly. He still needs help with the starting and stopping and his turning skills could use some work.

Here’s Trey designing the face for the pumpkin before I carved it.

Heidi was on call at work all day & night so he recorded this message for her about his pumpkin when we got home.

Now once a week Trey spends an hour with a class of about six 5-6 year-old boys doing stretches, obstacle courses, rings, balance beams, trampoline jumping and more.

The big benefit is that it’s fun that keeps him active and attentive. Well… we’re working on the attentive part.

A couple weeks ago we finally took him in. I had my teeth cleaned first so he could see how it was done and then he followed. The dental hygienist did a great job keeping him entertained and he didn’t whimper or complain once. He did think he was pretty cool since she let him hold the water sucker-upper-thingy.

So hear’s a shout out to Liipfert Dental, Macon, GA for doing a fantastic job with the kiddo!

You can stream or purchase the entire ADVENTURES album online.

Trey demonstrates the importance of elbow and knee pads when participating in extreme sports such as drive way scootering.

At his class’ end of year program, or “Roundup,” they dressed as cowboys and cowgirls, sang songs, showed of their Bible knowledge, and read from books aloud. Trey was selected to be one of the readers (I’d like to think it’s because he is so good) and he received the award for having the “Best Superhero Imagination.”

Use the video player below to flip through several short videos I made during their school program. Some highlights to look for:

• Trey wearing the cowboy boots I used to wear as a kid. They are way too big for him.
• At the end of “If You’re Happy And You Know It” Trey misses his chair and falls on the floor.
• As cheesy as the “Song for Parents” is, it’ll break your heart when your little boy looks straight at you as he sings it.

Trey was still thrilled with his new Legos and t-shirt and spent most of the time talking folks into playing with him and those toys. There was also a great moment where he started explaining his ideas about Star Wars (he has never actually seen the movies or any cartoons about them). He was showing off his lightsaber skills to Grammaw and she joined in on the sword swinging action from her wheel chair. I grabbed my camera and only caught the last bit of it on video.

Brood XIX, nicknamed “The Great Southern Brood,” was last seen in 1998 when they mated, layed eggs, and died. Their eggs hatched and the nymphs burrowed underground where they remained immobile for well over a decade.

This month, the millions of juveniles emerged, transformed into adults and began singing their mating song.

Our house is in the woods and we hear a constant drone from the insects from 7am to 7pm. Trey had enjoyed hunting for their vacant shells and has even collected a couple as “pets” (until they fly off).

The museum’s most impressive feature is EDDIE®, “the world’s largest child.” He’s a 40 foot tall (100ft if he were standing) and 17.5 ton statue that you can climb inside and explore his anatomy (see video below). On a sidenote, Heidi figured his BMI is 17.1 making him grossly underweight. He really needs to see a physician.

Here are some photos and videos of our fun at EdVenture. We can’t recommend this place enough to other parents. If you are in or near Columbia, South Carolina definitely check it out!

*Note: I did take a 1 hour nap in the car while Heidi continued to chase Trey around the museum

With Trey’s help I put together the following submission. For those that have see our “God is a Genius” video that won the Sierra Trading Post “Share Your Adventure” contest, you’ll notice some similarities in the style. Consider this as an expanded chapter of that video – the Texas segment. Oh, and wish us luck!

We head out tonight and won’t be back until next Sunday. We’re also planning to swing through Columbia, South Carolina to spend some time in Congaree National Park.

Here’s a video we made at Amelia Island the last time we were there:

The highlight of the trip was our last stop at the aviary. Another kind visitor shared her bird feed with Trey (which he insisted was a mustard drink). I was impressed that he was able to be still enough to keep a parrot on his hand while it fed. Video below.

Here are some of his pictures followed by mine. Below you’ll also find a fun video of Trey playing with one of the ostriches.

Perry is just about 45 minutes south of us so on Saturday, Trey and I hopped in the car and hit the interstate. I was surprised by the number of people there but soon found out that the “Great Outdoors Show” was going on at the convention center next door. Patrons of that exhibit received free admission to the fishing museum. They could be easily be picked out by their camouflage jackets and beer brand t-shirts (for those interested, Budweiser won out with the most t-shirt totting fans).

The museum is really nice, but at $14 million and only five months old, it ought to be. My 4-year-old didn’t have the patience for the 20-minute fishing film but he loved the interactive model boats and the fishing rod games (both featuring very prominent commercial brand sponsors). He didn’t notice, but the boat he played in had a TV screen that would show a mini-infomercial touting the advanced features of the watercraft every time he’d push a button.

There are quite a few aquariums and outdoor displays – unfortunately, due to the subject matter (Georgia’s native fresh water fish),  they aren’t the most interesting of exhibits (my apologies to those of you that love staring at a dozen minnows floating around in murky water). By far, a tank with four sturgeon swimming in circles is the best since Trey got to reach in and touch the scaly, prehistoric looking critter.

The highlight was the stocked fishing ponds out back. Park rangers lend kids under 15 a fishing rod and give them a zip lock bag of bait to catch and release fish from the reservoirs. Admittedly, I’m not a talented fisherman and after five minutes of failing to cast our rod at all, I sheepishly asked for help. I was quite relieved to find out our fishing rod was broken and it wasn’t my stupidity (though I guess I was pretty stupid for not realizing my rod was broken). Trey enjoyed the fishing even though we didn’t catch anything.

** Oh, and you’ll notice in the pictures that Trey wore his “Super Trey” cape. Much to his offense, the park rangers asked him if he was “Trout Man.”

Trey attended the event with his Super Trey cape on (bringing many a smile to strangers’ faces). After the show I was filming Amy singing some songs in a nearby alley when Trey made a guest appearance at the end. Watch it below:

Trey has really enjoyed school this year and will sorely miss it over the holiday. I’ll miss the stories he shares with me after school. Things like “Cameron says she eats at McDonalds but I told her it was yucky food.” or “Emma Kate is a liar. She says she’s a super hero. I’m the only super hero. [pauses in thought] Can girls be super heroes?”