Day 1 and Day 2 Summary

Thirteen of us left our street at around 5:30 a.m. and were very excited to hit the road. We were making excellent time until we hit a BAD construction jam. Ugh! We arrived at our Jellystone Campground at around 6:30 p.m. We are staying in a camping room that is really nice! We were surprised to find a microwave and a refrigerator in the room. Yay!

While my sister and all the others were setting up their campers, we took the kids over to the playground. The campground was celebrating Yogi's birthday Caribbean-style and there was a costume for the best dressed. It looked like one big luau! There is so much to do here for kids! Movies, crafts, wagon rides, swimming, and a slip and slide event.

Day 2: We had breakfast and then went grocery shopping for lunches and dinner. We then got ready for the beach! At the parking lot, Clayton picked us up in his mule and drove us over the sand dunes and over to the beach. Lake Michigan looked like an ocean! Whoa! It had waves and the wind was REALLY strong!

The kids had a blast this time at a beach. They chased each other, make a sandcastle, splashed in the water, buried their cousin Brittany, ate lunch, and much more!

After the beach, we grilled out hot dogs, hamburgers and the best grilled potatoes and carrots! Yum! Everyone went next door to the slick track and rode go-karts. We took Cody and Carleigh in the double cars and they LOVED it! Cody rode with me and wanted to kiss me in the middle of the ride. He just giggled and giggled!

We came home, had to give the kids a shower (what an ordeal!) and then sat around the fire a bit before going to bed.

We are looking forward to a day of lighthouses, shopping, and more beaches today! (I will post pics sometime later. My internet is slow and unless I go to the game room and hook up to the campground WI FI, I don't have a fast connection. It is a REALLY remote area as my cell phone will not work either(which has ALWAYS worked wherever I have gone to).

Not a good night!

Last night was just awful! We had SEVERE thunderstorms off and on starting at 11 pm. The power kept going off and on and after the first storm sort of settled down, I went to bed. We were awakened to the sound of the power going out AGAIN (GRRR!!) and the sound of really strong wind and lightning. Carleigh yelled "DADDY!" because she woke up and there was no light. We quickly calmed her down and then I stayed up because I felt someone needed to be awake in case of tornadoes, etc. Amazingly Cody didn't wake up or at least we didn't hear him.

Today will be filled with breakfast with my mom, sister, niece, kids and I. I think we will do some last minute shopping and then I will finish the packing.

This will be my last post before Michigan. I will post periodically as I am bringing my laptop with me!

Staying indoors today

The heat and humidity as well as possible thunderstorms will keep us inside today. I am half-way ready for the Michigan trip. Cody and Carleigh will be fully packed tonight and I will be finished with everything tomorrow afternoon. We plan on being packed up FULLY tomorrow night as we will be leaving before the sun comes up, um I mean 5am. In some ways, I am half-tempted to stay up since I will need to get up no later than 3:45am, but at least 4-5 hours will be better than none. Especially since I will have to deal with kids for an eight hour drive to Michigan.

Carleigh enjoyed going to Aunt Connie's church for a couple of nights at VBS. Since my sister is not helping out tonight or tomorrow, I am not sending Carleigh. Cody gets VERY sad when Carleigh is gone and tends to throw tamtrums.

Carleigh was completely accident-free yesterday! I am so proud of her! Traveling might by a little unsure, but we are hoping for no accidents on the way up there and back.

Playdate Today

Having fun at Jen's

Jen came over to my house and we just laughed because both of us were at different parks....got our wires crossed! LOL! We went over to her house and all the kids played in her backyard. Carleigh enjoyed the sprinklers and Cody was captivated by a piano that was exactly like his. It was sooooo incredibly hot...in the 90's. Jen and I sat on her porch under the fan.

Sprinkler Fun

Carleigh enjoyed playing in the sprinklers with Avery and her sisters. She was very scared at first, but once she started touching the water with her hands, she then warmed up to it. By the end of time there, she was having a good 'ole time.

Major Progress in Potty Training!

I am going to brag about Carleigh! She has really been doing great! Yesterday, she had just one minor accident!! Wooohoo!! Way to go girl!! She has been motivated by princess underwear. She wants to wear them now and doesn't want them to get wet or soiled. Last summer we tried, but she didn't get it and know it has all clicked and we are going full speed ahead! We are also hoping Cody gets the hang of things after our Michigan trip. Way to go Carleigh!!

Carleigh gets to go to Vacation Bible School tonight because she is potty trained and she loves to spend time with her Aunt Connie. Yay Carleigh!

Silver Lake , MI

Click on the link to see a video of where we are going. It makes me want to be there right now!! You will need to click on the title "Silver Lake" and it will take you directly to the video.

American Idol Tryouts

My niece and her friend are in Chicago trying out for American Idol today! They arrived early yesterday morning for registrations. Today is the big day for them! They are right now in the arena awaiting their tryout! I am so nervous and excited for them! Please pray for Britt and Jenna as they perform in the prelims. We hope she gets to the FINAL tryouts with Simon and the other three!! Sing it girl!

Shop-filled Weekend!

My sister and I spent most of the day yesterday and this afternoon (after church of course!) shopping for our camping trip. We found some good deals at the dollar store, Big Lots, and Walmart. I bought two really nice inner tubes with handles for tubing down the river, campfire forks for smores and hotdogs, water shoes for tubing and the beach, camp chair, towels, life jacket for Cody, umbrella for the beach, and much more. The good thing is that we will now always have these things for if we go back with them next time or in a couple of years.

We are in the midst of seeing our potty training come to fruition with Carleigh. She still has issues, but we have seen MAJOR progress! After our Michigan trip and Cody's hospital stay, we are going to work on Cody. He has seen Carleigh and we really hope that he can fully understand so that we are a diaper-free household!! A mom can dream eh? But of course once we are diaper-free another little one could pop into our family!

8 More Days Until Michigan!

This time next week, we will be in full packing mode. In fact, I will begin packing early next week as this trip, I have to bring a LOT more. This weekend, my sister and I are going shopping for camping "necessities." Camping forks for smores and roasted hot dogs are a must and extra towels for bathhouse living (sigh). We are also buying inflatable "boats" or rafts so that we can go whitewater rafting. I have never been rafting, but my sister said the water is calm, phew! Of course, Cody and Carleigh have new life-jackets to wear while we go down the river.

There will be a lot of people going, quite a caravan of sorts. My sister, her husband and daughter, her mother-in-law and father-in-law, her friend and her husband, and then the four of us for a total of 11 people (if others don't make last minute decisions to go!).

Bring on the sand, lake, dunes, and lighthouses!

Homeschooling

This summer, I am working with Cody and Carleigh individually. Today, Carleigh worked on writing her name and worked on forming the letters of her name. Tomorrow, we are working on letter formation and simple addition.

I am working with Cody with holding a pencil properly as well as reading short two-letter and three-letter words. He knows all his sounds and letters so we are going to work on reading small words.

Drawings

After letter practice, we worked on shapes and drawing. Carleigh's person is starting to develop. Her person is still a little scary, but it is a work in progress!

Diving into the Word

This is my newest Bible study that I am doing. Several high school and elementary teachers gather at the elementary school on Thursday nights to discuss and watch the video that goes with this Bible study.

I just LOVE Beth Moore! God has given her an incredible gift of creating awesome, life-changing Bible studies for women. I have done many of her Bible studies and am now doing her very first one that she made. A few years ago she updated it with new video and new workbook. I am already transformed by the first week.

I have been struggling with a few personal issues and what I read today just struck my heart that I have to share it with you. Wherever you are in your faith journey, read the few words below. It is very impacting!

"One way or another, God will perform His will. He may change the process or the person, but He will not change the plan." AMEN!

"We are blessed immeasurably, however, when we learn to agree with God and to participate in His plan."

10 Days until MICHIGAN!

We have officially started our Michigan vacation countdown. In about a week, we will be heading to a beach and sand dune paradise! We are really excited since we have never been there before and Carleigh will be able to swim (she has been bugging us to go swimming for a month now!).

This morning, it was nice to sleep in until 9am! Well, there is a story behind that because I was nauseous all night and was up constantly. The kids really enjoyed it and slept in until 9 as well.

Ahhhh.....lazy summer days!

Carleigh's 4 Year Well Exam

Yesterday I took Carleigh to her 4 year old well visit. She weighs.....DRUMROLL PLEASE.......41 pounds! WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! That means she weighs 5 pounds more than Cody! She doesn't show her weight although she is very solid. She eats very well and Cody does also, but it doesn't show on his 36 pound little body. She also is 40 inches tall. She is in the 90% percentile in weight and 50% in height (I was a little shocked it was higher on the height). She is developing well and the only thing she couldn't do was tell them her last name. She knows how to say it but I really don't quiz her on her last name! LOL

She got her Kindergarten shots yesterday - 3 of them! The poor thing had TERRIBLE leg pain last night was was limping and crying. It's weird that it didn't hit her until close to bedtime. She had one shot in each arm and one in the thigh. We had the choice of getting them now or next year. I decided to just get them over with and next time, it would be much easier (I did that with Cody also). I cannot believe that she will be going to Kindergarten in a year. Time goes incredibly FAST!

Lazy Summer Days

Today, the kids had OT and PT with the therapists that have seen them since they were babies. Afterwards, we came home and vegged. My friend called and while I was talking to her, Cody fell asleep in front of the tv before lunch. It was so cute because he has his Mickey Mouse under his head as a pillow. I think all the days of little or no naps, plus getting up early to take Matt to work has really caught up with him.

I quickly fixed lunch and put him down for a nap. Carleigh and I were laying on the couch and even *I* fell asleep also! I slept for 2 hours! I NEVER do that! I woke up in time to pick up Matt from work.

Oh I just love lazy summer days!

Instead of unpacking, we are keeping the suitcases in our laundry room because we will be packing again this time next week. And we have to pack ALOT more including towels, washclothes, sheets and blankets. And might I add we are taking my small fridge from my classroom (deciding where to put it in the van is the BIG question)! I am going to go over a packing list with my sister (who goes there almost every year) on things that we definitely need to pack. I have seen her pack tub after tub of items and hopefully I won't forget anything.

We are staying in a camping room that has beds, a/c and a tv, but we will go to a bathhouse for bathroom facilities (oh boy!). This will be my first REAL camping experience other than camping out a night or two with my best friend or at the farm. We are buying metal rods to cook hot dogs and marshmallows over the open fire. Mmmm...I can just smell all the good smells right now!

Did I say I am enjoying these summer days....oh I hope these months go by sooooo slow!

Our Gatlinburg Trip

We left around 8pm from my school. (I began a new Beth Moore Bible study with some of the teachers.) The majority of the ride to London was smooth until the last 30 minutes when the heavens opened and it was a treacherous drive with blowing rain and dense fog around Mount Vernon. We arrived safely around 11pm. No one slept well thanks to a hot rod association who felt the need to rev their engines in the middle of the night! Ugh! We arrived in Gatlinburg around 11am Friday morning. We went shopping before checking into our hotel. We had a great time overall and plan on going back again in a couple of years.

Our hotel

We stayed at a nice hotel behind Ripley's Believe It or Not. It had a fireplace (too bad it was in the 80s the whole time) and a really nice balcony where you can watch the chair lift go to the top of the mountain and down. Cody and Carleigh enjoyed sitting outside with Matt and watching all the excitement going on in the streets. the kids slept well and better than the adults. I don't think I got a full night's rest during the whole trip!

Birthday Dinner at Texas Road House

Friday evening, we had dinner with Matt's parents, sister and her family and friends at Texas Road House to celebrate our nephew Riley's 8th birthday. Apparently Matt didn't get all the information correct, so we walked almost all the way down to the end of Gatlinburg and then had to go ALL THE WAY BACK (near our hotel)! Ick! Let me tell you that I had quite the aerobic workout with pushing a stroller up hill! We walked quite a lot which is great exercise, I just didn't imagine sweating so much! LOL!

Moonlight Chair Lift Adventure

My mom offered to babysit the kids while we went on the chair lift up the mountains. I have always wanted to ride it at night and since it was practically across from our hotel, we went Friday night. The mountain was lighted with Christmas lights all the way up. You start out at the street level, then you go over a small river, over a street, and then up the mountain. At the top, your picture is taken and then you can choose whether or not to buy it. We decided to buy it of course! Then we looked around the gift shop, walked and looked at the lookout point and then headed back down. It was a BREATHTAKING view coming down because you are facing away from the mountain and can see a million lights. It was a very romantic moment!

The Arcade

Everyone had a fun time playing some games and I think my mom became a little kid again! Cody loved the flashing lights and Carleigh wanted to help everyone play skeeball!

Fun Rides

Day 2 or Saturday began with breakfast at FlapJack's Pancake Restaurant. It was really cool and was like a very large log cabin. Of course, Cody and Carleigh found Spongebob & Patrick beanie babies so we bought them. My dad gave each of them money for souvenirs, so they bought the beanie babies, cars with taffy, tshirts, and sound tubes and candy.

We met Matt's parents and friends Mary Ann, Trent and DJ at a racetrack that had kiddie rides. The kids rode 6 rides and played in the arcade. Their favorite ride was the NASCAR "whip" ride. Cody would just laugh HYSTERICALLY when the ride whipped him around the corner. Carleigh thought the hot air balloon whipped her up too fast and she told me "I want off now" which wasn't exactly possible in the middle of the ride! LOL! They enjoyed the teacups, carousel, and dinosaur ride. It was a fun, but humid morning.

Then, we came home, rested and then got ready for the wedding.

More rides

The Wedding

The main purpose of our Gatlinburg trip was to attend Matt's sister Michelle's wedding. The wedding was timed perfectly because two hours later, it was pouring! The background was just beautiful and the wedding went very smoothly. I have never been to an outdoor wedding and thought it was really beautiful. Everyone looked absolutely stunning in their wedding garb. Congratulations Michelle and Jesse!

My Flower Girl

Carleigh did a great job as flower girl other than not throwing the flowers! She also helped the ringbearer a couple of times. I was proud of her because she stood up in front of everyone without talking or doing anything silly. She is definitely my beautiful princess.

Dance, Dance, Dance!

Carleigh had a blast during the reception. She loved dancing, twirling her dress, and spinning on the dance floor. I had to literally pull and drag her when we left. I am seriously considering a dance class in the fall for her!

Cody slept through the majority of dinner and dancing, but when they played the Chicken Song, he woke up and started to dance!

Cade's Cove

On Sunday morning, we drove into the Smoky Mountain National Park to take the auto tour of Cade's Cove. It takes a couple of hours to get through and see everything, but it was well worth it! The beautiful views of the mountains from the valley is breathtaking. It is amazing how the Lord created these beautiful scenes. We saw deer and possibly a bear or two.

This was our last activity before leaving for home. We left Pigeon Forge around 2ish.

Beautiful scenery

This is such a sample of some of the gorgeous views we saw while visiting Cade's Cove. It is a long drive, but the beautiful views make it so worth it!