Equipment Check!

For our next soccer game.  I highly recommend one of these to anyone who has kids who play an outdoor sport like soccer.  Such an easy set up and works really well!  We tried it out at our game and I can't believe I've gone all this time without one.  It helped so much by blocking the wind which made me feel so much warmer.  Bobby let another mom sit in it with me while he stood behind it freezing.  She had a little girl who was able to put a blanket down int he back and keep warm back there.  She loved it!  It didn't hurt that Bobby was feeding her pudding cups and other snacks the whole time as well.  This may be our best buy ever!.LOL  $54.00 at Meijer.  Will work in the heat to keep the sun off of us too!  I think we will get tons of use out of this.  Many of the parents wanted to know where we got it and how much it was.  I expect to see more tents popping up along the sidelines soon.

Bye Bye Buddy

It's like Animal Planet around here!  I receive pictures of spiders and bugs every day while at work.  Bobby loves his new phone and the camera that it has.  He has become friends with an Orb Weaver spider who has taken up residence in the front flower bed.  He takes pictures of her all the time.  As you can see...

Unfortunately, the other day tragedy struck...

THIS...came along and ate the poor little orb weaver.  Here she is eating a bee that was stuck in the spiders web...after she ate Miss Spider.  I think Bobby is really bummed about his little buddy being Mantis Munch. No more pics of his little spider.  We have ALL seen the pictures and heard the story so I thought I'd share it here too.  LOL  

Laynie...the Neighbor

A new girl moved in down the street.  Her name is Laynie.  Jayke played with her all weekend.  She picks on him non-stop which leads me to believe that she could end up becoming the first girlfriend!  She went home and put on this all black out fit so that they could sneak around the neighborhood and spy on people together.  Jayke seems disgusted with her most of the time...another thing that leads me to believe she could become the first girlfriend.  LOL

Time to Decorate

Halloween decorating in progress.  Nemo looks a little worried about that flock heading towards him!

First Fall Travel Game

I have to think they are probably making plans for the evening.  

"You ARE coming to the card party tonight, right?"

LOL

We lost both games but there was a huge improvement in the team.  Also, there was a HUGE improvement in Jayke's play.  I think he has a lot more confidence now that he has all players on his team who he knows and has played with in the past...including his best friend, Mason.  It was a lot more fun to watch and I'm looking forward to our next game and our FIRST WIN!

My Gardener...Avoiding the Germs

I have been sick!  My souvenir from Gatlinburg.  Lucky for me, I have someone who made it his goal in life to make me comfortable and feel as good as possible considering my illness.  It was entertaining watching him run back and forth to the store trying to come up with something that would miraculously cure me.  Many bowls of chicken noodle soup were served, many cough drops were consumed, and many tissues were used and I'm finally getting over whatever nastiness had invaded my body.

He was entertaining too...

Walking through the living room without pause, 

"I sure would like to find the son-of-a-bitch who threw that grenade in our closet."

Guess that is a hint that I need to clean my half of the closet.

World's Fair...Circa 1982

While driving through Knoxville on our way home I kept seeing this gold ball off in the distance.  I knew it looked familiar but couldn't place it.  Finally it dawned on me that it looked so familiar because I had seen it before.  In 1982 when the World's Fair was held here.  The gold ball is called the sunsphere and is still standing in World's Fair Park.  I wish we had had more time.  It would have been fun to stop and see if I actually recognized any of the park.  I was only 10 years old when we went to that fair and barely remember it but maybe if we walked through the park something would come back to me...after all, I remember the ball.

Cade's Cove

On our last day in Gatlinburg we decided we should hop in the car and go see some of the surrounding area. We didn't really know where we were going...just started driving.  We ended up in Cade's Cove.  This is where Jayke went over the summer with his dad.  They went horseback riding while there.  We did not.  We didn't have time since we got there close to dusk and the park closes at dusk.  

We made it in before it closed and got lucky.  Dusk is a really good time to go for wild life viewing.  

Waterfall on the way to Cade's Cove

This little grey fox ran right up to our car.  We saw a bunch of deer playing and wild turkeys too.  No bears though.  We ended up being stuck in the woods in the park for a long time.  The traffic was not moving and it got dark while we were there.  Kind of creepy and it didn't help that Bobby wanted to discuss zombies, vampires, and werewolves while we were stuck in there.  The wind picked up and rain was moving in as well.  We finally made it out and narrowly missed having a very large dead tree branch crash down on the car while driving back.  Seemed like we had been in there forever and we were all starving by the time we got out.  That little jaunt probably should have been better planned but we enjoyed it regardless.

My budding photographers

Us

Our first picture together.  

More of our Trip

The final Ripley's exhibit we went to was the Mirror Maze which just happened to be inside the Ripley's Candy Store.  How convenient.  While in the maze there was a really little boy who kept running through the halls filled with mirrors.  His parent were following him but not keeping up.  I knew what was about to happen.  Sure enough, pretty soon we heard a VERY loud thonck!  That kid hit that mirror wall with his head so hard I thought for sure he would be unconscious.  There was a lot of screaming to follow.  Then a few minutes later...he did it again!  I'm sure there has to be a couple of huge knots on his head.  My kid was warned and managed NOT to knock himself silly in that thing.

  TO

And here is the ONE thing he wanted to do that we did not.  First of all, too expensive.  Second, chance of rain and I was not about to get stuck on that thing in a downpour half-way up the mountain.  And last but not least, my over whelming fear of heights...which has apparently gotten a lot worse with age.  Our hotel balcony terrified me.  If I got close to the rail my legs would start to ache, from the height.  It was ridiculous.

Below is one of my favorite pics from the trip...Bobby (and Jayke) at the Penguin Playhouse.  I love how Bobby is posing and Jayke is like WTH back there in the little cave.  I'm sure he was irritated with us about something that wasn't going his way.  

He did agree to stand next to the penguin so I could take his picture having a GREAT time too!  lol

I Have a Horror Fan on My Hands

Jayke's favorite thing on our trip was the haunted adventure we went on.  Basically a haunted house is all it was but they had a couple of tricks I hadn't seen before.  This is the haunted house that was next to our hotel.  He begged to go through this one but we ran out of time.  

I was shocked he made it through the one we did go through.  It was pretty scary!  Bobby led the way for our group.  Jayke went right behind him, grasping his shirt tail as tight as he could and I went behind Jayke.  I held onto both Jayke AND Bobby.  It was pitch black in there and even though I knew it was fake, still scary at times.  That is why I say I'm surprised Jayke made it through.  It was his very first haunted house. There was a moment in a section that had a live actor who was supposed to be in an insane asylum that he got a little uncertain.  He grasped my hand tighter, said Mommy softly, then trudged on.  When we got out he asked if we could do it again!

Instead of doing the haunted house again we went to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum.  

Note:  Those crazy double jointed arms LOOK like they belong in Ripley's Believe it or Not!

Another fun little museum but after all of those attractions we were exhausted!  Jayke got to go back to his big comfy bed he was so fond of!

The view from our balcony of the observation tower you could go up in.  

Guinness...Not the Beer

After the aquarium we headed to the Guinness World Record Museum.  I was kind of surprised Jayke was interested in this but he certainly was!  All he had talked about since we told him we were going was getting a Guinness Book of World Records.  Look at his face in front of that giant ball of rubber bands!  He actually LOOKS excited.  I was just excited to get out of the sweltering heat.

Jayke with the world's tallest man replica.

World's largest shark

Michael Jordan memorabilia

World's oldest man...we think they may be related...

I don't even know what this was... 

He enjoyed the museum and was ready for more!  I was ready for bed.

Just a Picture Post...of the Acquarium in Gatlinburg

Some shots from our trip to Ripley's Acquarium of the Smokey's.  I planned this trip on my lunch break(with the help of Bobby, of course) the day before we went.  I must say we did a darn good job...it turned out to be a great little Labor Day trip!  I don't think we could have fit much more in.  This is only one of the many things we did.  The acquarium was really nice.  I still really like the acquarium in Atlanta but this one may have beat it for their underwater tunnel that gave you a really unique view of the sharks.

The Jelly fish were probably my favorite!

Doesn't he looked thrilled to be in there?  I made him go, of course.

This was taken in the tunnel looking up at the sharks swimming overhead.

We did the acquarium, the Guiness World record museum, the Ripley's Believe it or not museum, the Ripley's Haunted Adventure, and the Ripley's Mirror maze all for $150.00 for 3 people!  That is a really good price and we were thrilled with all of the attractions.  Jayke loved it!  The only time he was unhappy is when we took a break to let the old people rest.  That, and the fact I didn't let him ride the ski lift up the mountain.  Other than that, he was thrilled!  I can't wait to go on another trip.  I am planning one already!