Vacation

Shane & I had a nice weekend trip to Gatlinburg last weekend. C was on fall break, so he and B went to IL to visit my parents. They had a BLAST, and we had a relaxing and wonderful time.

We left on Thurs morning, stopped for lunch, then just hung out at the cabin that evening. Friday we set out for hiking in Smoky Mountain National Park. The car suddenly overheated on us. It turned out to be a hose that decided to come loose. Shane fixed it and we poured in a good portion of the case of bottled water that we had. :) We went hiking, then mini golf. We went to see the Dixie Stampede show in the afternoon. It was good, but skip the tea. You'd think a place with "Dixie" in the name would know how to make sweet tea. Then we watched a movie and hung out. Our cabin had a hot tub and a pool table, so we weren't without diversion.

Saturday, we did the "tourist" thing in Gatlinburg. There was a craftsman's fair going on that we enjoyed. Then we played Hillbilly Golf (miniature), which was a pretty fun course. Shane & I tied on the score for the 18 holes!! Then we went to dinner at Gondolier Italian & Greek Restaurant. It was casual and nice, and yummy!

Sunday, it was time to go, but we took a driving tour in the park, including some old homesteads (Roaring Fork). That was neat. We stopped a couple more places for souvenirs, then headed back home. We stopped for dinner at a nice restaurant, then rented some movies for the evening: Next and Wild Hogs. Both of them were worth watching.

Monday, I went to retrieve the children from IL. They had made pizza and brownies, gone to an orchard where they went in a hay maze and got cider, carved pumpkins, went in the pedal boat, played games, went to "Grandma's church", and who knows what else.

On the way home Tuesday, we stopped by the Superman statue in Metropolis, then Fort Massac. They were both worth seeing, and the Fort was good for stretching our legs (and getting the kids a little tired so they'd nap on the way home.)

C had to be back in school on Wed.

Overall it was a very nice weekend adventure for everyone.

Reef

C was looking at one of my games with me, and I have a pet that looks Christmasy. So he told me to name it "Reef". I asked if he meant "wreath" and he said "No. R-E-E-F. Reef". Well, all right then, Reef it is. So, what's a reef C? It's a leafy Christmas thing that you put on your door. (Didn't you already know this Mom???) Well, even after the explanation, we left the Reef. :) I also have one named Toorlo, because B LOVED the turtles on Nemo. I'm from the EAC, Dude!

Pull-ups

My mother in law kept my daughter last night. She called me while b was napping.

"Um, I'm sure there's a good reason, but I'm curious. Why is b wearing two pull-ups?"

I reply "What?"

Yeah. She somehow went out wearing TWO pull ups yesterday. Don't know what happened. Other than that she's now changing her own wet pants. Perhaps she had already put on a pair and I handed her one to put on? I don't know.

Knock, Knock... Banana

Baby girl (age 3 1/2): Knock, Knock
Grandmother: Who's there?
B: Banana
G: Banana who?
B: Orange you gla... um... no no... um....

Me (prompting): Knock, knock?
B (brightening): Who's there??

Me: falls out of her chair laughing.

Okay, I didn't really fall out of my chair.