Vacation 2010, Part 6

Heading Home
We had 3 days to get home and decided to chop it into 3 shorter days of driving instead of 2 long days. So, we stayed at Lake Guntersville State Park and Lodge in Alabama and Clarkco State Park in Mississippi. Both were beautiful but we really had a blast at Clarkco. It wasn't crowded, there was a sprayground and swimming in the lake. It was a great last day of vacation.

Lake Guntersville and the gorgeous view



Clarkco State Park






The day after we got home, Adam got a fever that ran up to 103 degrees. Not fun. But, the Dr. determined it was viral and he was over it in about 24 hours. And now Caleb and I are not seeing eye to eye at naptime. I will shortly persuade him that naps are important for mommy...oh and for him too.

Vacation 2010, Part 5...How Many Will There Be???

A Day On Douglas Lake

Uncle Jason and Aunt Laura live just outside Knoxville, TN on Douglas Lake. It is a beautiful lake and great for recreation. We decided to spend one whole day on the lake. We kayaked, fished (Uncle Jason taught Adam), swam, relaxed, went tubing, and had a picnic. This was one of our favorite days of the whole vacation because it was so relaxing and beautiful. And thanks to our hosts we had plenty of toys to play with.




The fabulous Pop-A-Tot!! Moms and Dads, I found this right before we left for vacation b/c I did not want to haul and giant piece of baby equipment the whole way. It contains your kid like an exersaucer, toys clip on it, cup holders for snacks/drink, and folds up like a bag chair!! This thing is great!! No more eating beach sand or grass!




Adam loved tubing!! He went with both Chris and I, but didn't learn how to scream while doing it until he did it with me.

Vacation 2010, Part 4

Hiking in the Smokey Mountains to Abrams Falls

Once we got to Tenn to spend a few days with family, we all took a drive up into the Smokey Mountains. We saw a few deer and turkey, but no bear. Then we set out to hike a 2.5 mile trail to Abrams Falls. The way there was perfect: Adam walked the whole way, Caleb loved riding in the chest carrier on Chris (not a peep), and we actually climbed some terrain, a change from Louisiana. When we got there Chris, Adam, and Uncle Jason swam in the cold water while Aunt Laura, Caleb, and I just put our feet in. Then the bottom dropped out. All of a sudden, the clouds started moving in and there was nothing we could do about it. For awhile we sat under an overhang to wait it out. But, we quickly realized that it was not going to let up. We packed up and started the 2.5 miles back to the truck, hoping the rain would stop while we walked. The opposite happened. It rained so hard coming back that it felt like nighttime under a canopy of jungle trees and we were all soaked to the bone. The amazing part was that neither kid complained once. Adam did need Chris to carry him for a chunk, but he loved it. I had Caleb in the carrier and he didn't even frown. He just rolled with it.


This is Caleb falling asleep during the hike




This is the rain starting

Vacation 2010, Part 3

Chickamauga Battle Field
We were very impressed with the driving tour we took at the battlefield. This was, however, after a horrible morning of popping down the camper in torrential rains and not packing our clothes where we could reach them (meaning Chris' clothes) after we were soaked to the bone. He was not happy. However, he could reach his dirty clothes. For the remainder of the day, we tried to dry our clothes on the dashboard. Luckily the battlefield was so impressive it made up for the horrible morning.





Mayfield Dairy
We stopped at the regional milk/ice cream producer to compare against our favorite, Blue Bell. We also got to take the tour which is why we're all wearing hair-nets. Verdict: Chris loved the Black Cherry, Sarah loved the Cookies N Cream, Adam loved it all plus his Chocolate. Caleb loved bouncing.

Vacation 2010, Part 2

The Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga
We camped just outside Chattanooga in Cloud Canyon State Park and spent a day in Chattanooga doing the aquarium, a local brewery, and seeing the city. It was a beautiful city and the aquarium was awesome. Our favorite part was the huge butter-fly room in the top of the building. If anyone gets a chance to spend some time here, do it. It's the best aquarium we've been to. Every wall space was covered with something interesting.

Vacation 2010, Part 1

I'm going to have to do our vacation in segments to do it justice.
We got to take off for ten days to camp up to Tennessee and back. We saw some great things, had a blast as a family, and got to spend some great time with Chris' sister and brother-in-law in Tenn.

Noccalula Falls, Alabama
This place was beautiful and had so much for the kids to do. It's run by the city and they must have tons of volunteers just for the landscaping! We saw the falls, rode a train, walked through the animal exhibits (they had a lion), and tons more.

Really??!!

We're driving down the road this morning doing our usual 12+ errands per day and Adam shouts out from the back seat, "Look mom, that's Taco Bell."
Now, you would think I would react with, "Adam, you're such a good reader!" But what really flashed through my brain was, "How in the world do you know that?" I know Environmental Print is the first level of reading and is at an all time high right now with billboards every 2 feet and advertisements every 3 minutes on TV, but I can honestly say that Adam has only been to Taco Bell once in his 3 years of life! And that one time was at least a year ago!! Taco Bell does not satisfy my high-class pallet so we do not frequent that particular establishment. I'm more of a Sonic or Taco Cabana kind of girl. So, I ask you, how does he know the name of this place? Where in his ittty-bitty file folder of life experiences did he pull that one?
Wait a tic...could it be....he must actually be able to READ!! My child is a genius!!

4th of July

We spent the 4th with tons of family Bar-B-Qing, Swimming, and Visiting and eating homemade ice-cream. Now, on the brink of vacation, I've got fever and a sore throat. I'm hoping this is quick and that it doesn't spread through the family. We'll see. We've had a lot of sickness lately. Here's some pics.

Adam's requirement for watching fireworks was that one of us covered his ears. While he was doing sparklers, which took negotiating, he had one hand on his ear. Believe it or not, this is 100% better than New Years. He wouldn't even come outside for that.



Cleaning the camper for vacation


Swimming with grandparents and Aunt Teresa


Caleb vs. The Duck
p.s. Caleb has sprouted his 5th tooth!