Pigeon Forge #3

Another day off another day to blog. I know you all have been by here every other day this week and have patiently awaited every post :)

Also I'm sure you have noticed a bit of a trend. Pigeon Forge has been my main trip this summer. It is so close and I have a Dollywood pass so I might as well use it right?

Anyway Jesse decided he wanted to go to Dollywood so we put it on the calendar and went for a day trip. We stopped at the Christmas Place on the way in since I had never been. WOW! That is a LOT of Christmas stuff in one place! But still a must see at least once.

Then we continued to Dollywood. By the time we got there we were both ready for lunch so we started with that. A bratwurst and Funnel cake (of course). MAN were they YUMMY!! Then we went on to walk around the park. We rode the inside ride which is currently the Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure Tour. It is a motion chair theater really is the best I can describe it. One of my favorites. I'm not a big fan of the roller coaster so that is a ride I like. Oh yea it was HOT outside so it was nice to be in air conditioning for a bit.

Then we went to ride the train but it was out of order that day. So we rode the carousel instead. Then it was off to Blazing Fury which was pretty fun. By the time we were done with Blazing Fury it was time for a water ride. We rode the River Rampage and got totally SOAKED! After that ride it was time to head back home. We were both still damp when we got back to my apartment! We had such a great time!

Come back Wednesday for mom and dad weekend!

Until then,
E

Pigeon Forge # 2

Hello,

So the weekend after Fall Creek Falls I went with the Brandes Family to Pigeon Forge to help watch the boys while there. I really enjoyed being with them. It was good to be able to let the boys get used to me and me to them while we were at FCF so we understood each other a little better.

We arrived in PF just before dark so it was unload and get the boys close to ready for bed time. Ashley and I went to the grocery store to get some food and snacks for when I would have the boys during the day.

Saturday went well. The older 2 boys got fed breakfast before Carson(the 4 month old) was up and ready for his bottle. Once the boys and I were dressed we headed out for some fun across the parking lot at the Lazy River. We stayed there long enough for Carson to go down for his nap. Then we went to the playground and met up with some of the boys' cousins for some play time. Then it was time for lunch. Soon after Ashley and Tyler were back. It was rest time for everyone before going out to dinner with all of Tyler's family. After dinner we went to one of the go cart places near the hotel and let Ben and Warren ride the rides in the kid part of the attraction.

Sunday was a lot of the same as Saturday. Before parting ways we went to the Old Mill Restaurant and it was really good!

It was a tiring weekend but I will say I am really missing those boys right about now. Thank goodness they have moved up to TN so are just 3 hours away instead of in FL lots of hours away!

I'll try to get another blog ready for 2 days from now to continue with the postings but I think 4 blogs in one night is a good start. So until next time,
E

Fall Creek Falls

Hey!

You came back! I just couldn't help myself. Today's installment is Fall Creek Falls (or Creek Fall Falls if you are a certain 4 year old)

Anywho I went on the yearly trip to FCF the first week of July. It was great! It was awesome to spend time in nature with family having a great time! With 4 boys from 4 months to 6 years old there was NEVER a dull moment! Add 4 cabins full of friends and family and there was always somewhere to go or something to do. On the 4th of July after a late lunch/early dinner cookout we went down the cable climb. I didnt get to do that last year so it was great to get back down there. In case you are wondering what in the world is the cable climb, it is a pretty tough hike where many points you have to hold on to a cable to get down safely. Turns out the cable is only so helpful. I ended up slipping and scraping both legs up down at the bottom of the hike. I didnt get really hurt just a little scary to be slipping with stories I have heard. Oh yea, there is a beautiful water fall at the bottom of the hike which is the main reward for getting down there.

There was also a lot of card game playing, movie watching, and kid chasing. One evening I went out on the lake in a Kayak which was so much fun! I liked that a lot better than canoeing. It feels a lot harder to tip the boat over which was very good for me!

From the Parade to hiking to just sitting outside visiting with friends and family Fall Creek Falls did not disapoint!

Come back Thursday for Pigeon Forge trip #2

Pigeon Forge Trip #1

Hello again,

Early June when I was off work with the little boy I watch, I took a mini-vacation with Mom and Dad and Aunt Jill and Uncle Duane. We had a GREAT time!!

We got there on Friday evening. Went to dinner and just enjoyed each others company. Saturday Mom and Aunt Jill and I went to Dollywood while the guys went to a car show that just happened to be in town. After a Funnel Cake and a show we pretty much decided it was hot enough to head out. We went to a neat place in Gatlinburg for dinner. They had live music just down from our table. The food was great and we had an excellent time! We tried to go see fire flies who sync to each other but the parking was FULL. So instead we just went back to the motor home and watched the ones in the campground.

Sunday Mom and Dad left around lunch time since they had to go to work Monday. After they left we went back to Dollywood for another funnel cake. (Can you tell I like the funnel cake:) We also decided that we would tackle the new climbing tower thing they have this year called Adventure Mountain. It was tough but GREAT to get to the top. After we got back to the bottom we decided it was time for a water ride. Man did we find the one! Strategically placed within seeing distance from the top of the Adventure Mountain is River Battle. SO MUCH FUN!! We got totally SOAKED!! So fun!

Monday we went and drove the Cades Cove loop in the morning and through Gatlinburg. After that Aunt Jill and I decided it wasn't a trip to Pigeon Forge without going for a little shopping! So off we went. What a way to end a great trip! Tuesday morning we packed up and went our separate ways.

It was so great to get away for a few days!

So that was instalment #1. Be sure to check back Thursday for Fall Creek Falls!

Until then,
E

Here's the Deal...

Hello again!

I guess you know you have been away too long when your background is no longer working. So I'm back. And as a treat for you I think I am going to create a series of blog posts about my summer travels to appear automatically every 2 days over the next week or so. So be sure to check back here the next few days to hear about what has been going on with me over the past couple months.

Here is the list of topics:
Pigeon Forge trip #1
Fall Creek Falls
Pigeon Forge trip #2
Pigeon Forge trip #3
Mom and Dad come to visit
Misc. Summer stuff

So be sure to check back! I'll see what pictures I can pull up to make it even that much more interesting...no promises though. Oh and dont forget to comment so I know people still care :)

So...

Well it has been a while. And I hear that there are still some people out there who check over here every once in a while so here is an update.

This semester has FLOWN by. I'd say main points are Spring Break, Relay, and end of the year at this point and of course a Jesse update.

So Spring Break I went home and Aunt Jill met Mom and I in Chattanooga to visit the penguins...I mean Aquarium :) We had a great time! I think I took over 50 pictures of the penguins alone! It was a good thing too...my batteries died shortly after that so that was pretty much the only exhibit I got lots of pictures of. Jesse came down Friday of Spring Break so it was good to all just spend time together enjoying each other's presence!

Relay for Life was AMAZING!!!! This year I did not make a grand post beforehand because frankly I was wrapped up in the planning stages and school and everything else going on to have time to update here too. Let me just say again Relay was AMAZING! Mom, Aunt Jill, Nanny, and Mama Sue all were able to come and share in the event with me which was just so amazing! I was co-team development chair this year and I loved it! I had a great co-chair and we worked so well together! It was great to actually be able to ENJOY the event this year. Since I was in charge of teams my job was pretty much over once the event officially started so I was able to just spend time at the campsite and enjoy the different things going on. It was great to be able to form relationships with so many different team captains to make a great event! Not only was I on the Committee but I also Co-Captained a team with Jillian again. Again our team raised an increadible amount of money and again were able to have electricity because of that total. Overall by the night of the event we had raised over $36,000 towards our goal of $46,000 and we still have until August to raise the rest! If you would like to make a donation you can go to relayforlife.org/etsu. You should be able to search for me or this year there are some awesome t-shirts that are for sale which you will find some information about that as well at the bottom of the main page. So anyway Relay was great and moving on...

Let me just say again this semester FLEW by! I finished it off well and I am so glad that it is over. it was challenging but I actually enjoyed many of my classes and learned a lot!

Enough of that I know you all just come here for the Jesse updates...just kidding! But anyway we are still going strong. It has been a little more difficult this semester to figure out when we can acutally see each other but I did figure out that train club is where its at on Thursday nights! All kidding aside we were able to work on one of the layouts that Jesse is coordinator of for a couple months and it looks really great if I do say so myself. The train club guys now always look for me if Jesse goes alone. If you are ever in JC maybe we can go see all the layouts they have setup.

Well I think that is about it for now. Maybe I will be back sometime over the summer but if not keep checking in I will be back sometime!

Until then!

E

Happy New Year

Hello again all,

Just wanted to add a quick update since I have again changed my background. Wouldn't want all you guys out there looking at friends blogs to miss the change :)

Anyway, I had a nice Christmas at home. On Christmas day Mom, Dad, and I went down to FL so that we could spend the week with Nanny and Pa, and Aunt Jill and Uncle Duane. We had a nice time spending time together and we actually had some nice weather and were able to spend some time on the beach. It was nice to get a lot of much needed rest.

After we got home we spent a few more days resting and I had a couple days of running around Nashville. I headed back to JC Wednesday and was welcomed back with about 2 inches of snow. It has continued to snow off and on since then and it is bitterly cold.

It is late and bed time is near so I'll blog again later...maybe.

E