After a night in Nashville, we were on the road again. (I'll try not to break out in Willie Nelson....)
Our destination was a cabin on Roan Mountain near Bakersville, NC. This cabin was said to be remote and a mere 15-minute drive from the Appalachian Trail. Being the mountain lovers that we are, we were extremely excited to explore the Smokey Mountains.
Before I go any further, I must ask the Smokeys to forgive me. I always envisioned you being second-rate compared to my beloved Rocky Mountains. But I was terribly wrong! You are breathtakingly beautiful.
We took the scenic route on our way to NC and took the time to stop for photos along the way.
I knew I was in the country when I saw this:
The boys saw a creek and had to try it out.
Yep, it was chilly, but we were thrilled, because WE MADE IT!
The house we rented greeted us from the road ahead:
And we climbed out of the car as fast as our legs would carry us.
That deck pictured above is where you could find us for the next several days.
See the view from the deck:
What's not to love about that view?
And the temperature?
Heavenly! It never climbed above 64 degrees while we were there. A mere 40 degrees cooler than home.
Someone asked, "What did you do on vacation?" My answer was, "A whole lotta nothin'."
And it was perfect!
We chilled out, right Jack?
Some of us drew the mountains.
Some of us cooked, but it wasn't me. 
Ladies, he's taken.
I did wash the dishes, however. It wasn't such a bad task with my pet humming birds that stopped by to visit the kitchen window.
Rick also played the guitar, an activity that he loves but doesn't get much time for at home.
The boys ran, ran, and ran some more. They were made for this.
My favorite spot was this:
I spent hours in that swing enjoying three books, the cool breeze, and the view. Occasionally, I'd snag a boy to love.
And, of course, we ate a lot of junk food, such as S'mores. Some of us tend to wear our food.
I suppose such a slow-paced vaca might bore some, but it was such a welcomed change for us. But we did do some hiking, which I'll share about in Part III.
Family Vaca Part II
Family Vaca Part 1a
When I was describing our short stay in Nashville, I failed to mention our carriage ride.
I think nearly every downtown in America has those horse-drawn carriages. I'm sure we could call it a tourist trap powered by horse, but when the boys saw all the horses, they asked if we could ride. When Daddy is on vacation, the answer is often, "Sure!", so we loaded up.
Mississippi was our horse, and Carol was our driver. Now, Carol made a small mistake.
She told Jack her name.
When you tell Jack your name, he is going to use your name to ask you 20 questions in 5 minutes.
"Cawol, um, what's the horse's name again?"
"Cawol, what's that horse in front of us, what's his name?"
"Cawol, what's that driver's name?"
"Cawol, what's that building?"
"Cawol,...?"
Inquisitive, he is.
And here he is making sure Carol knows his age.
(And I have no idea what Rick was telling me, but since he's pointing to Garrett on my left, he was probably saying, "Make sure he keeps all limbs inside the vehicle.")
(Yes, that photo is at an angle. I was experimenting with my camera. A photographer I am not.)
But anyway, isn't Jack cute holding up his four fingers and smiling? Yes, he is a cute little booger.
And so is this little booger.
And this not-so-little booger.
An Epiphany: Teens Are Good for Something
I must take a short break from the run-down of our family vaca to share an epiphany I experienced today. Bear with me a moment while I give an explanation.
While waiting to become a mommy over 6 years ago, I never feared parenting the following stages: babyhood (Is that a word?), toddlerhood (How about that one?), nor childhood.
But the teenage years were a different story entirely. Thinking of raising teens make me shake in my boots. The hormones! The rebellion! The eye rolling! The broken curfews! The ugly dates they'll bring home!
Ahhhhh!
I think perhaps my time in public school teaching might have scarred me in this area.
As a result of my fear, there is a clause in each of my boys' adoption papers. The clause is rather simple really. It states, and I quote: "Rick and Ami CupRunnethOver promise to raise this child in a loving environment until said child reaches 13 years of age. Once he reaches thirteen, he is to attend boot camp or boarding school until he is 25 years of age."
See how simple that is? When my boys turn 13, someone else can deal with them. Don't you think it's a great idea?
Now, back to today's epiphany. My boys, who are clearly under the age of 13, and I ran to WalMart for a few items this morning. As we were walking back to our car, I noticed a mom loading her van. That's no big deal, but what was interesting was that her teenage son had driven the van from their distant parking spot to a shady spot near the store's front door. Mom was able to load the car in the shade, and as soon as she had finished, she was able to hop in a cool car.
I had to tap on her window and say, "So, that's what teenagers are good for?! Running a cool car for you?! Awesome!" She smiled and replied, "Yes, there are good things ahead for you."
Okay, so if my boys promise to be helpful in the WalMart parking lot, then I just might allow them to stay home during their teen years.
But I might have them load the van, while I sit inside the running car!
But if there's any eye rolling, oh me!
Family Vaca Part I
As I mentioned earlier, we just returned from a wonderful family vacation. As I think back through the different trips I've taken in my life (before and after marriage, as well as before and after kids), this one is definitely a top pick. Perhaps even #1 in my book.
We rented a cabin in North Carolina, but before we could get to heaven on earth, we made a one-night stop in Nashville in order to break up the long drive. This put us in Music City on July 3rd, where the temp was a good 20-25 degrees cooler than home. That fact, in and of itself, put us all in great spirits.
After asking where we could go to eat and walk, we hit downtown Nashville and were immediately drawn to sounds of live blues musak at BB Kings. I'm perty sure we were the first white folk with brown younguns to ever set foot in BB Kings, but we were welcomed in and the wait staff fell in love with our boys. And our boys fell in love with the blues.
Garrett was fascinated with the drummer from the moment we walked in. He didn't take his eyes off of him during dinner. Once the band came off stage for a break, G wanted to meet the drummer. He walked up to the guy, tapped him on the leg, shook his hand, and praised him for his drumming. My once painfully shy baby is really coming out of his shell!
I believe G learned a valuable lesson in being friendly and outgoing that night. What happens when you're friendly to a drummer? He just might give you a set of drum sticks. Case in point:
The child was on cloud nine, and these drum sticks were never far from his hands for the next 9 days.
After chowing down on fried shrimp, we were ready to stroll. We walked down to Bicentennial Park, where we heard a familiar voice. It was one of those times when we could recognize the voice, but we couldn't quite put a name with the voice until we could see the face.
You know you're in Music City when you can walk up on Wynona Judd.
She and the Nashville Symphony were rehearsing for their July 4th concert. Why can't I live in a fun place like this?!
I'm not a Wynona fan, per se, but it was very enjoyable to sit on a grassy knoll and hear her with the symphony. She sang a variety of songs including "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" and "Love Can Build a Bridge". Even the boys enjoyed it.
Because we still had a day's drive ahead of us, we called it an early night and hit the hay.
Did I tell you that I had a great time? I'll be back soon to explain why I found NC to be heaven on earth.
Orphans Deserve Better
I'm working on a post to summarize what was perhaps the best family vacation ever, but in the meantime, would you please take 1 minute to sign a petition?
Warner Bros has a movie trailer in theatres for Orphan. I haven't seen it myself, but apparently it is the story of an orphan girl who is adopted and then begins terrorizing everyone around her.
I am upset to hear that Hollywood, Warner Bros specifically, finds it entertaining to further discourage people from adopting! As if 145 million orphans worldwide isn't a scary enough statistic, WB has to give Americans another reason to shy away from the orphans!
I urge to please stay away from this film. Instead, please take one minute to click here and sign the petition to encourage Warner Bros to pay proceeds from this sickening film to the kids who deserve far more recognition. Thank you!
Reunited and It Feels So Good
Liam got homesick on the last night of his vacation with his cousin. This is the picture my brother-in-law sent me that night:
Be still my heart!
Brother-in-law said that Liam wanted his Mommy that night. Oh, my fluttering heart!
I wanted him, too! I missed him so much!
And when we were reunited the following day, he greeted me with a big hug and a giant smile. I think he really missed me!
It feels so good to be a family of five again. And we are looking forward to our family vacation at the end of this week.
Former Fan
My last post's title is a key phrase from my former favorite TV show. I have watched Jon & Kate Plus 8 faithfully since its debut. For me, watching the show was fun because the craziness of their home made my house seem utterly peaceful. Their 8 kids running around made my 3 boys seem calm.
However, last season was certainly not as enjoyable, as I grew weary of all the freebies they received. I got tired of watching them go from one fun place to another. Do they ever stay home and just be?
Plus, was it just me or was Kate growing less patient with her family by the minute? Well, it's obviously not just me.
Unless you're living under a rock, you're aware that both Jon and Kate have been recently accused of extra marital affairs, and she has filed for divorce this week. Yes, I admit that I watched Monday's episode along with a few other Americans. But I am now done!
Watching the show has not set well with my spirit over the past several months. I couldn't quite put my finger on why I felt so uncomfortable watching it. Besides the fact that I hate watching a woman belittle her husband and children. That's bad enough.
But then I ran across this post written by Walt Mueller, a blogger who is a former neighbor of the Gosselins. And he has opened my eyes to help me further understand why I have to stop watching this family self-destruct. If you're a Jon & Kate follower, do yourself a favor and read that post.
This especially struck a chord with me:
If Jon and especially Kate are putting on their best behavior for the cameras, then I shutter at the thought of what goes on when the cameras are packed away. My heart has always hurt for children who live in less-than-ideal circumstances. Obviously, the Gosselin twins and sextuplets are living in less-than-ideal circumstances, and I must do something. As Mueller wisely suggests, I'm going to stop watching and get busy praying for this family of my former favorite "reality" show.
