Saturday, July 28, 2007

Sweet Home

Alabama! We had a wonderful time on our trip. It was one of those vacations that exceeds your expectations. The cabin was great, secluded and just what we were hoping it would be. Better than reading what I have to say, I'll just post pictures!

Here is our cabin.














This is MK at DeSoto Falls. She was too brave for my comfort. She wanted to run all around and jump everywhere. We've lived too close to sea level for too long. I am a bit of a flatlander.













Mk will not ride rollercoasters for anything. However, after visiting this hang gliding launch, she is begging to go hang gliding. Uh, no...but she is determined to do it when she turns 18.













MK and I took the underground elevator down about 20 stories to visit Ruby Falls. It is hard to believe that they even found it but it was something to see. While we explored, The Big Man and T. Willy found a park and had fun too.













Here are the falls at Little River Canyon from an overlook.

















Same falls, a little closer.













And MK standing at the top of the falls. They haven't had a lot of rain so you could just walk right out onto them. Some people were picnicking on them and others were swimming in places that still had water.













The Big Man and T. Willy at the top of the falls...my heart was beating a little bit fast.













T. Willy and the Big Man eating hamburgers on our last night.













Mk and me eating hamburgers too. Does it look like my hair is smoking?













It was the best vacation we could have asked for. We did lots of driving (okay, the Big Man did lots of driving) and lots of exploring. We visited Chattanooga and saw some new things there. I hope your week was just as fun!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

And away we go

We are heading to Alabama tomorrow to camp. Okay, we're staying in a cabin, but we're calling it camping. We're all packed and just waiting for morning. We should be back on Friday unless we discover something else to do. We're stopping at the Cheesecake Factory in Birmingham on our way up. It's my FAVORITE restaurant and B'ham is the closest one to us. So, I'll enjoy some Thai Lettuce Wraps and Key Lime cheesecake before we get to the park.

I can't wait to hear of your adventures while we're gone!

Have a great week!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Summer Fun

Mk and T. Willy at the zoo.


















Mk and my nephew, J, at my other nephew, B's, soccer game.














The kids and B. after the soccer game.


















The last night of the trip...T. Willy was too exhausted to make it to bed. I think that's the sign of a good trip.

Home again!

We have come to the portion of our summer when I've returned from visiting friends and family in Delaware and I'm wondering why I don't live there. But with school starting in a month and band camp starting today for MK, the running around has begun and we're getting back into the routine here.

MK loved the Brandywine Zoo and the sloth, along with several other animals. It is a very small zoo, but the setting is absolutely beautiful. It is set by a river and the word to describe it was LUSH. The weather was perfect. Rain threatened but didn't bother us at all. We had Grotto's pizza for lunch and Dairy Palace for dessert, two Delaware institutions that just scream "home" to me. On the 3rd my brother took his younger son, MK and me to Northeast, MD to watch fireworks. It was a total taste of Americana and we sat on rocks by the water and watched fireworks on all sides. My parents hosted a July 4th party for some old friends and we had a great time catching up and watching kids from 1 - 17 running around and swimming and having a great time. My sister in law and I had our annual crab feast and we had enough for two days of picking. Others joined in, but she and I are still the champs.

There was a "first" for us. We missed our flight home! I only fly twice a year and this had never happened before, but in hindsight, I'm glad it did, because I now know what to do. We left in what should have been plenty of time, but there was a lot of construction traffic so we just made it to the airport in time to check in. The skycap told me to hurry and tell the people that we were on the 8:30 flight. We hurried as much as you can with a 3 year old who is too heavy to carry and too little to run very fast and told the people at security that we were on the 8:30 flight. They directed us to the 8:30 line and I thought it wouldn't be so bad...until I noticed that what I thought was the end of the line was only the middle because it wrapped around a corner. The woman behind me was friendly and she sounded like an experienced traveler, so she assured me that if we missed the flight, the airlines are usually accommodating. We made it to our gate in time to hear the airline employee tell the woman in front of me that the pilot wasn't allowing anyone else on the flight. Yikes. But the airline was accommodating and quickly booked us on later flights, no questions asked. In fact, they had to put us in first class, so we didn't exactly suffer. Wow...the stories are true...first class really is different!

And for those of you who know me, you know that I run into people I know everywhere. Here was an almost...the friendly lady from the line missed her flight too, so she was booked on our flight to Atlanta. She sat by us while we waited and we started talking. Somehow the subject of West Virginia came up, which is where my parents grew up. She mentioned that she grew up in Clarksburg, WV and I mentioned that I had a lot of relatives there. (Two of my dad's sisters married brothers and between them had 21 children, many of whom are married with children and still live in the area, so I really meant A LOT of relatives.) She asked their last name and I told her and she knew the families! One of my cousins, Joe, had been her tennis coach and she said she'd had a huge crush on him. So, Joe, if you're reading this, Robin Williams (the girl not the actor) says, "Hello!"

And now we're home and I can't believe you're still reading this. But if you are, thanks, and let me know some adventures you've had this summer!!!

Have a great day!

Monday, July 02, 2007

There's no place like home - there's no place like home

Today we flew up to Delaware to spend the week with my parents. The Big Man didn't get to come but I know he will enjoy a quiet week at home.

Our flights were great. T. Willy was excellent all day. Flying with a 3 year old can be unpredictable but he was great, even though we had to wake him at 4:30am. We met up with my mom and Alyssa in Atlanta and flew home with them. The first thing we noticed when we got home was how cool it is here. There's no humidity! Mk even complained that it was cold, but I wouldn't go that far...just very different than Florida.

My brother and his oldest son play on a softball team, so we went to their game tonight. There were tons of kids around T. Willy's age but he was content to just watch them running around. He would say hi but didn't feel the need to join in.

Not a whole lot planned. My parents have invited people over for the 4th of July, so that should be a good time. A surprise for MK is that we may go to a local zoo. She is crazy about the strangest animal - the sloth! I did a little research and found out that this zoo is one of the few that actually has a sloth, so we're going to try to take her there. She doesn't know about it yet and I think she'll be very excited! My brother has some plans to take me into Philly for a few things. So it should be a fun week!!!

Hope yours is fun too! Good night.