Mountain Momma!

The timing of my job change worked out perfectly!  Calyn was attending a basketball game in Tennessee which meant Chandra and Carson had a few extra days of vacation in Gatlinburg.  They had asked me about coming up for a few days with the boys.  With the boys....alone....just me and the boys...no daddy....for a few days.  To say the least, I was a little hesitant.  I bounced the idea around for a few weeks and finally took a leap of faith and agreed to go.  This had nothing to do with Chandra or Carson....it was purely my "fear" of parenting my two boys, alone, on vacation.  

On Wednesday July 25th, we loaded up the car and headed off for a few days of fun.  The drive was actually great....except that Owen repeatedly told me "I not want to see Carson.  I want to see Grandpa."  Problem #1 was that Grandpa wasn't going to be there.  He's fairly opinionated when it comes to what he wants, so I was seriously worried that when we got there and he saw it was indeed Carson, not Grandpa, that he might cry.  Luckily, somewhere between Columbia and the TN state line, we changed his mind and he started to get excited about seeing the mountains and Carson!

The most priceless part of our drive happened in upstate SC, about 20 miles from the NC state line.  On the interstate, you climb a hill and get your first glimpse of the mountains.  I didn't even say anything but heard Owen gasp, "I see MOUNTAINS!  They BEAUTIFUL!"  They were beautiful, thanks for the reminder!  

The second best part came as we crossed into NC...Payton caught a glimpse of the "Welcome to North Carolina" sign and immediately started cheering.  "Woo Hoo!!!!" with clapping.  "We're in NORTH CAROLINA!  WOO HOO!!"  Nah, they are brain washed at all!  Love this kids excitement and the fact that even though he is being raised in the lowcountry, some part of him, small though it may be, is still an North Carolinian at heart!

We had a great time Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Gatlinburg with Chandra and Carson.  There were some challenging times...most of those came in restaurants...and challenging is an understatement.  There were a few times that I would have given them away....and Aunt Chandra may not have saved them either!  Carson was a huge help but they were starting to wear on him by day # 3 too! 

The highlight of our trip, for the kids, was the day we spent at D0llyw00d Sp1ash C0untry.  We were there early and spent the entire day enjoying the water and the rides.  Payton was tall enough to ride most rides and enjoyed the day alternating between myself, Carson and Chandra for all of the "big boy" rides.  He loved the big tube rides with splashing water the most!

A few other people joined us for the day too....a few thousand!  We set up camp at this toddler area and enjoyed watching the boys run, splash and play.  Carson was huge help with Owen and stayed right by his side in the water and on the slides.  Owen loved to "sa-lyde" and probably would have done it all day long!

Payton spraying water on other kids

Are we having fun yet?  I think so!

So much fun for these boys!

Got the kids to stay still barely long enough for a quick picture!

Payton used to be scared of these mushroom fountains...he loves them now!  He also loves to pose for pictures....where could he get that from!?!?

When we weren't out exploring the area, eating at some great restaurants or shopping, the boys looked like this:

This is bed time, but overall, "down time" involved watching a movie.  Miss Rachel had given me a few "big boy" baseball movies for the trip.  I think they watched Rookie of the Year at least 5 times.  I hate "plugging" Payton into the TV but in a small room, it was the best way to keep him calm and it worked...a little!  

On our last day, we thought we might be able to burn some calories to balance at least one of the meals we had over the week.  We found a trail close to the hotel that was stroller friendly.  There was a chance of rain, so we have to keep it brief, but it was a great walk.  Hate we didn't find it earlier in the week....we certainly could have used a little more walking to counteract the sweet treats, coffee treats, pancakes with whip cream for breakfast and country cooking from the Apple House for dinner!      

Our three sweet boys

Our only group shot from the week

On our last night, we headed down to the "strip" with everyone else vacationing in the area to search for some ice cream.  We stopped in for some frozen custard and most of us enjoyed it.

Owen especially loved it!

Payton is smiling here but he never actually ate his ice cream....ugh!  This was just about the story of the week...a lot of fun but at least one meltdown per restaurant!

We did have a great time and I'm so happy I decided to go.  Yes, challenging a few times along the way but that would have happened at home too.  The boys are still talking about the mountains and the tunnels that we drove through.  Hopefully we can get back to the mountains sometime soon.  

On our way home, we made plans with my dad to meet in Asheville to have a surprise lunch date with my Mom for her birthday, which had been the day before.  The boys were finally able to see Grandma and Grandpa.  We met up with them at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Asheville.  We aren't there often, but whenever we pass through we try to stop by for a meal.  Luckily, the boys did save their best behavior for that meal with my mom....thank goodness!  We walked around briefly with them before loading back up and heading all the way back home.

We were all excited to see Daddy and get started with new routine.  After returning, the boys only had 2 days of school before finishing off their last days at their daycare.