The Great Smoky Mountains

Ryan had some time off for spring break, so we headed up to Great Smoky Mountain National Park.


It was beautiful there, we had perfect weather, and the boys enjoyed being outside.


Camping there is a bit different than camping out west. We were first tipped off when our camping site came with a tent pad. Yes, there was a square of ground leveled off and covered with a fine gravel. Then we went on a hike with the kids, which was entirely paved. People were pushing strollers all the way to the top.


Here we are at Laurel Falls. The trail goes right through the middle of the falls. This is the upper part of the falls. The other side of the trail dropped off into the lower falls. V said this was his favorite part of the hike, but he was disappointed that I didn't let him throw sticks into the waterfall. (It was a bit crowded for throwing things).


The hike was 2.6 miles round trip, and V managed to do it all by himself. By the end, he took the lead, wanting to hike all by himself.



C did a little hiking by himself too, though he was much more interested in holding as many rocks as he could. He got very frustrated when he couldn't pull rocks out of the asphalt.


Mmm...potato chips and mud. A winning combination.


We picnicked by a river, where V could finally through rocks into the water.


This was an old school house. Looks like the students are ready for class.







Here we are playing at the campground.


Here's Ryan teaching V the finer points of playing in the fire. "He's going to do it anyway, and I'd prefer that he learned it from me."


I know that I've given V smores before, but he had completely forgot about it. Imagine his surprise when I let him cook marshmallows in the fire and then eat it with graham crackers AND chocolate. It was the best day ever. C was a bit grabby so he ate his with chocolate in one hand and marshmallow/graham cracker in the other.


It was a bit chilly in the morning so I put socks on C's hands. He thought this was the greatest thing and walked around the campsite clapping. V quickly followed suit and asked for some fancy handwear of his own.



We went through Cades Cove on the way out where we were able to see a bunch of old cabins and churches.




We were able to see some wildlife on the way. This deer let us get right up to her and watch her eat. I guess she figured that the creek was a big enough barrier.



V found another river to throw rocks in.


This was V's favorite house. He said it was funny because the top was too big, and it was a triangle.


Ahh...finally asleep. I don't know why our kids have such a hard time falling asleep in the car. Time to go home and catch up on my own sleep. I spent the nights stuffing children back into their sleeping bags. Maybe if I velcroed them in...

Soccer time

V had his first soccer game last Tuesday. He had a lot of fun, and he is starting to figure out what is going on.


V carefully kicking the ball with the side of his foot like the coach taught:


C enjoyed being outside, though he desperately wanted to play with the older kids. I was informed, after a certain someone saw this picture, that it was time for another haircut. I guess I better get going on that.

Chillin' with dad:

V started out in the back.


But he soon got into the action. I think he actually kicked the ball twice. Don't mind the ugly flesh colored shorts. I couldn't find a pair of white shorts (the team's uniform color), so I made a pair out of one of Ryan's old T-shirts. It was the lightest color I could find.


Ryan even jumped in and coached for a bit (i.e. he told the kids which way to kick the ball).


It was an eventful night. C even found his belly button.

Fountain of fun

It was beautiful weather last Saturday, so I took the kids to the botanical gardens and let them run around. If I had let them have their way, they wouldn't have gone any further the fountain at the front entrance.


I let them play for quite awhile. They splashed around, and V strategically placed C where water would splash down on him. Needless to say, they were soaked.


I had to physically pry C away from the fountain, and he only stopped struggling when the fountain was no longer visible. (Which was a fair distance considering the size of the fountain). I spent the rest of the time trying to keep C out of any stream, fountain, or puddle we came across.


We found a lily named in Ryan's honor. We'll have to go back and see what it looks like in bloom.


I let the kids run around at this grassy area. There was a little girl about a year older than C that was infatuated with him. She kept chasing him around trying to give him a hug. C didn't like this so much, and spent his time trying to get away. I guess he's already playing hard to get.


Here's C trying to figure out how to get at another water feature.


V was more than happy to show him the way. Right after I snapped this picture, I had to grab C as he tried to crawl in.

Snow day!

It snows in Alabama. Here's some proof:

Even V understands that this is a rare event. He said that I should take pictures and put them on the computer so that everyone can see that it snowed in Alabama even though it isn't supposed to. He asked specifically for me to take a picture of the snow on his bubbles.


We had so much snow, they canceled church. Too bad it melted by the end of the day.

I want to be like V!

C is starting to copy whatever V is doing. So after seeing V wear his cape, C started asking to wear it too.


A few days later I caught him with V's name tag while carrying V's rocks. I guess we can call him mini V.

Reading with Grandpa

I'm thankful for the technology that allows a grandfather to read to his grandson even though they live half a world apart.

My personal cheering section

We have been motivating C by saying "Yea!" and clapping for him when he does something good. If he throws something away when we ask him to - "Yea!" When he finishes helping my unload the dishwasher - "Yea!" When he fits a piece in the puzzle - "Yea!"

The result of this is really cute. Now anytime I do something good he smiles for me and claps. So when I throw anything away, or do the dishes, or anything else he deems worthy, I get a standing ovation. Finally, I get some appreciation for being a mom.

Valentine's Day fun

V was very excited about Valentine's Day. Someone gave us heart shaped cupcakes and he said, "These are shaped like hearts, maybe that means they love us." He enjoyed mailing out Valentines Day cards and now wants to mail everything to everyone because we love them.


C was excited about the candy. If he sees candy he gets very excited and does the candy dance. We let the kids have the entire bag of candy, and as you can see from the picture, C tried to eat it all at once.


Grandma and Grandpa also sent them a little money to buy a treat. That was the most exciting part of all. V loved picking out toys from the dollar section. Here are the boys enjoying the bubbles that V picked out.