Thanksgiving Recap

For the past twenty years or so my family has been spending Thanksgiving in the Smokey Mountains. When we started the tradition, my family shared a small two bedroom cabin with some family friends. We have now grown from four adults and six young children sharing a tiny cabin, to 20+ people splitting two large, luxury cabins, fifteen of which are now part of my extended family (up from the original six). It isn't often that we are all able to get together, so we all try our hardest to make it to the mountains for Thanksgiving.

This year, my sisters, their significant others, my dad, Justin and I all hiked the 11 miles round trip to the top of Mount LeConte, an elevation of 6,593'. It was an awesome hike with breathtaking views. The last time we did that hike Justin and I were seniors in high school and he just about slid off the mountain. We tried looking for the little pine tree that saved him twelve years ago, but by now, that sapling would be a full-fledged tree, and they all sort of look the same now. I knew that the tree was still there, poised to save another novice hiker silly enough to hike in loafers on an icy day. NOTE-Justin is no longer a novice hiker...this year he even sponsored a dead reckoning trip over a mountain ridge and taught us all something about orienteering (notice the smile on Jolie's face).

I thought I'd share some photos from this year's adventure. I found some prints from twelve years ago and will try to get them scanned so I can share them as well. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Fun At the Farm

The kids and I took a trip to Illinois last month to celebrate my grandmother’s 80th birthday with my extended family. Though the car trip was long, it was well worth the effort. Grandma lives on a farm in the middle of farm country. Transplant her farm up to Washington, and it would be my ideal final land…there is plenty of room for a large garden, a nice size pond, some timbered area, and planted fields that would make for great grazing area.

I always enjoyed my trips to the farm growing up and I feel somewhat of a connection to that place. My hubby always asks why I feel so attached to the farm, and I think I can finally say that no matter where we lived (I moved frequently as a child), my grandparent’s farm, and my other grandmother’s house “in town,” never changed. They were sort of like a constant in our ever-changing lives.

Now that I’m older, I feel even more of a connection to my grandmothers and their way of life, because in many ways, it is their “traditional” ways that I find myself yearning for. I am teaching myself to can vegetables; we are cooking most every meal from scratch; and trying to live as frugally as possible. I only wish I lived closer so I could glean more from my experienced grandmothers.

My kids thrived in the wide-open spaces, catching lightning bugs, picking up sticks for our bonfire, and running until they were nearly wiped out. Jolie asked if we could move up to the farm. I share her enthusiasm for the country…and cooler temperatures.

Here are some photos from our trip.

Being There For Liftoff

How many children can say that they were at Kennedy Space Center to see a space shuttle launch? Not many, I’d say. As of May 12th, my children could add their names to that short list.




Last fall I bought tickets for us to see a night launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its way to make repairs on the Hubble telescope. We decided to take my father with us as his birthday present. Unfortunately, there was a delay in the launch due to a malfunction with the Hubble telescope, so we had to wait until the mission was rescheduled. That delay pushed our trip to just a few weeks ago.

I was under the impression that there were “limited” tickets available for the launch viewing area, so I figured that there would only be a few hundred people at the space center to view the launch. We would be able to meander around the Space Center, taking our time at each exhibit. Boy, was I wrong! There were several THOUSAND people there to see the shuttle, not to mention the thousands of others who made the trip to the Cape Canaveral area in hopes of seeing the launch. It was somewhat overwhelming at times, but spectacular nonetheless.



Growing up half of my childhood in Florida, I had seen several launches…some from home, some from school, and one from the beach. Same for Justin. The kids, on the other hand, hadn’t and wouldn’t have that same opportunity, so we were all really excited about the launch. Unfortunately, many of the exhibits were closed, so there weren’t as many things to see as there were the last time we were at Kennedy Space Center. We spent a lot of time waiting to get into the Space Center and then a lot of time waiting in our viewing area to see the shuttle go off.



Because of the volume of people, we decided to secure our viewing location nearly three hours before the launch. The kids did great. We ate a nice picnic lunch and then the adults took turn saving our spot, while the rest of the group went and saw the exhibits that were available. I walked the kids around several times while we waited and saw some “wildlife”…alligators and turtles.

The launch was amazing. From our viewing area, we could see everything. I know the kids were impressed. We watched a power point that showed some of the preparations made before a launch the day before, so when the kids saw the shuttle on the launch pad, they were able to visualize the steps that were taken to get the shuttle to its location. During the following week and a half, we followed the crew’s progress on their telescope repairs.

The experience was definitely an educational experience enjoyed by all. There aren’t any additional improvements planned for the Hubble, so the trip was somewhat special. I’m glad we were able to expose the kids to a wonderful program and bring it close to their hearts.

Here are the launch and landing videos from MSNBC.

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Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A Wonderful Weekend for Camping

We have been so busy lately that it was nice to finally slow down for a change. We have a local military recreation facility that has some wonderful campgrounds, paintball fields, playgrounds, disk golf, bike trails, miniature golf, and water access. The price was right, too, so we loaded up the tent, kayaks, kids, and dogs and headed over with our neighbors for some much needed R&R.

The site doesn’t take reservations for camping, so the kids and I drove over Friday morning to pay for and pick out our spot. We were quite indecisive and took nearly 30 minutes to find the “right spot.” We didn’t want to be too close to the bathhouse, but not too far away either (small bladders, you know), and we didn’t want to be squished between two big RVs (we have a tent, but our neighbors had a camper and we were sharing the site). We did finally find a great spot and were stoked. The kids and I loaded up the car with all but the kayaks in preparation for Justin to get home. He strapped on the boats and we were on the road.

We hadn’t been camping in over three years. Our last camping adventure was a wonderful trip we took down the west coast from the San Juan Islands in Washington to the Redwood Forest in northern California. It was a beautiful trip. We went whale watching, saw the Sea Lion Caves, a bunch of lighthouses, and the towering Redwoods. My parents and one of my sisters went with us on the trip. We all loaded up in our (no longer with us) Suburban, and saw the west coast. Seeing the Redwood Forest was one of my requests before we left that side of the country, and doing so in a tent was a wonderful way to see it.

We got to take the kayaks out for the first time this weekend. We got them about two weeks ago (our belated anniversary gifts to ourselves), and since Justin is now able to lift things and exercise again, we wanted to get them in the water and try them out. I LOVED it! I had never been kayaking before and to be honest have some fear of the water (a near-drowning experience in 8th grade will do that to a person), so I was surprised with how relaxed I was once I got the hang of paddling. It was so quiet out in the water. I could have stayed out there all day. Justin and I let Jake have a try with my kayak, and he was a natural. He loved it as well and has requested a kayak for his 10th birthday in June (we’ll have to see about that).

Due to the dryness of the area, fires were off limits, but who says you can’t cook S’mores over a charcoal grill? I’m not sure how good that actually is for you, either the charcoal flames or the S’mores, but I guess you only live once. Justin and Jensen had traditional S’mores with marshmallows, organic graham crackers and Hershey’s chocolate bars. Jolie and Jake, on the other hand, are vegetarians and won’t eat gelatin that is found in traditional marshmallows. I ordered some vegan marshmallows online, but they didn’t get here in time. I tried making some marshmallows from scratch before Thanksgiving, but didn’t have any luck. I’ll try again, I’m sure, but in the mean time, the kids used marshmallow fluff (they weren’t too happy with that either because it does have some blue food coloring in it and corn syrup), fair trade chocolate, and organic graham crackers. There is a ricemellow fluff that is out on the market that I need to try and find for the next time we need “the fluff.” I just assembled the alternative S’mores the same way I would a regular S’more, and placed the whole thing on the grill grate (near the edge, away from the flames) so that the chocolate could melt. Everyone was happy. I think our neighbors thought we were funny for using alternative ingredients, but the kids enjoyed their treat.

We took a nice walk through the forest along the bike trail. There were wild blueberry bushes everywhere that had already flowered and were starting to produce fruit. Justin was excited to find the trail and might use it as a training area for his adventure races.

The fun had to end this morning, so we packed up and headed home, but continued the relaxation by watching movies all day (after putting away the camping gear, of course). We did well setting up and taking down the tent and accessories. We could have used some additional child participation, but I’m sure that will come with time. The dogs were doing quite well by the end, and I think they will warm up a little more each time we camp.

I’m itching to get back out there for our next camping trip. I’m hoping to see if I can get my parents and whichever of my sisters that are able to attend to meet up sometime next month for a little camping rendezvous.

It’s back to the real world tomorrow. I have a floor that needs to be mopped (it is Monday Mop Day), a yard that needs raked and mowed, a garage that needs to be cleaned out, and (hopefully) a garden that needs to be tilled. Slow and steady wins the race, but first I have to get a good night’s sleep. I’m not much good without my beauty sleep.

Here’s to positive thoughts and a great week ahead.

Family Fun

We enjoyed the long weekend with my sisters and parents. It was nice to get to see everyone, even if just for a few days. We are all spread out across the country, so it isn’t often that we are all in the same place at the same time.

Here are some photos to commemorate our visit.

Heroes' Salute

Thank you Anheuser-Busch for your generosity. For the past several years, Anheuser-Busch has offered military families free tickets to their theme parks in appreciation of their service to their country. Active duty, activated reserve and National Guard families qualify for the Here’s to the Heroes program.

We have graciously accepted the tickets three times, each time heading to SeaWorld in Orlando. Tickets can also be used at SeaWorld San Diego, or San Antonio, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Williamsburg, Sesame Place, Water Country USA, or Adventure Island. The tickets are not valid at Discovery Cove or Aquatica.

The appreciation of men and women in uniform is particularly moving during the Shamu Show, where the trainers point out past and present military members and thank them for their service. The gesture was truly genuine and grately appreciated.

Although it was hot and humid, we had a great time. We saw our three favorite shows, Shamu, the dolphins, and the Clyde and Seamore Show. Jake and Justin rode Journey to Atlantis and Jolie and I rode the Shamu Express. Poor Jensen wasn’t tall enough to ride anything except the carousel, so we were sure to take a ride just before finishing for the day.



Thank you again, Anheuser-Busch, for reaching out to military families across the country with your generosity.

Seeing the Sights Before we Left

Before we left Virginia we wanted to see as many history-based locations as possible, so we made back to back trips to Jamestown and Yorktown, spending as much time at each location as the children would allow.
At Jamestown, the kids really enjoyed seeing the ships. One of the gentlemen taught the kids how to raise and lower the anchor. I enjoyed the gardens, and seeing how the families lived during that time in history.
Yorktown offered equally enjoyable experiences. The kids really enjoyed getting to help plant some tobacco. We all were amazed by the descriptions of how the battlefield surgeons dealt with and helped injured soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Justin and I tried to impress upon the kids the living conditions of the people living during the Revolution. Their homes were small, yet adequate. The children had to contribute to the family in order for them to survive. Jake also enjoyed driving though the area looking at the battlefields (while the other two slept).
Although we didn’t get to see all of the historical sites we wanted to, we hope to be able to make another trip to the area when the kids are a bit older so that they can appreciate the experience even more. I’m sure Justin will be itching to get back out that way as soon as he starts working on his Revolutionary Studies courses.