Katie's Rabbit Trails

If you've ever been around at bedtime with Katie, then you'd know that she is queen of rabbit trails (especially at bedtime).  Though I don't post each and every rabbit trail we have with her, I felt that I had to share her most recent rabbit trail for laughs and memories...

Mark was tucking Katie in bed and reading her chosen book, The Velveteen Rabbit.  At the end of the book, Mark was telling her how glad he was that stuffed animals didn't really come to life when they were really loved, because we'd have a house full of horses, unicorns, etc.  Katie laughed about it and started her rabbit trail...

She told Daddy that if she could have real animals, she'd like to have a rooster!  Mark laughed and explained that she wouldn't like a rooster because it would wake her up before the sun was even up...way earlier than she likes to get up and going. 

So, without missing a beat, she responded..."Yeah...I wouldn't like that.  I think I'd trade my rooster in for a hen and just eat the eggs!"

This kid definitely got her quick, witty remarks from her Daddy!  She definitely keeps us laughing with her rabbit trails...even close to bedtime :-)

A Funny for Friday

It's taken me FOREVER to figure out how to get videos off of my smart phone...obviously, it's a little too smart for me :-)  But I finally figured it out!  So, you get a funny video to see :-)

Austin's newest favorite song to sing is his version of the Hokey Pokey.  Here's a snippet of him singing & dancing to the Hokey Pokey.  ENJOY!  {sorry for the low sound quality...I will definitely be using the video more than my smart phone for future videos!}

Per Austin, the song says, "Put arm in...put arm out...shake it all a butt...that's what its all about...HOKEY POKEY!!"

Don't you just love the "shake it all a butt"??  We really have tried to correct that, but he seems to think it makes sense in the song...I guess because he does shake his little butt :-)  haha!

Berry Pickin'

Yesterday evening, we decided to take the kids to a local "U-Pick" blueberry farm for a little berry pickin' fun.  Of course, I failed to bring my camera to pick berries, so you'll have to deal with pictures courtesy of my phone (sorry!).  It's better than nothing, though...right? ;-)

The kids had a fantastic time picking our gallon of blueberries (mixed with a few blackberries), and we couldn't have asked for nicer berry pickin' weather!

 

   

Now for the fun of deciding which delicious treats to make first with these tasty blueberries :-)

Family Vacation & Reunion | Gatlinburg, TN

WARNING -- This is one long long long post...SORRY!!  But maybe it will make up for my terrible slacker job of keeping this blog updated.  I promise I'm trying to get back into my routine!!  :-)

We recently returned from a nice week-long vacation with Mark's family (immediate and extended) to Gatlinburg, TN.  I brought my camera, but it didn't see the light of day...it was pretty much there just so I knew it was okay :-)  SO...since I was truly on "vacation" even from my much-loved job (photography), you can enjoy a few glimpses into our vacation fun through Mark's camera and {mostly} Mark's pictures...I think he did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself :-)

We arrived late Saturday evening, in time to eat dinner with the fam at Corky's BBQ...YUM, and have a little walking/shopping time in Pigeon Forge.  Sunday, we didn't have "specific" plans, so we at brunch at The Apple Barn and then walked around downtown Gatlinburg for a bit of shopping.  The kids were pretty tired, so we let them nap and then spent a little time at Nana and Pawpaw's cabin before calling it a night.  Monday began the fun...we met up at Dollywood at 3pm (because if you get your tickets at 3 or later, you get the next day free).  So we all played and road rides from 3-8 (closing)...the kids crashed HARD that night!  Then we started out early at Dollywood on Tuesday and stayed/played there all day/night (from about 9:30a-7:30p) -- no nap time...no breaks...just loads of walking, laughing, riding, and FUN! 

 
The first "rides" the kids wanted to try out were the cars...and they both got to drive us around!  That was a nice change ;-) 

And, of course, we had to ride the 'horses' many times during our time here... 

The kids also got to see "The Little Engine That Could" (one of their favorite books) in the little theater there...super super cute show!  :-)

Surprisingly enough, Katie was able to ride most of the rides.  THIS (below) was one of her favorites - her first "adult" roller coaster (she said the little Veggie Tale roller coaster that she rode with Austin did not count).  I was nervous about this one, but she LOVED it!  The second (or third, I forget) time, she took me...front row...on this coaster!

The kids were SO thankful to be with Nana and Pawpaw!  Other than sleeping, they didn't do much without being with or talking about them.  It was a great vacation with Mark's family!

Wednesday was our "reunion" day, where we had family from all over join us at Teresa and Greg's cabin for a great lunch and fellowship.  I think we had around 50 people there total!  It was lots of fun getting to see family (and meet family I hadn't met before).  Unfortunately, Katie ended the reunion with a terrible boo-boo.  She and the kids were running around the wrap-around porch when apparently a loose board or nail tore open her heal pretty badly.  She was a tough girl for sure...no tears were shed...but it did greatly limit her walking/running ability thereafter.  She learned to walk and run by limping on her hurt foot.  I told her she was going to have one massive calf muscle when this trip was over!

Thursday, most of the group met up early to go white water rafting.  Obviously, I couldn't go with the kids, so we stayed around our place...watching movies, tv, making crafts (provided by our resort), and playing at Chick-Fil-A.  My original plan for us was much different and involved water parks, but Katie would not let any water of any kind touch her hurt foot (and I didn't blame her), so our plans changed.  The kids didn't mind at all!  They knew that they were going to enjoy the Dixie Stampede that evening for dinner, so that made it all good.  

We have no digital pictures of our trip to the Dixie Stampede (we did purchase the souvenir set), but the kids LOVED it!  I was a little concerned about how well Austin would do (his attention span is often very short), but both kids ate LOTS of their crazy big meals, including their "whole chickens", which they found hilarious, and they cheered for the SOUTH the entire show!  Katie and Austin were both amazed with the horses, riders, and all of their stunts.  I was so glad we decided to take them...and even more thankful that we had a large group, as it saved us all a lot of money!

On Friday, our final "full" day of vacation, we took a trip to the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies -- another hit with the kids (and adults, too)!  

I've been to this aquarium before, but this was the first time I'd seen their new penguin exhibit...very neat!!  We all got to watch them feed the penguins, and they had little tunnels that kids could go through that took them underneath the penguin habitat...giving them a first hand look at them!  

 

I just loved the jellyfish and how the glowed, even with no flash on the camera!  Don't the intrigue you?  These were some of the VERY few pictures I took...but I could have stood there taking hundreds of these pictures!  And believe it or not, these two were completely UNEDITED.  It was just that colorful/bright!  Amazing...

 

The kids had a great time in their "hands on" area, too!  I love this aquarium for it's kid-friendliness!! :-)

 

The oh-so-popular shark tank ;-)

Katie really liked the sea dragons, and I just love this picture Mark captured of her looking at them.  You can just see the intrigue showing through her look.

After the aquarium, we walked around downtown Gatlinburg for a while, and then headed back to Pigeon Forge for one last adventure...one that both kids had begged to do since day 1...the Dinosuar Boat Ride.  Austin and I sat together in the front of the boat (not sure that the front was the best idea for us, as Austin was not certain about the darkness and not knowing what was going to pop out at him).  We got about 3 minutes into the ride, and our boat stopped!  So, we had to walk through the "jungle" to get out a side exit while they tried to fix the boat.  Katie thought it was funny...Austin just kept saying "that's not fair!"  So, we waited around while they worked on the boat and were finally allowed to re-try the ride about 20 minutes later.  Katie LOVED the ride....I could hear her laughing and talking all through the ride.  Austin, I wasn't so sure about.  He held my hand the whole time...sometimes tighter than others ;-), but he was completely silent through it all.  I kept asking him "are you ok, are you ok?" simply because I had no idea how he was reacting.  At the end, however, he immediately said he wanted to ride that again!  They both said it was a favorite part of the vacation (funny, seeing it was probably the shortest and least expensive!).  But either way, we all had a great time...especially being able to see the kids enjoy themselves so much!  

It was far from a "relaxing" vacation...I think I'm still trying to recuperate from all of our long, tiring days/nights there...but it was loads of fun!  It made me even more excited about getting to take the kids to Disney World hopefully next year!!  :-)

Praying for your Future Husband | Book Review

I was recently given the opportunity to read and review Praying for your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer.  I chose to review this book because I work with the teen ministry at my local church. 

This book is not a "how-to" book on finding love.  It gives you the personal stories of the authors as they began to pray for their future husbands, along with scriptures, and thought-provoking questions that would be great for individuals or group settings.

The two authors have very different stories, but God was faithful and answered both their prayers with Godly husbands. It is not common to hear girls waiting for and praying for their future spouse in years prior to them seeking their life partner, but I think it is something that should be taught more so our girls today will know that God has a perfect plan for them...a perfect husband picked for them...in His timing. 

This is written to young ladies, but the principle can be used by young men as well.  I think anyone that has an unmarried daughter, grand daughter, or works with student ministry should read this book. It is very challenging, but also very practical and easy to read.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  The above opinions are my own.  I was not required to write a favorable review.

Daddy Dates | Book Review

I was recently given the chance through Booksneeze to review a digital copy Daddy Dates, by Greg Wright.  I think this is an awesome, down-to-earth, easy read book that every father of daughters should read.  The concept he presents is simple, and offers lots of ideas on how to implement this idea, but the payoff is extraordinary! 

I love the idea of chasing after your daughters...learning about their desires, fears, their hearts...and helping them learn how unique, how special God made them, so they will know even better how to make wise choices in the future (relationships, etc.) 

I know to my daughter, Daddy is everything to her.  She's only 4 right now.  But I can't wait to implement these ideas within their relationship, that will help keep them as close years from now as they are now...so she wants to run and tell Daddy things...and learn from him.  I would love to purchase more copies of this for my husband and others in my family to read and pass on! 

I definitely recommend this to all dads out there...especially with daughters...but I think it's something anyone that works with children would enjoy and get things out of they can apply in their lives.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."