BLTN: Tennessee getaway, Instagram style

Jim and I were able to get away for an anniversary getaway a few weeks ago, and it was WONDERFUL.  I will have a handful more pictures to share (from the regular camera), but wanted to get some Insta-proof up in the meantime!

It was our briefest visit ever,  but it was so wonderful to have lunch with Tiffany, and to catch up, and to get on her case about a half-dozen things like the surrogate parent-siblings that we are. ;)

Friday morning, after a yummy breakfast at Panera (if you haven’t had their breakfast panini, you totally should try it!), we headed east from Nashville towards Knoxville.  It was a dreary day, but traffic was light, and it was just a nice drive through the mountains.

One of the best moments of the trip was arriving at our time share and discovering a bouquet of birthday balloons in the dining area.  (There were more balloons and roses for our anniversary in the bedroom.)  I was just so impressed with the activities staff, and it just set the tone for the weekend.

Saturday, we took a guided ATV ride to some ridge of some mountain range….forgive me for not remembering the details.  They were jarred right out of my brain with the bone-rattling ride.  But the view from the top was worth it – both of the scenery and the happy smile on Jim’s face.  I don’t feel the need to ever do that again, but I’m SO glad I did it this one time, with, and for him.

After our ride, we were famished, and though we’d planned to visit our favorite local pizza place, we came across the Mellow Mushroom sooner, so we just stopped there.  The pizza (a version of BBQ chicken meets Hawaiian meets buffalo chicken) was stellar, and the service (waiter who just “assumed” we would give our check check for his tip) was subpar, but it was YUMMY!

We were EXHAUSTED Saturday after our ride and then a couple hours of shopping at the outlets, so we crashed when we returned to our townhouse.  Like, showered and then fell asleep on the bed in a towel version of “crashed.”  Which translated to not getting ready and heading into town for dinner until 8 PM.  Which, and I know this will sound silly, made me feel like a real grown up – getting to put on clothes that didn’t have to be nursing mom-friendly, and eating dinner after 9:30.  It was a wonderful pick me up for me, to be able to take my time to pretty up for Jim and wear grown up clothes.

This was the view from our balcony:  perfect and private and oh, so pretty.

My Arby’s cup on the way home summed up how I felt about the trip, but also how excited I was to be seeing my littles after 6 days.

 

And then there was James…..who smiled when he first laid eyes on me, but then acted like a stereotypical cat (you know, who gets left alone for a few days and then hisses at his owner when she returns, and pees on everything?) for the next few days.  He cried and screamed and fought me, and didn’t want to nurse, and was generally not my happy baby.  Which I guess I deserve for leaving him for so long.  But then he got over it, and I’m once again his favorite person.  Yea!

And that is the abbreviated version. =)  There is more – the trip down, the Steelers/Titans game with some of our besties, dinner with some former business associates of Jim’s….but we’ll get to that eventually.

Have you ever been to Gatlinburg?  Do you have any traditions or must-see/eat places to visit?  How do you feel about Dolly Parton?

Better Late Than Never debut: Spring Break 2012

There are SO many posts that I am behind on.  SO many.  So, rather than just move forward, I am, again, going to attempt to get caught up, so, you’ll start to see another category in the “looking for?” cloud and in my titles, which is Better Late Than Never (which I’m going to shorten to BLTN), and try my darndest to get the blog back up to speed before little Miss or Mister makes an appearance.  Wish me luck!

First up, Spring Break 2012!

While the Ohio schools we are surrounded by are just now this week on spring break, our Tennessee friends enjoyed an earlier respite the first week of March.  It happened to coincide with a trip we needed to make anyways to tie up some loose ends in White House, so….off we went, in the midst of really, really severe tornadic weather.

Yeah, we’re smart like that.

Thankfully, we made it to Tennessee safe and sound (though late, as we stopped in Elizabethtown, KY, for the night after too many hours of traffic and weather).  Needless to say, as the following pictures will speak for themselves, but Seth and his BFF Gage were thrilled to be reunited.

  

We didn’t actually DO much while we were back in Tennessee.  We had lunch at Las Maracas with the Knacks, and hung out with our small group for Andrea’s birthday, and spent Sunday morning worship with our dear WHFBC family, but other than that…. it was just shopping at Target….

Hanging out at the house……

Playdates at Moss Wright State Park….

 

Lunch at Chick-fil-A…..

     

A morning at Monkey Joe’s….

  And quality time with friends we miss so very much…

The drive home was fairly uneventful, if wet.  Jim had left Tennessee Sunday after church, driving the Mazda home (as we are storing it for Tiffany while she is at basic training, but that’s a whole ‘nother post), so it was just me and the kiddos the following Thursday.

It rained the ENTIRE way from White House to Dayton, but there weren’t too many issues along the way.  Most people took compassion on the very pregnant momma trying to herd two toddlers into gas stations and McDonald’s in the pouring rain, so, there was that perk, lol.

And Twizzlers.  It’s how I roll when I’m taxi cabbing-it solo. =)

It’s hard to comprehend that we have already been in Ohio for 3.5 months, and that by the time we return to Tennessee for our next visit, our family will be one member greater.  Watching pictures pop up in my Facebook and Google reader feeds of baseball season kicking off, and birthday shirts being embroidered, and Easter celebrations being hosted, all hundreds of miles away, is bittersweet.  I’m SO thankful for the routes of social media that keep us all connected….

But I’d trade all the Kit-Kats in Seth and Erin’s easter baskets for a hug from Aylin Pearl right about now….

Vacation: Recap

Well, it’s almost December.  Just about time to finish up my vacation blog posts. ;)

If you’re interested, you can read about each day of our summer vacation in Brown County, Indiana by clicking on each day’s picture.

 
If you’re ever looking for a great place to vacation, whether you want to stay busy, or just relax, I’d point you towards Brown County/Nashville, IN, and Moondance Vacation Rentals.  We had the best time, and I’m sure over the course of our future vacations, we’ll be back.

Vacation: Thursday

Sadly enough, Thursday unexpectedly became our last day of vacation. =(  I woke up very sick Thursday morning, and it all went downhill from there.  Downhill as in I spent the morning on the phone with my colorectal surgeon in Tennessee.  Good times, people.  Good times.

However, the rest of our clan had a great day.

Jim and Sara took Seth and birthday-boy Zeke horseback riding while Doug took Micah and Tabitha hiking (Erin, thank you, Jesus, took a long nap for me!).

After a morning of “natural” fun, it was time for aquatic fun, and everybody headed to the nearby state park and the awesome pools there.

You’d think the kiddos would have been tired after all of that, but…well, we forgot to order a side of “perfect world environment” when we booked our cabin. ;)  Thankfully, the kiddos were pretty good when they got home, and we were able to get packed up and cleaned up in record time.

 
Finally, after dinner, it was time for birthday Jell-O and s’mores.
    
Baths to wash off the marshmallow, comfy jammies to ride home in, and goodbye hugs at the car door to send us on our way, and the joint adventure that was the first annual G/B vacation drew to a close.

I’m not sure that we’ll try for the sequel immediately in 2012, but we are looking forward to our next family vacation with our besties.  The boys want to try the beach next time….only time will tell!)