4th Of July 2011

We spent the fourth at Mom's this year since Doug had to work. Mom had a barbeque and it was nice for the kids to get to play with Emma, Chloe and Lydia. Mom grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and they were delicious! The kids played lots of games and swam in the pool. It was a relaxing and enjoyable day. We ended the evening with chasing lightening bugs and watching fireworks on the tv. I hope next year to have Doug celebrating with us and that we can head over to Knoxville to enjoy some fireworks in person! The kids were happy either way and fell into their beds by the end of the night.

Tuckaleechee Caverns

We spent Saturday exploring Tuckaleechee Caverns . I had never visited before even with growing up with it basically right in my backyard. It was really cool to see - especially after taking the kids to Ruby Falls last month. It was similar and very different. Tuckaleechee Caverns are natural caverns estimated to be between 20 and 30 million years old and are rich in history. It was definitely a fun way to spend our day and interesting to see.

Bye-Bye Binky

It was decided during out trip to the mountains that it was Kate's last day with her binky. She has only been getting it for naps and bedtime for some time now... It is definitely time... I just hate to let that part of her babyhood go... She's ready. She got to pose for a quick picture for Mom, hand her beloved binkys over to let me clip them and then she gave them to her Elmo and Grover. She has dearly loved her binkys... Every time it was time to snuggle for bedtime love she would ask for binky and blanky. Every morning when I would come in to get her, she would hand it over and say "Mommy! Pocket!"... I'm going to miss her sweet binky face.


She went to bed after snuggling with me on the couch, reading several books and rocking in her room (which is very normal). She did cry for a while... which hurt to hear. Luckily she does adore her blanket, as all of our kids did, and it gave her comfort enough to get to sleep. She woke up at 12:40am - the first time in months I had to get up in the night with her. After calming her down and rocking for about 15 minutes we talked about how 'binky' was all gone and she would have to snuggle with her blanky. She said ok and laid back down fairly easily... Love her so much.

Family Day In The Smokies: The Sinks & Elkmont

We took off to the mountains for a family day to go explore with the kids. We headed up through Townsend looking at bike rental places and stumbled upon the sinks - the kids hadn't ever seen it. It was cool to check out the area and let them explore a little. We took a few family pictures while we had stopped. We only manage to get a few family pictures a year, so have to grab them when I can! :) On the way back to the car we saw the awesome VW van - that thing was cool. I hate vans. Really - hate them, but that thing I have to say, I would drive. lol Kate had her last day with her binky... so sad for her and me. We drove on to Elkmont to look around at the old vacation cabins there. It was a fun day and I always enjoy time in the Smokies. So much history for me there...

Rachel's 1st Blue Ribbon!

Rachel's 1st blue ribbon! She took first place in the 25 freestyle against Village Green! Yay!