15 Minutes

In 15 minutes, we can drive here:

 We are loving where we live and the beach!!!

You are Special

Conversation tonight driving home from a friends:

Lizzy: Mom, why did I get to stay up late?
Mom: Because you are special
Lizzy: I am not special
Mom: Why do you say that?
Lizzy: Jesus made me wrong, I wanted black hair

I guess she still has identity issues and wants to look like an Asian.

The Great Smokey Mountains

For Labor Day we decided to venture outside of Charleston. On the recommendation of a friend we went to Gatlinburg Tennessee home of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park with our friends David and Diana Hall.

 

It was absolutely beautiful and just what I needed. I have been craving a hike just like I sometimes crave ice cream if you know what I mean. The mountains were not super tall, but good enough they were mountains with trees and trails to explore. We enjoyed hiking to a couple of waterfalls

and also enjoyed driving around a scenic loop. We stopped a few times to view some old cabins and churches.

The coolest thing was that a bear—a black ran across the road right in front of our car. What are the chances? It was AWESOME! Unfortunately this was the best picture we got of the guy cause Adam fell asleep and woke up when I yelled “Bear!”

While there we rented a cabin. There are tons of cabins in the area to rent and I recommend it.

Each day we would relax on the porch and the kids would go for a swim in the hot tub. After they went to bed the adults would enjoy games and a nice soak in the hot tub sharing stories and looking at the stars.

 

On Labor Day we finished up our trip at Ober Gatlinburg Amusement Park. The park itself was OK and I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it. We took a tram up the mountain and at the top it is an amusement park in the summer and a ski resort in the winter.  

The view from the top was beautiful and it is safe to say that everyones favorite thing to do was to ride the alpine slide. Lizzy said “I hope I can go as fast as I did at the Great Wall” It was great to hear that she remembered that experience from over a year ago.

Overall, it was a relaxing weekend and just what we needed.

By the way, who do you think wins for best watermelon face?

 

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Preschool Starts

Lizzy has been so excited to start preschool again and the day finally came!