More of our Mini Vacation

On our 2nd day at Dollywood, we decided to try to get a picture of all the kids.

I thought this one was pretty cute. Those poor outnumbered girls. But I must say they hold their own. After that we rode Mystery Mine. I will never get on this ride again. It was terrifying. But of course, the kids loved it.

While we were all riding the big rides, Grandma took the two little kids to play in the water and sand. They loved it.

But I think Maci Clare loved the old cars the best. She just laughed out loud the whole time she was driving. It was so funny.

On our last day, we headed out to the outlets for a little back to school shopping. I found a few things but not very much.
The highlight of the trip was getting to stop at Bass Pro Shops. The boys love this store. We stocked up on t's and hats. When we came out, I snapped this picture of them in the Arctic Cat.

Right after I took this, Maci Clare did a flip right over the seat and landed on her head. She didn't even cry. We had a great trip and I can't wait to go back again. We are so glad our family from the mid west came down to share in the fun. School is starting soon and it seems like we are just getting started with the fun.

A Mini Vacation With Family From Far Away

Jim's parents live in Iowa and his sister lives in Nebraska. It is so far to travel but we try to get together about every 6 months. Julie (Jim's sister) and her kids, Jessie and Gavin came down with my mother in law for a mini vacation. They arrived on Friday after driving for 2 days. WE didin't really do much during the weekend. But when Monday rolled around, we were off to Dollywood. These pictures were taken in the car as we headed out.



My kids love Dollywood. So we thought Jessie and Gavin might too. And we were not mistaken. We rented two rooms at Park Tower Inn in Pigeon Forge. Soon after we arrived, we headed out.
We headed for the smaller rides first. Jack wanted to ride the steam engine "choo-choo".

So we rode the train first. Jack liked it but it was a little boring for the older boys.

Next we headed to the carousel. I think this was Maci Clare's first ride on a carousel.

Zane wanted to ride this huge swing that went round about 70 feet in the air.

I thought I would pass on that so Gabe and I took the babies over to the preschool section. They rode the bees, pigs, and ducks. I took some pictures on my phone because Jim had my camera in his pocket. I will try to remember to post them as soon as I email them to myself.

This is Zane flying high.

Gabe, Zane and I rode the Shooting Star. It was pretty fun. And just a little scary.

That is us way at the top. All you can really see are our feet.

But we did come back down.

This was Jack's favorite thing to do. It is called Dreamland Forest. It is a water play area. They especially loved running through the "geysers". They were more than a little wet when we got finished.

Dollywood closes at 8pm. We went in after 3pm so we got the next day free. So when the park closed we headed for the car and guess what? There was a downpour. We had to walk about 20 minutes in the pouring rain. When we got to our car, we were drenched.

I made Gabe and Zane stop for a picture before jumping in the car.

Of course, I had to have a picture of me. It was really cold and we ran the heat all the way back to the hotel.

This Is What Happens...

...when Mom takes a shower.

The Dog Story

Lucy, our yellow lab, is a hand full. She is 10 times worse than one of my kids. If you read my blog, you know about her wild adventure. So now we have to keep her tied up. At least until we get the invisible fencing installed. Anyway, we came home at 10:30 Monday night. Zane went to feed the dog. He came in the house bawling. "Lucy is gone and her collar is laying on the ground." So off I go with a flashlight. Remember Jim is gone to Michigan and he usually takes care of this kind of stuff. I called her and she bolted out of nowhere and knocked me down. Of course, it was raining. So I wrestled her down to the ground and picked her up and put her in the garage. I had lots of dog hair all over my black shirt. I was wet and muddy. Zane closed the garage door and I went and found her collar (still attached to the chain). Somehow she had wriggled out of it. I made it tighter and tied it on her. Zane and I took her back out on the leash and chained her back up. All of this took about a half hour. Boy, was I missing Jim? When I came in I was covered with dog hair, water, and mud. My feet and flip flops were nasty. I'm ready to install the invisible fencing and get this dog trained.

What A Busy Week!

I haven't posted in a long time and this one is a little long. So bear with me. This week has been another whirlwind of activity. When I think of summer, I think of lazy days by the pool, with nothing to do but drink lemonade and watch the kids play. In recent years, our lazy days of summer have turned to chaotic days of busy-ness. So this is what has been happening.

Last week, as you know, we went to VBS at my dad's wonderful little mountain church. It was so much fun and the kids had a great time. But while VBS was at night there was lots of things left to take care of during the day. With football, orthodontist, fiddle, and many spend the night guests, there was no time for rest.

On Friday night, our home group (which is awesome), met at Pizza Inn (one of our favorite places to eat.) We had a great time. Friday was a lso the day that my brother's wife and 2 kids arrived for a short visit from Virginia Beach. Jim and I went out on Saturday night and got a babysitter for 3 of the kids. While my mom took Zane with her and his two little cousins to a birthday party at the lake.

Then the fun began. Jim left for a work training class. He flew to Michigan on Sunday morning while we were in church. On Sunday afternoon, we ate a great Southern meal at my mom's. This was the first time all of her 7 grandchildren had been together. It was really fun (and really loud).

This is me with my niece, Tess.

My nephew, Owen.
Maci Clare and her Aunt Cara (my brother's wife)

Then we headed for the pool. We wanted to try to get a picture of my grandma with all 7 great grandchildren. These are the results.

We started out pretty rough.
But it ended up a little better.
I even took one of the just the girls.

And one of the just the boys.

On Monday, our VBS started at our church. Instead of VBS, it is called KNC (Kid Nation Celebration). It was a lot of fun. There was a massive storm and all the power went out right at the end. When we got home, our power had been off too. And Lucy, our lab was gone. But that deserves its own post, so I'll save that for later.

Tuesday morning, we left at 7am for a 3 hour trip to Gatlinburg, TN. We went to Wild Bear Falls Indoor Water Park. It was really cool. There was lots to do.

There was a gigantic hot tub. This is my teenage neighbor and friend, Casey.


The kids really liked this. Me? Not so sure and I'll tell you why.
This huge bucket filled with water and about every 6 or 7 minutes a bell would start to ring.
And the bucket would start to tip and all the kids would run over to the edge of the pool.
Then a flood would come.
The kids loved it and some adults. Our friend, Lindsay (an adult) is right in the middle of that huge splash.
There were also 2 big water slides, a lazy river, a swimming pool (3 1/2 feet) and two play areas.

Maci Clare was so exhausted. She only slept for about 30 minutes on the way up. So after a little while in the water, this is what she did. This is our friend Bobby Ray. He loves to hold Maci Clare and was content to sit and rock her and fan her for 2 1/2 hours.

On the way home, we thought the kids would sleep. Boy, were we sadly mistaken. This is Jack and my nephew, Luke riding on the floor of the bus.


This is Gabe and Thomas (a friend). They were all wide open. I was glad to get back to SC and get off that bus.

Yesterday, we went to the library to watch the children's program. It was all about snakes. My kids loved it. We took Luke with us and he loved it too. I wanted to take a few pictures but Maci Clare and Jack were a little wild so I didn't get to . Then we went to McDonald's (our favorite place) for lunch. We made it home about 2pm. I cleaned house like a mad woman. GAbe and Zane and Jack cleaned their rooms. Then we were off to take more pictures.

My mom hired a professional photographer to come and take pictures of all the grandchildren with her and my dad. It was crazy.

I took a few but I had to hide so Maci Clare wouldn't see me. These were taken at my neighbors' barn and the old car belongs to a friend of my dad's. I think they are going to be great. She also took some individual pictures of each child and I ask her to take a few of the 4 of mine. I can't wait to see them. We will go see them in 2 weeks.

We went back to my mom's and had pizza with my younger brother. Then guess who came home? JIM!!!!! Yay!! I'm so glad he is home. I missed him really bad. He helps me so much and I can't imagine being a single mom. Thank you Lord for giving me such a great husband. The rest of the week will probably be pretty chaotic. Cara, Luke, and Owen are leaving this morning but Jim's sister and her two kids are coming tomorrow from Nebraska. I'll post again soon and let you know what is going on.

Are the Children In Bed For Now It's 12 O'clock?

Gabe and Zane have 2 friends over and they are playing Big Game Hunter on Playstation so it is quite loud at midnight. But Maci Clare is sleeping soundly on my bed. I wonder how loud they will be in the morning.

By the way, Gabe went to the orthodontist today and got his new RED retainer. RED? And what's a trip to Greenville without going to Target? So here is my favorite purchase.
See the red clearance tag I was trying to hide under my foot? That's right! Clearance! $3.48!!! I love these shoes. Now I may have to go buy something to match them.
They also had Fisher Price Better Batter Baseball clearanced for $19.99. Jack has wanted this forever. I bought it and was going to save it for Christmas but I may have to break down and give it to him now. They had some great deals today at Target.
I have pictures of a few of the crafts we did at VBS but they have children in them and I don't have permission to put them on the internet. I will take some of my kids with the stuff they made and post them a little later. We had a great time at VBS this week. It was a really fun week and it went really fast.

I'd Like To Thank...

I just received my first blog award. I am so honored to be recognized by an awesome fellow blogger. Thank you, Mama Belle. And speaking of Mama Belle, ya'll just have to go over and check out her blog. She is hilarious and I can't wait to see what she comes up with everyday. Thanks again for the great award.

So the rules are to pass it along to some fantastic blogs. So without further delay, I present this award to:

1. Southern Seven She has a great family and I love her decorating ideas. The pictures she posts always inspire me to do more of my own home inprovements. And of course, she is a Southerner.

2. A Peek At Us Windy has a great blog design and I love to keep up with what is going on in her family.

3. Oh My Stinkin Heck Now this girl rocks! Heather has great pictures and I love reading her blog. She is definitely one of my favs. I look forward to seeing what she has posted everyday.

4. Life in the Parsonage This girl is a hoot. She lives in a tiny town in Iowa and she is a pastor's wife. I love her writing. Her latest post called Googled is hilarious.

5. The Crafty Crow This blog has awesome crafts for children. We have had so much fun working through some of them and it has kept my kids busy.

So there you have it. Just a few of my favorites. Hope you enjoy.