A Natural born Hiker

So one of our many adventures during our Spring Break week was to take a hike around the beautiful Lake Martin.  It was roughly a 4  mile hike.  Maybe a little more, maybe a little less.  Anyway we all started off strong.  Meredith ran ahead and was the Leader of the pack with Uncle Alex and her Nanny.  Noah hiked a little with them and a little with his dad and occasionally hung back with me and his Mimi.  Approximately three quarters of the way through, Margot decided she wanted to be carried and Noah decided he did too.  Unfortunately Alex was way ahead with Meredith and Margot had secured the prominent position on top of Josh's shoulders.  Which led to Noah having to hike with me and his Mimi.  Now let me just say this hike was a rugged hike.  Mimi fell once...and we all laughed.  She used a walking stick for most of it.  You went up a lot of steep hills and down the same.  You walked along the edges of some pretty steep drops down to the lake.  You went over trees and log bridges.  It was very natural and rugged terrain.  Probably not the best hike for a 3 and 6 year old, but the views were breathtaking.  That being said we were thinking we were almost through and then we kept going....then we thought it has to be almost done....and nope.  So after doing this thing of psyching ourselves out...out of the blue....Noah chimes....


When I started this hike I was Awesome....and now.....now.....now I'm just BULLSHIT!  BULLSHIT, that's all I am.

And everyone who wanted to go on this hike is BULLSHIT too!

My mom and I were rolling, it almost became impossible to finish due to the hysterics... but after another mile or so we and Mr. Bullshit had completed the hike.

The land of the mouse

So maybe you heard...we visited the Land of the Mouse again.  I know, the kids expectations on Disney is high now.

 Meredith and Noah have both been three times and Margot just experienced it for the first time.  It's honestly not the kids, it's me.  I love it.  I'd rather go to Disney, then some exotic island.  I guess I'm weird.

 But I'm going to be honest now, the mouse land, it did me in.  I promise we are not going back until Margot is about 4.  Even with an extra set of hands, it was exhausting.  Had we not brought my mom, I might have booked us all plane rides home mid-week.

 Oh I kid, the kids loved it.  Margot was a definite trooper.  She was so very tired, but she hung like naps were a thing of the past.  Poor baby asked to go to bed at 5pm the day we got home.

 Meredith and Noah saw Disney again for the first time, Noah was a baby (22 months & 11 months) on his first two trips so this was essentially like he was going for the first time again.  He was amazed.

This year we did more stuff in Disney than we ever had before.  I guess it was their ages.  Well Josh and I  and the two bigs, Mimi and Margot joined us here and there, in between naps and rests stops for Margot.

 Margot was scared to death of all the characters, she would scream frantically and run into her daddy's arms everytime one approached us.  By the end of the week, she loved them and thought they all should greet her personally and give her a hug. Her favorite characters were Pooh Bear, she cut a very long line of people and walked right up to him to plant this smooch on his lips!  And she also loved Thumper.

We were actually waiting in line to see Minnie Mouse about 100 feet away and she saw Thumper across the way and demanded to go see her.  So we go out of  a very long line to meet Minnie to go and see her.  Her favorite rides were the carousel, Dumbo and it's a small world.  Oh and FYI, best place to see the characters in my opinion is Animal Kingdom, best setup to stand in lines and cutest shots!

Meredith decided she was over princesses.  Instead she was enthralled with the lion king.  With her envelope of money she brought home the entire set of lion kings stuffed animals.....exciting! (Can you hear my sarcasm, it's there....I loathe allergen collectors stuffed animals.)  Nevertheless we now own several stuffed animals shaped like lions.  It wasn't what I would have picked, but it wasn't my money.

 This year, the kids got money in and envelope from their Mimi and when it was gone, it was gone.  Meredith waited all trip to spend hers, hemming and hawing and thinking long and hard about what she wanted.  Her favorite shows were The Festival of the Lion King, Muppets, Mickey's Philharmonic Orchestra and Beauty and the Beast.  Her favorite rides were tea cups, Dumbo, Peter Pan and It's a Small World.  She also rode her first roller coaster...Splash Mountain...and while she was so very nervous, she loved it.  And she also rode her first thrill ride...Test Track...she also loved that!

Noah loved Disney World, but he really loved was the transportation to and from Disney....the boats, buses, and the MONORAIL!  I could have skipped purchasing this guy a ticket and just put him on the monorail in the morning with some chicken nuggets and a coke and picked him back up at the end of the day.  He knew all the different colors that rode on the various tracks and could not wait to get on them.  It only added to the excitement that we stayed at the Contemporary, where monorails passed through the actual hotel.  Yes, exciting stuff indeed! (no sarcasm...seriously...loved this hotel!)  The highlight of his week was taking a picture with an actual monorail driver.  After he was finished he looked at her and said "One day I'm going to be a monorail driver just like you!"  To him it was like meeting Cinderella.

And he also did meet Cinderella and that confirmed what I already knew...my boy is a flirt!

Noah's favorite rides were Small World, The Track, and Peter Pan.  He cried because he wasn't tall enough for Test Track...I mean crocodile tears.

The trip was great, the kids had a blast.  It was also right around Noah's 4th birthday so we scored a Birthday pin and every person who worked at Disney from characters to food service workers told Noah Happy Birthday.  He had no clue how they all knew it was his birthday!  Super cute!

Disney was awesome, but next time we go I think I will require everyone be able to wipe their own asses first and entertain themselves happily and quietly on the plane.

The Beach

Last year we missed it,  but this year we loaded up the crew and our neighbor Kennedy and headed back to the beach.  We made sand castles, caught crabs, boogie boarded, floated in boats, played games, watched movies, rode go carts and rides, played putt-putt, had ice cream, got air brush shirts and had a really good time.  Meredith learned to boogie board.  Noah got in the ocean a lot without freaking out.  Margot LOVED the ocean and would scream when we took her out.  We found some awesome seashells....the kind you buy!

We went again with our good friends and neighbors,  and had a blast.  The kids enjoyed it too.  Thankfully Kennedy agreed to come along and be a 3rd set of hands and watch Margot during naps.  We could not have done it without her.

Here are the tikes at the beach....it's the best we could do.

Here is the boat....the kids loved the boat....hell I loved the boat.

My how we have changed....this years pic and here is last years.

And that my friends is all I really got for you.  I guess the camera stayed in the camera bag the entire trip.  But the memories, they will last a lifetime!

Spring Break - Lessons Learned

The sand is not my friend.

My kids love the sand.

The laundry doesn't take a week off too.

School takes up a lot of time.

Preschoolers do not get the term "sleeping in."

Neither do toddlers or babies.

Eating a picnic lunch at the beach is not nearly as fun as it sounds.

Other peoples children are a great source of entertainment for your children, almost like a babysitter.  However you will not feel anymore relaxed that day, then if you had to entertain them all day by yourself.

Being a mom is exhausting.

I never realized as a child that someone actually packed all the stuff we needed, kept drinks cold, fixed dinner, grocery shopped or all the other things that made my spring break vacations a vacation.

The beach is a fabulous place to be.

Call during Spring Break sucks.

The gulf is cold in March.  Very cold. 

Kids do not have an internal thermometer like adults.

I will never again go to the beach without my husband until everyone can carry their own shit, wipe their own ass, and feed themselves.

Kids have no concept on how much work it is for you to take them, they had an ABSOLUTE blast and so did I, once I was upacked.  Thank you so much Leslie!

Going somewhere with the older two is getting much easier.  Going somewhere with just Margot is easy.  Going somewhere with all three is like carting the circus around with you.

You are hard pressed to find a waitress wanting to take the table with 3 adults and 7 kids.

Sipping a strawberry abita in the afternoon with a friend while your children run wild is a spring break must.

I'm convinced if my house was smaller it would be less to clean and would always be neater.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Babies learning to crawl will do it at the beach and crawl off the blanket to load a fistful of sand into their mouth.

After they gag and choke on it and you fish it all out and clean them all up, they will inevitably do it AGAIN and AGAIN.

Babies can nap anywhere.

Josh does a whole lot more than I give him credit for.

Quantity does not equal quality.

Attempting Panera at noon with three kids by yourself is impossible. 

Three kids needing to poop in a public restroom at the same time is going to happen on spring break. 

Drive thrus were made for me. 

Traveling between meals is even better.

Unpacking is not easier than packing you can just take as long as you would like to do it, that is the advantage.

What lessons did you learn this spring break?

Beach Babe

Have you ever seen anything more peaceful?

A break....spring break to be exact.

Tomorrow I am taking this crew to the beach....minus the husband.  Wish me luck and sanity and an extra pair of hands.  It's gonna be a fun, wild ride.  I can't wait.  The yukon is loaded down and we pull out bright and early.  See you in a few days Josh and internets!

Day 4 - Rock City on top of Lookout Mountain

On our last full day in Chattanooga we headed back to the top of Lookout Mountain, but this time in Georgia to see Rock City.  This place is so gorgeous and worth the visit.  The kids were very in to climbing up the steps and into the caves.  The scenery was gorgeous and I took hundreds of pictures, here are a few of my favorites!

No idea why I am sporting the Chicago sweatshirt!  I've never even been!

The kids on their favorite thing, the swinging bridge.  It was a very long way down.  It didn't phase them at all.

Josh was very nervous though!

They wanted to go again, so Josh took them. Notice Noah trying to see down...brave, fearless boy!

Josh and the tikes on Lover's Leap, isn't the view gorgeous!

We let the kids sift for gold, they thought this was really neat.  Noah dumped his entire bag of sand and rocks in at once.

Meredith took her time.

Noah with his treasure!

Josh heading through "fat man's squeeze"

Meredith heading through "fat man's squeeze"

Me and my boy with a gorgeous view!

Meredith loved Fairyland Caverns

On the way out we stopped in a hand made leather store.  Noah got a new belt with his name on it, to help him hold up his pants...that are all too big!

And Meredith modeling her new leather purse!  A diva in the making!

We finished off our trip by heading back to our hotel where we dined on pizza in a train car and then played in the indoor pool and with some of the other kids there.  The tikes had a blast and said the trip was as much fun as Disney World!  It is a great family trip.  Let me know if you have any questions.  The next morning we headed home bright and early and while I was sad to see our vacation end, it's alway good to be home!

Day 3 - The Zoo and Creative Discovery Museum

On our third morning in Chattanooga we woke up and headed to see the train in the front.  One of our favorite things to do.

We did this everyone morning in hopes of seeing Sir Topham Hat.

Then we headed to the Chattanooga Zoo.  While it was very nice, it was very small and nothing to write home about, so I won't.  If you are in Chattanooga and need to fill time go ahead and go.  However we won't be going there again,once was plenty.  The highlight of the trip was the carousel ride.

And for Meredith seeing monkeys. They had lots of them, big ones, and my girl loves monkeys!

After the zoo we headed back to town to grab a quick bite and then go the the Creative Discovery Museum.  This place was awesome.  Made me want to move to Chattanooga!  I strongly suggest you visit the Discovery Center if you head to Chattanooga!  They had this awesome water play area that Noah loved!

I mean it was a really cool water area!

There was also a neat climbing structures complete with ladders and slides

An Arts & Crafts area to express your creativity!

A toddler area where you could do big things like adults.  Noah loved driving the car.

Although he didn't like having to give his sister a turn.  Look at that face!

There was a really neat dinosaur dig area

My two little anthropologists jumped right in.

Well Noah dug from the side lines

There was a tree house to play in.

And Meredith learned how to send baskets of food to the top

A reading corner that my two reading bugs spent a lot of time in!

And before we headed out, baby Margot and I got a brief check up at the local clinic

By two mad scientist experienced doctors.

After this we cruised around downtown and then headed to the arts district where we had the best dinner ever.  It was a quaint little Italian place that was delish!