I will endeavor to do better with updating this page! I have gotten really behind on news bits!
However, this entry is dedicated to the celebration of sweet Emme’s 4th birthday! I have been doing a bit of online scrapbooking, let’s see if I can get this working properly.
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Yesterday was so amazing, I don’t even know where to begin. Let me just say that it made ALL the difference to us, we SO needed that day.
I have not mentioned April here, but she is my internet bud of about 4? years. She lives in Nova Scotia, a full 27 hrs away. However, she and her husband decided to vacation in TN this year so they could attend Bonaroo, and then they swung by here on the way home.
They are so cool and fun. Our husbands didn’t know much of one another but clicked instantly. You know how rare it is to have a couple where both the husbands and the wives all click perfectly. They loved the kids, the kids loved them….
…There was even a love affair with the dog.
Yesterday, thanks to IL’s, the 4 of us hung out all day. We went to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forgel, and the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. They were amazed by everything they saw and took gazillions of pictures. Their enthusiasm for it all made it all that more fun, as if just by living here, we had the right to show it off.
At one point, we took a scenic motor tour through the park. There are areas where you can get out and walk a ways to something back in the woods to see. There was a sign for an easy hike that would take about 30 mins total. Us girls did not have walking shoes on, but we decided we could do it. While we were in the thick forest, a thunderstorm broke out. It was the strangest sensation at first because we could hear a torrential downpour, but all the trees shaded us from it. It took a while, but eventually we were all soaked and loving it, like we were little kids. (The rain was warm, it wasn’t lightning, just booming loudly)
Unfortunately, the rain and low light, coupled with my lack of knowledge on how to overcome these when taking pictures, didn’t make for very good pictures. There still is some appeal, imo. To me, they look sort of impressionistic, which happens to be my favorite type of art.
The path got too tricky for the sandals I was wearing. It would have been fine while it was dry, but too slippery/rocky for it to be wet. Anyway, the “boys” went on ahead, and us girls went back the way we came. We got back to the car first, and by the time they got back, they were like a couple of 9yr olds back from campout. High on adrenaline from stalking a deer in the woods and seeing a turkey. Who cares if they were soaking wet! That just added to the fun! They are bonded for life now, in that macho way that males do. Out in nature, just them and the animals.
We also showed them the gem mine at Pigeon Forge, one of our particular favorite spots. April had a craving for Krispy Creme, and we came out of there with 2 dozen, which we were supposed to split. Came home and played Texas Hold em and fixed a late supper.
It was so nice to be carefree and not worry about the kids. No extra beings to keep track of, just ourselves. It hasn’t been that way in 8 years. No where to be, no worries, just living in the moment, taking in nature.
Here’s the best part: They are discussing maybe moving here in a couple years after April graduates. Seems so crazy to me, but there are a lot of bonuses besides the fact they are enamored of the Smokies. I SO hope that actually happens, but even if it doesn’t, it’s still fun to think about.
Here we are, pretending to be dried up old hillbilly prune women. That was the thought anyway.
All in all, we are all closer. April and I and the guys and I can’t speak for them, but it was a real shot in the arm for K and I as well. We really needed it. It was a true vacation. No worries, just fun and relaxation. And we didn’t even have to leave home! After they left this morning, it was such a letdown. We looked at each other and said “Well. Now what?” Back to our boring life I guess. And the Krispy Kreme’s of which I’ve had 3 today.
Now I have to skip dinner. Oh well. It was leftovers anyway.
Happily,
Pollyanna
