Yesterday we had the most amazing time. We took the girls to a wonderful historic area called Cade's Cove.

Greg and I have been going there since we were teenagers. It's this beautiful valley tucked deep in the Smokey Mountains. There are homesteads and churches that were built in the 1800's to tour. We always take a picnic lunch and just have a peaceful day.

This year we decided to let the girls play in a creek near the picnic area.

They had an amazing time! The water was so cold but very refreshing. The creek was filled with large boulders and downed trees. It's so neat when the girls have so much fun with nothing more than water, rocks and each other.

They collected smooth stones and watched minnows and water bugs. Even Greg and I got in the creek! Madison took some silly pictures of us that were actually pretty good.

One of the best parts about the day was all the beautiful wild life we saw. We were able to photograph two young does and a gorgeous black bear traipsing through a field.

We also saw several wild turkeys and six point buck but just didn't get the camera out in time.

I hope that we are making memories that the girls will carry with them forever.

I'm sitting in a hotel, in the Smokey Mountains and loving every minute of it. The weather, although in the 90's ,feels like a high 70 by Virginia Beach standards. The hotel is designed to look like you are in a cabin. I love the stacked stone fireplace, the rustic farmhouse table and all the antler accessories. It really makes me want to have my very own cabin in the woods some day.
The other thing I am loving right now is that I am not preparing for a hurricane that is heading straight for my home and I'm not feeling shaken up by the 5.9 earthquake that affected the Virginia area. The only forces of nature I'm dealing with are two little girls that can't seem to stay happy for more than 5 minutes at a time.

I have never been a fan of school supply shopping. It ranks up there with the dentist or the gynecologist. I mean, you get this list that is so crazy long and "HELLO!" I have four kids. That means I have four ridiculously long lists. Then to top it off the lists are brand specific! Really?? We can't send our sweet little one's to school with "Eagle brand" pencils? Elmer's glue sticks are the be all, end all of glue sticks? And another thing... Why do moms act as though they are getting the last brownie at a dessert bar when shopping for the above mentioned supplies? Seriously, take a zoloft or drink a glass of wine before you shop if you are going to act like a "Real Housewife of New Jersey"!

I, of course, was genius this year. I didn't wait until the week or day before school is set to start but went three weeks early! I also decided that rather than wait until I felt like getting out of the house,(sometime after a few episodes of Law and Order), I would go at 8:30am. The girls are up anyway and why not take advantage of their awakness. Target is a wonderful place most all of the time but there is a quiet loveliness so early after opening, that no one should miss.

So final words of wisdom: condense four lists into one master list, shop weeks ahead, hit the store of choice in the early AM, oh and promise the kids any kind of snack they want if you can make it through the list without threatening a smack!

Yesterday, as I was waiting in line to register for my classes, I realized how old I really am. I mean I know the number age but I have always felt young and hip. LOL! But standing in that line gave me the opportunity to listen to all the conversations around me. Those gabfests were all involving someone's ex boyfriend, clothes, or how "s----y" it is to stand in line. I was struck by the apathy and lack of social courtesy. I mean, I know when I am waiting with my friends we all talk about stuff we deal with but, most adults don't drop the "f bomb" or other such foul word every other breath. Which leads me to my next revelation, most of the people standing in that line weren't adults. Yes, they were at least eighteen, which does technically mean they were adults, but they were just immature kids. I stood there wondering "was I that stupid twenty years ago when I first attempted college?". Surely not! I know I wasn't the brightest bulb but I did respect those around me when in a crowded place.
When I got home and I looked at my girls talking to each and being goofy. I smiled. Maybe I'm biased but they seemed more mature than most of those people I was waiting with. Oh how I hope that they will only grow in that maturity, that they will always be aware of those around them and respect them.

We have a dinner time ritual that consists of each member of our family telling about the best and worst part of our day. We all have to particpate. The big girls sometimes would rather not share but we still make them. Of course once they start talking it's often hard to get them to stop. The little girls can barely contain themselves while waiting for their turn. It's pretty fun.
Well last night we decided to talk about our upcoming vacation, since there is rarely a worst part of summer break, and things that we are all interested in doing. It's becoming difficult to plan a vacation that we will all enjoy due to the age ranges,5, 8, 13, and 15. The teenagers would really rather stay at home, hanging out with their friends, going to the beach, sleeping the day away. But sometimes we just have to force them to be with our family, whether they like it or not. And so the family fun planning begins!
The big girls want to sleep A LOT but the little girls never sleep in. The little girls would be thrilled to hang out at the pool all day, but the big girls want to shop and walk around town. Thankfully we did decide on a few things that we will all enjoy together. We are going to spend a day in one of our favorite spots in the mountains, having a picnic, walking to the historic homesteads, hopefully spotting some bears. We are going to gem flume. That's when you get a bucket of sandy dirt and sift it in a stream of water to look for precious and semi precious stones. We will be going to an indoor go-karting place, because the older girls and daddy feel the need for speed. We are hoping to go to the aquarium, we haven't been to this one since Caroline was just a baby. And the most anticipated event will be Wonder Works, a hands on science museum. We all have a blast at this place, usually staying for longer than we think because there is just so many things to do. There are a few other things I would like us ALL to try this year, river tubing, horse back riding and maybe pottery throwing. I am not holding my breath on those but it could happen!

It's been a year in the making but I have finally started getting things accomplished to start school! My dream has always been to go back to school and finish my degree in nursing.
So last July I applied and was accepted to a local community college. That's when things went a little askew. We traveled to Tennessee for two months, because Greg was going to be in Memphis for that time I thought it would be the perfect chance for the girls and I to visit family and do some renovations on mom's house. Things were going well, we spent some time in Memphis with Greg and got to see some wonderful friends. We started painting mom's 1960's era brown paneled kitchen.

Then one thing afer another started happening. My mom had a mild stroke and my grandmother was diagnosed with lung and breast cancer, within in a week of each other. I was half way through the reno job and running back and forth to the hospital. My goal of heading back to Virginia for placement tests and class scheduling was dead in the water. I decided that God knew I was needed in Tennessee much more than starting school. And besides when everything calmed down I could start in December.
Once again life threw a curve ball. Mom was doing great but my grandmother passed away. My dad was losing weight for no apparent reason. He dropped 50 pounds in three months. School would just have to wait, because I just didn't know what the next few months would hold. I really needed to be available to head to Tennessee at a moments notice.
Thankfully by April dad was starting to gain some weight, we still had no diagnosis but he was looking and feeling better.

Mom had found a new doctor and she was doing so great. So plans were in the works for school to start for the summer sememster but this time I dropped the ball. I missed the enrollment deadline! Oh well, I was going to be super busy anyway, with Bible school and a camp. I would go back to school one day.
That takes us to last week. I was getting excited about the girls going back to school, all of them will be in public school this year, and I was being asked "what are you going to do with all the free time?". I started wondering that myself. Then a sweet friend posted on Facebook that she had enrolled in college and had taken her placement tests. Thanks to her I jumped at the chance before life could trip me up and went to TCC and got the ball rolling. I am terrified and thrilled to be doing something that is going to change my life. I am shaking in my boots about doing math again but thankfully I married a math wizard! I am so excited that my dream for the last 20 years is finally starting to become a reality!

I'm currently hiding in my office from a herd of teenagers. Did I really act so goofy and laugh at everything one of my friends would say? Was I constantly starving and dehydrated as these seem to be? Did I sound like an adult one minute and then a five year old the next? Of course, I'm not complaining, these kids are great, just loud and hungry. There could be worse things. I actually love that Madison and Jillian aren't so embarrased of me that they are willing to invite people over to sit around our house. I do enjoy listening to their conversations and laughter. They are sweet kids, from church, they have great parents and I'm thrilled that my girls want to be with them!

Yesterday was one of those days when it's gorgeous outside, (aside from the heat and humidity), the kids are happy for no apparent reason, you get invited to a movie with great ladies, a load of laundry gets done first thing in the morning and then you get some wind taken from your sails.
I realized yesterday that I wasn't going to be attending the funeral of a great lady. My aunt Farris was laid to rest yesterday. She passed away on Monday after a valiant battle with a rare form of cancer. This lady was a little spitfire! She was barely five feet tall and thin as a rail but boy did she have some personality. She would do anything for a laugh, dance, sing, make crazy faces. It sounds like I am making her out to be a saint and although I think she probably could have worn the title well, she wasn't. She had a temper and wouldn't stand for anyone hurting her family. Aunt Farris was the persona of the word caretaker. She would cook, clean, babysit, mow, bake wedding cakes, cut your hair, basically anything that needed done she could do it or would find someone who could. Some would call that over doing it, but I think she never saw it like that. She just loved helping people, making them feel loved. She had one daughter but so many loved her like a mother and grandmother. When I and my brother were in elementary she would pay us a dollar for all our "A's". She would host sleepovers at her house for me and my friends. She had this amazing blue bedroom, with a canopy bed and big blue velvet wing chair, that made you feel like a princess. My brother and I loved staying with her and uncle Sonny, her husband of over sixty years. They were opposites but yet still the same. I guess they balanced each other perfectly. I have such great memories of the fun times we had at their house and going places with them. I am so glad that my daughters had the blessing of knowing her and although they didn't have as many opportunities to be with her often; when we did get to visit aunt Farris made it special. One of the best memories the older girls have is of getting to ride in their classic convertable buick. They thought they were movie stars.
It's hard to imagine going back home and going to her house and her not being there. I worry about my uncle Sonny and wonder what it is going to be like for him. Will he forget some morning that she is no longer there and call out from another room "Yard" (the nickname he gave her when they started dating)? Will he be peaceful and content knowing the she is no longer suffering and she is waiting for him in heaven? That's what I keep telling myself. It hurts to know she is gone but I really am glad she isn't in pain, sick from the cancer and sick from the medicines that are supposed to help. Her mind blurring from the endless hours of hospital visits and treatments. I am going to miss her as will everyone that knew her but I know she is waiting to see me one day and that gives me so much comfort.

Long time no write!

I woke up this morning and said to myself, "it's been a while since I've bloggged". Boy a while is an understatement! It's been 7 months and 5 days. So sad that I let something I was really enjoying slip through my fingertips. I seem to have a knack for that. Aside from motherhood, every interest I've ever had (photography, cake decorating, scrapbooking, stamping, quilting, talking with friends) eventually gets pushed to the back burner of my life. I follow several blogs and I'm just so amazed that these people can blog everyday! I blame my lack of blog posts on my ultra laid back nature. Maybe if I had a strict routine I would sit down and write something heartfelt or witty everyday, for that matter maybe I would sweep my kitchen floor every day. It's worth looking into, this structured, scheduled lifestyle.
So we shall see if tomorrow morning I can get up and blog while sipping my coffee and if I can then perhaps I can do it the next day and the day after that until it becomes a habit.