Tennessee Trip

Hey Everybody! We're back from TN trip seeing D's family and thought I would give you the day by day overview. All in (hideous) volunteer orange.

TUESDAY: Smooth travels. Pic taken at the airport where the kids loved watching planes.

WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY: spent time relaxing with D's family and driving around taking trips back in time to see the house where I lived in high school, my apt. after college, our first apt. when we got married and our first house in Nashville. E was interested in these historical landmarks this time. It is interesting to see how things change. Thursday p.m. I went out to eat with my sister and D and the boys went for dinner with his parents, sister in law and cousin N and then to see cousin Z practice football.

FRIDAY: Thanks to Nena and Pop for taking the boys so D and I could have some time to ourselves in the morning. Friday evening we went to my sister T's house for a cookout. My parents, sister L and her kids were there as well as my friend P (that I taught with) and her granddaughter. A great time was had by all!!!

SATURDAY: a.m. The whole crew picked up my friend from college (Hi A!) and we went to the hotel where the Virginia gang is staying. Chaos and fun in the pool ensues. After the kids are worn out we lunch and head to home base for some rest before an evening cookout with D's parents and their camping buddies. Could the kids have more fun? YES! read on.

SUNDAY: Zoo! Yes we do seem to go to the zoo a lot: the kids love it and I do too (D, not so much). This was attended by D's parents, sister R and Cousin Z, my parents, sister T, sisterL and cousins S and G, plus the five of us.... we were quite a group!

Zoo highlights include hand feeding birds nectar, the red panda, giraffes, and the merry go round ride. E turned a corner on getting his picture taken--- he could not get in front of the camera enough; here is E on the merry go round. G has fallen in love with a new animal: giraffe. This was the first time he saw them and he fell for them hard. We will have to go to the Virginia zoo and feed them on our next trip east.

In the evening on Sunday we had a big meal with D's uncles and aunts, sister and her family and sister in law and cousin N. Another big day for all of us.

MONDAY brings a more relaxed pace and goodbyes to the Virginia gang who head home. Thanks for making it over to see us while we were on the "east side".

TUESDAY: We head downtown to look at tourist traps in Nashville in the morning.

The boys have a weepy morning since they know goodbyes to Nena and Pop are coming. Thanks to Nena and Pop for all your hospitality.

Our flight leaves a bit late and is quite bumpy but we arrive in WA in one piece. We pull out of the airport garage as D asks "how do we know we are back in the Pacific NW?" and raindrops hit the windshield in reply; but from somewhere in the back seat E says "Mommy has goose bumps." I'm cold so we must be home.

love and hugs and remember: it is always good to go back to see where you come from; it helps you assess where you are and help you plan where you want to go.

B

The Old Man

Yes it was D's birthday when we went on our weekend adventure, but he is not the old man I refer to. We went to see Mt. Rainier up close and personal this weekend and it was so worth the trip that we want to go back soon (of course we have to go soon because when the snow starts you have to use chains to get up and neither of us know how). We left close to 11 and hit the base of the mountain about noon. We stopped numerous times for picture and "lets go see that" breaks. It was all just so beautiful and amazingly large. We hit our destination a bit after one; Paradise is the lodge/visitors center that is 5600 feet up and its name is fitting.

Sunday was cloudy so we couldn't see the peak which confused E and seemed to frustrate him. I am not sure G ever truly caught on that we were on the mountain that we look at all the time. M was not a happy camper; he had a really cranky day made worse by the fact that there were piles of snow still around and he got very panicky around the snow. I should have taken a video of him tensing and then screaming every time he saw the stuff. Here are a few pics to show some snow that was still left, and two scenic shots.

After lunch we walked to Paradise Inn because we have seen it on a TV show--- renovations have just been done and it looks beautiful. In the Inn parking lot we saw a fox---- strange and a bit sad that it was so used to humans. E and G wanted to pet it; I think D may have held G back while I took the pic because he loved it so much.

Next we decided to try a short trail. We chose one that was 1.2 miles, close to the Nisqually glacier, and a loop so there was less chance to get lost. Some of the trails are paved and this one was so we could take the stroller. What we didn't anticipate was how much snow would still be on the trail. D was a hero for carrying the stroller over snow patches with snowaphobic M screaming and thrashing all the way. The views of the glacier were worth it though. Here is a pic of the Nisqually glacier; glacier note: the glacier is the brown mound at the top of the gray rock area, portions are covered with fresh snow which is white. Over the past few years these glaciers have actually grown a bit with record snowfalls and cooler summer temperatures. What looks like fluffy cloud at the top of the picture is fluffy cloud--- there was an exact line where they started.


It was getting late by this point in the day so we headed back down the mountain by car. We stopped about halfway and got this shot of Rainier popping his head out of the clouds to say goodbye to us; he must know we are huge fans of his.

There are no words for seeing this in person. You all simply have to come and see it. I am adding two more pictures of scenic views.

I'll end with a video we made while walking the trail to see the glacier. I gave E two things to mention (Nisqually trail and Rainier) and he took it from there. As much as the child hates to have his videos posted he is really good about telling what is happening and can talk and fill time like a pro.

love and hugs and there are still openings at the Joyner bed and breakfast.

B

Thursday's Secret Adventure

It is nice to have a secret adventure in the middle of the week sometimes. Tacoma's Farmers Market happens on Thursday downtown and in conjunction the Children's Museum is free all day. D has been going up to the market for lunch on Thursday's and said it was terrific so I went downtown with the kids and we had a great time. We went to the Children's museum first; similar to to Richmond's but smaller and MUCH CLEANER (nothing felt sticky and there was no kid smell---- I did not feel the need to bathe the children in sanitizer afterwards)

We played for a couple of hours and then D took a half day and we went to lunch. After lunch we picked up flowers and a flat of berries at the market---- E and G wanted to eat the berries on the way home. I mixed in a pint of raspberries which E and G loved but M wouldn't go near them for some reason. He seems to have something against the color red--- he'll only eat strawberries if he is starving or they are heavily sugared. Oh well. It was a nice outing that we are already planning to repeat at least once before school starts.

E made a goal for himself that this summer he would read one hundred books. He is halfway to his goal, but would be further along if he had actually written down every book he reads. Most nights he reads for 45 minutes after bedtime. One more reason we are preparing to move bedrooms and roommates around in the early fall. E needs a bit of a later bedtime; G needs to be the "leader" in a room and take on more responsibility; M just wants to stay in the bunk beds in the big kids room--- some nights he cries when story time is over and he knows he has to leave :( Anyway, at the bottom you will find a video of E reading a book. He wanted me to video so he could see it, but not put it on so I may have to pull it off the blog if he finds out. Yes, I am a bad mommy to post it without telling him. Sorry for the poor camera work--also, E sits on the kitchen counter to read so M doesn't interupt him. He often entertains me with reading while I work in the kitchen.

love and hugs,

B