And in this case, it must be said that "adventure" is not always a favorable thing. Here's what happened during our yearly trip to the Great Smokey Mountains- Cades Cove, that is. And guess what? I forgot my DSLR, our DV recorder-- everything. But New Daddy had his phone, and Aunt Ma had her DSLR. Pictures will be coming, probably on the Picasa.
Monday
The drive up. Stopped in Cherokee, NC and let the kids play in the fountains. Precious' staph was healed up enough that I didn't consider her a threat. New Daddy and I also enjoyed our iced coffee drinks from Tribal Grounds. What an awesome place. I'm glad I don't live there, or I would have to have my Frosted Owl every single day, and my adrenal glands would be shot. At the Cove that night, sleep was a little sketchy, but we made it through.
Tuesday
I had a filling put in on my back molar the previous Thursday, and it was starting to hurt more than the average "hurt." Someone-- not me-- had brought along some Ibuprofen, and the medicine and I became fast friends.
Wednesday
At 7:30, we set out with my dad and Aunt Ma to bike the 11-mile loop road with only Cutie in the bike trailer. New Daddy didn't have to walk up a single hill, and I walked one. I think P90X is great cardio training. In previous years, my heart would have been pounding; this year, I was barely out of breath. We need to start working out again. It was a great bike trip, and we exited the loop at 9:59 AM-- one minute before the gate opened to cars.
That afternoon, we left Cutie napping in my parents' camper, and we took the boys fishing at the kids-only section of the river in Gatlinburg. Precious had woken up from a nap in the car with a fever, so I stayed there with her.
When we got back to the campsite, Cutie had a fever, too. I spent most of the night giving the girls water and milk (Cutie), comforting them, and straightening their sleeping bags. The next morning, everyone was better. It's amazing how the human immune system works when you let the fever do its work. No Tylenol needed! (here's my go-to article on childhood sickness)
Thursday
We finally made it out for a carriage ride with our children and two nephews. When we got back, the campsites were deserted. The aunts had gone into town to buy pottery; my parents were out driving. And this is where things started to get interesting. New Daddy was waiting on everyone to return so that he could go fishing without leaving me stranded. My parents brought by the camper keys and left-- not knowing New Daddy's plans. And then it started pouring rain. It kept on raining, and we couldn't find umbrellas.
At this point, the afternoon was wearing away, and New Daddy had abandoned hope of fishing, even in the rain. And we decided that if we were going to be quarantined with five children for an afternoon, we might as well do it in style. I opened a cabinet door in the camper and found umbrellas! Yay! New Daddy retrieved the van, loaded us up one at a time, and we headed into town.
We ate bar-b-que and caught the 8:15 show at the Comedy Barn. During intermission, my dad called us with bad news: The tents and their contents were completely soaked from the rain.
But there was hope.
On our way out of town, we stopped by Wal-Mart and bought a tarp to put in the back of the van-- a sort of "super" trash bag to hold all of the wet things. My parents had set up the extra beds in the camper, and Aunt R was going to sleep in the car. New Daddy slept in our van, and we made a night of it.
I should also mention that I was inseparable from my regular doses of Ibuprofen. I had Aunt Ma take my cell phone to town (before I realized that I would end up there, myself), call my dentist, and pretend to be me-- in absolute misery without my Ibuprofen. She got me an appointment for early next week.
Friday
That morning, we loaded up our sodden belongings onto the tarp in the back of the van. The cars were packed, the children buckled in. And then, while Aunt Ma was loading her bike, she slammed her trunk, and the tip of the bike carrier nailed her nose on the way down. She went to the ground and asked New Daddy to find my Ow-Ease. After treating her for about twenty minutes, we determined that our nephews could not ride with her and Aunt R while she went to the emergency room. We switched car seats around, and they rode in my dad's truck. Grandmama rode in Aunt Ma's car.
We met my dad in Cherokee, let the kids play in the fountains, got more coffee from Tribal Grounds, and then drove to home-- sweet home. We drove the van straight to the backyard, where we unloaded all of our wet things onto the clothesline to dry out. I love my clothesline.
And that was our "vacation."
P.S. Aunt Ma is okay. She couldn't get any information from the emergency room. If her nose is broken and sets crookedly, they can do plastic surgery in the future. Other than that, she has to wait for it to heal.
Monday
The drive up. Stopped in Cherokee, NC and let the kids play in the fountains. Precious' staph was healed up enough that I didn't consider her a threat. New Daddy and I also enjoyed our iced coffee drinks from Tribal Grounds. What an awesome place. I'm glad I don't live there, or I would have to have my Frosted Owl every single day, and my adrenal glands would be shot. At the Cove that night, sleep was a little sketchy, but we made it through.
Tuesday
I had a filling put in on my back molar the previous Thursday, and it was starting to hurt more than the average "hurt." Someone-- not me-- had brought along some Ibuprofen, and the medicine and I became fast friends.
While New Daddy took the kids to inquire about carriage rides, I pulled out the toolbox and removed the training wheels from Precious' bike. When she came back, she declared that she would never ride her bike again. In about 15 minutes, she was riding by herself without training wheels. The next day, she declared that she would never ride it again with training wheels.
Wednesday
At 7:30, we set out with my dad and Aunt Ma to bike the 11-mile loop road with only Cutie in the bike trailer. New Daddy didn't have to walk up a single hill, and I walked one. I think P90X is great cardio training. In previous years, my heart would have been pounding; this year, I was barely out of breath. We need to start working out again. It was a great bike trip, and we exited the loop at 9:59 AM-- one minute before the gate opened to cars.
That afternoon, we left Cutie napping in my parents' camper, and we took the boys fishing at the kids-only section of the river in Gatlinburg. Precious had woken up from a nap in the car with a fever, so I stayed there with her.
When we got back to the campsite, Cutie had a fever, too. I spent most of the night giving the girls water and milk (Cutie), comforting them, and straightening their sleeping bags. The next morning, everyone was better. It's amazing how the human immune system works when you let the fever do its work. No Tylenol needed! (here's my go-to article on childhood sickness)
Thursday
We finally made it out for a carriage ride with our children and two nephews. When we got back, the campsites were deserted. The aunts had gone into town to buy pottery; my parents were out driving. And this is where things started to get interesting. New Daddy was waiting on everyone to return so that he could go fishing without leaving me stranded. My parents brought by the camper keys and left-- not knowing New Daddy's plans. And then it started pouring rain. It kept on raining, and we couldn't find umbrellas.
At this point, the afternoon was wearing away, and New Daddy had abandoned hope of fishing, even in the rain. And we decided that if we were going to be quarantined with five children for an afternoon, we might as well do it in style. I opened a cabinet door in the camper and found umbrellas! Yay! New Daddy retrieved the van, loaded us up one at a time, and we headed into town.
We ate bar-b-que and caught the 8:15 show at the Comedy Barn. During intermission, my dad called us with bad news: The tents and their contents were completely soaked from the rain.
But there was hope.
On our way out of town, we stopped by Wal-Mart and bought a tarp to put in the back of the van-- a sort of "super" trash bag to hold all of the wet things. My parents had set up the extra beds in the camper, and Aunt R was going to sleep in the car. New Daddy slept in our van, and we made a night of it.
I should also mention that I was inseparable from my regular doses of Ibuprofen. I had Aunt Ma take my cell phone to town (before I realized that I would end up there, myself), call my dentist, and pretend to be me-- in absolute misery without my Ibuprofen. She got me an appointment for early next week.
Friday
That morning, we loaded up our sodden belongings onto the tarp in the back of the van. The cars were packed, the children buckled in. And then, while Aunt Ma was loading her bike, she slammed her trunk, and the tip of the bike carrier nailed her nose on the way down. She went to the ground and asked New Daddy to find my Ow-Ease. After treating her for about twenty minutes, we determined that our nephews could not ride with her and Aunt R while she went to the emergency room. We switched car seats around, and they rode in my dad's truck. Grandmama rode in Aunt Ma's car.
We met my dad in Cherokee, let the kids play in the fountains, got more coffee from Tribal Grounds, and then drove to home-- sweet home. We drove the van straight to the backyard, where we unloaded all of our wet things onto the clothesline to dry out. I love my clothesline.
And that was our "vacation."
P.S. Aunt Ma is okay. She couldn't get any information from the emergency room. If her nose is broken and sets crookedly, they can do plastic surgery in the future. Other than that, she has to wait for it to heal.
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