Six States-- CHECK!

 Randy had work in North Carolina, so we decided to make a vacation of it and check of SIX STATES in one weekend!  As it turns out, it only took us mere hours once we landed!

Randy, coming from Austen, Texas, landed in Atlanta, Georgia just 2-hours before I did.  We drove about an hour to stay overnight near South Carolina, getting a bit more of the driving out of the way.  The next morning, we drove just 8-miles to check off our Second State-- Georgia being the first.

We hit the western tip of South Carolina and then turned north for our next state.  Tennesse and North Carolina came next, with us driving through the Appalachian Mountains.  Little known fact: I grew up saying App-a-lay-shun mountains.  Locals call them the App-a-latch-ens.  

We felt so fortunate to have hit the drive during the beauty of Fall.  Little did we know, these colors pale in comparison to the Smokey's coming up tomorrow!

We then came to the literal road between Tennessee and Virginia to go on a hike where Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky meet.

Tri-State Park 1.2 miles...

It had some extremely steep climbs.  It may have been in the 50's, but we were nice and warm on this hike!

We are standing in three places at once!!!

Five States in just Five hours, Six States in less than 24!!

To split up the rest of the drive, we decided to stay closer to the State Park than to Randy's convention location, so we drove back to North Carolina.  While getting ready for bed, Randy jolted.  "Steph, I don't remember reserving a hotel room for tomorrow."  He hadn't.  He quickly found a close Hilton that would allow him to travel to and from the convention in one day.  Little did we know it would end up being the BEST MISTAKE YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE!!  Instead of heading directly to Cherokee, North Carolina, we headed a bit south towards Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  Not only did this allow us to drive through the Smokey Mountains, but we passed a place that we had never heard of, but will take our kids to one day!!  Pigeon Forge, Tennessee!!  

I had heard the phrase Dollywood, but never really understood what it was.  I know now-- it is a Disneyland of the South!  But to get there, you drive through Pigeon Forge, which is miles and miles and miles of attractions on both sides of the main road.  Ropes course, go-karts, mini-golf, roller coasters, museums, dinner theaters of ALL kinds, and AMAZING architecture!

Just neat!  We could not even take it all in!!!  Even after driving slowly up and down the same street, we both said we know we didn't catch it all.  One day, we'll come back to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee!!!

"Now hiring people that show up"  Hilarious but sad at the same time that this is where we are in the world right now.  

Once we got through Pigeon Forge, you literally enter Great Smokey Mountain National Forrest.

At this exact moment, a breeze picked up and blew leaves all around us, making it feel as if we were being transported into a magical land.  The colors of Fall were so vibrant, you almost couldn't look away.

We were in awe as we pulled onto the main street of Gatlinburg.  Shops lining either side of the street, cars everywhere, and so many people walking the streets that you almost couldn't see past them to all the shops.  It had the feel of another country, another time, another world.  Surrounded by the colors and ambiance, it was just undescribable.  Our hotel was seconds away from our entrance into the city, which was wonderful to be able to park and get out to walk.  We immediately knew we wanted to take the sky ride!

Melting Pot for dinner.  It was an experience, but we both agree not worth the money.

We then went to Ripley's Believe It or Not.  SO MUCH FUN!!

Favorite exhibit: Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry out of MATCHSTICKS!

This one made me laugh...

These are made out of dog hair.  I laugh because my Dad took some of Mira's hair to make fly fishing flies.  The first time he used them, he caught a fish not long after casting it out.  Maybe I need to start a dog hair business...

We ended off the night at a local ice cream parlor.  We decided to share it since they were so big!  We got the Snickers flavor which had an entire Snickers Bar shoved in the center.  It was definitely worth the 40-minute wait!

We woke on Sunday and had breakfast at Shoney's buffet and then Randy left for his convention.  On the way, he stopped at another hike we were thinking of doing.

He said it was quite the hike even though it was paved.  A steady incline with seats all the way up.  The views were incredible, said he. 

While he was away from 10:00am to 7:00pm. I did a workout, watched whatever I wanted, and plucked up the courage to walk by myself in an unknown town to Ripley's Aquarium .5 miles away from our hotel.  If you know me-- this was a HUGE decision, of which I am dang proud of myself.

I took as long as I wanted at each exhibit.  In order of time/favorite: Sharks, Rays, Jelly Fish, Sea Horses, Penguins.  I left as the sun was going down, walking quickly because I don't like being out by myself alone as it is, but in the dark had me really nervous.  I got back to the hotel, locked the door, and sighed a HUGE sigh of relief as I hugged myself in pride.  I had done it.  All by myself!

We woke, ate, and made our way to the Knoxville airport (which is actually the Tyson McGee airport) for our flights home.  When I flew down by myself, they asked if I would gate-check my bags because they knew the overhead compartments would be full.  Since I carry everything I needed, I did, picking it up at the carousel when I arrived in Georgia.  It was SO NICE to have just one small bag in hand as I switched flights and airports.  So when they asked if we'd do that in Knoxville, I asked Randy if we could.  He was SERIOUSLY hesitant, telling me he really didn't want to, but I was insistent that I wanted to and that I liked it so much more.  He relented.  

Randy "Do you allow us to board early if we voluntarily check these?" Knoxville, "No."  Randy, "Really?  Other airports do."  Knoxville, "..."  That should have tipped me off to the outcome of my decision to check them...

While waiting at the gate to board our flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis, "If you check your bags, we'll upgrade you to Comfort Plus boarding."

Arrival in Pasco at 8:00pm (10-hours since we took off from Tyson McGee)-- Your Bags are currently on a flight to SLC...

The woman in Knoxville had checked our bags in but not put them on the plane...

We didn't get our bags until 9:00am today...

Knoxville, Tennessee-- We could both live there!!!  I love vacationing with Randy when someone else pays for his hotel, flights, and food!!  I think our count is down to just 9 states left, all of which could be traveled in just one day, as they are all the small states of the East.  I cannot wait!!!

Costume

And just like that, I'm now a Costume!!

 

Hypertension

 To Document:

While Randy price matched over-the-counter drugs in Walmart, I randomly sat down on the Blood Pressure station without clear thought.  I was just passing the time.  Little did I know, I was about to learn something new about myself.  Having never experienced high blood pressure in my life, even during pregnancy and delivery, I got a high Diastolic Blood Pressure reading.  Stage 1.  High Blood Pressure runs in my family.

I find it so ironic that during the most stressful time of my life where I didn't watch what I ate one bit, didn't exercise a single minute, and basically lived while drowning-- normal-for-me low blood pressure.

2021: macro diet for first six months, low sodium, exercise 4x each week, NO STRESS-- high blood pressure.  I am now being monitored.

I guess you can't out-run, out-eat, out-rest your genes...

Temple Tenderness

 My heart...

Inverted Yoga

 Jamie has two Aerial Trapeeze's, so we decided to try our hand at Inverted Yoga.  Some of the moves made me feel like knives were shredding my eyeballs out, so, sadly, our Yoga days were numbered, but I did love the Meditation at the end of each video.

Seriously, I wish it didn't negatively affect me as much as it does.  I LOVED it!!

Reflecting

 As I came back again and again to how crazy it feels that my baby is 12, I went back to my blog to show Tyson one of my favorite baby memories of his-- when he'd stroke his face and head while being fed...

-- I came across some other fun memories that had us all going, "AWE!!!"

Tyson and Jonathan, just one day apart!

The one above slammed me like a ton of bricks.  Back then, when I was in love with Brennon always said, "What!," I could have NO IDEA that we'd later find out that he has Auditory Processing Disorder.  Where it once was adorable, it is now proof that Brennon has always struggled to hear and understand verbal communication!

Brennon has always been the peacemaker, snuggly, loving child, but if you ever ticked him off, he'd just stare at you without cracking even the tiniest smile, even if everyone else around the table was busting up laughing in your face.  We love the memories of this death stare!

And who can forget those chubby ROLLS?!  My goodness, I am the luckiest girl in the world having the kids that I do!!

Tween Tyson!

 Where has the time gone?!  I cannot believe my Ender is 12!!!

Parents' Lunch at Taco Bell.  He's just like Caden when it comes to his favorite restaurant.

We then drove directly to the Verizon store.  Tempered hope, "So, what are we doing here?"  He was SO EXCITED to get a phone.  We traded in Randy's old iPhone 8Max.  There were a few hiccups, so we ran a tad late to be able to get everything squared away before Brennon and Tyson had the last of their State Testing to go to.  He was able to find out his phone number before we had to leave Randy to finish.  We were all secrets until everything was finalized.

When we got back from the Testing, Tyson called all of his siblings as a way to let them know his gift surprise.  It was SO MUCH FUN to see his excitement and how he wanted to surprise his siblings.  His reaction to it all made the gift-giving feel amazing.

He was massively spoiled this year!

He didn't want a birthday party this year, even though he had the choice with it being his 12th birthday.  All he wanted was to hang out with his best friend Jaxson.  We went go-karting and had a BLAST!!!

First Drive Scores...

Second Drive Scores...

I'd like to think Randy suggested another session because he really wanted me to drive with them (I had chosen to stay behind to 1) get pictures, and most especially 2) watch my kids have a blast), but I know his true reason was that he had so much fun and wanted to go for longer.  

Third Drive Scores...

Brennon doesn't normally allow his competitive spirit to come out to play often, but once I got onto that track, Brennon was ALL concentration.  The way he bragged about passing me on the track would have made anyone that hadn't witnessed it wonder if he'd won an actual prize!  I'm not one to try and sneak past in a tight spot, so I stayed pretty much on the fringe and drove as fast as I could.  Brennon, new goals set high, sped past me in a spot that I NEVER would have passed in a million years.  

If the smiles I had that hurt my cheeks while watching were any indication of how much fun the night was, they were nothing compared to the smiles I had while driving and then again on the drive home while we all reflected on our own drives.  SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

All that driving and competitive drive (see what I did there?!) made us ravenous, so back to Taco Bell for us!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TYSON!!!  WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Trench

 The landscapers came out today and dug the footings for the block wall.  I immediately noticed that it wasn't straight with the house on the front edge, so they came out and fixed it.  Meaning they dug another large trench and filled in the one that wasn't right.  Time-consuming mistake, but not too bad.

Tyson loves this trench.

Can you spot him?

For, Four, or 4?

 Brennon and Tyson have state testing for the next two days.  These tests were postponed from the end of last year due to covid.  Since they're going to a public school online with another school district in the state, I was worried that we may need to drive to a testing site further away, so I was pleasantly surprised it was just 15 minutes away.  

In the emails they sent, they made it very clear that we were not to check in early, so we arrived and waited in our car even though there were many parents and kids standing outside in the 46-degree weather.  No thanks.  I was a little peeved that they didn't even open the doors till 8:36am.  It took us a while to get signed in and find our table.  They'd had us download some special sites for the test, so we sat down, opened our computers, and waited.  Only, Brennon's computer decided to give us a blank white screen.  We turned it off and tried again three times.  This is where my anxieties kicked into overdrive.  I had done what they asked.  I'd been there on time, with everything they asked me to bring, but the technology wasn't working.  I don't do technology!  I was relieved when they said they'd brought extra computers just in case.

Except, it wasn't charged.  So instead of Tyson and Brennon sitting at the table together, they'd chosen way in the back corner, Brennon was now moved to a table near the wall outlet, surrounded by three other kids he didn't know, leaving Tyson isolated by himself.  They'd been a bit nervous, to begin with, knowing it was an important state test, but being separated like that boosted their nerves.  Right before I left, I asked where I needed to leave the information they'd told me to bring about an ID#.  The woman said, "Oh, that's weird, I check your child in.  I don't know why they sent that."  I thanked her, wished my boys well, and walked out.  The original time of the test was from 8:30am-10:30am.  It was 9:14am.

As I drove home, talking with Randy about how stressful it had been, I contemplated what time I should head back to pick them up.  They hadn't even started 45-minutes later and were nowhere near ready, so should I push back the pickup time or just show up at 10:30am?  In the end, I chose to sit in the waiting area so my boys could have me near as soon as they were finished.  I'll always choose being bored in a waiting room or car if it means my kids have me close by for anything.  It ended up being the best decision.

The second my boys saw me, they grabbed their stuff and hurried over to me.  "Mom, we didn't even start!"  I thought they were joking.  Nope!  The internet hadn't worked for them, so they sat the entire time as their screens were loading.  That was what had been the trouble with Brennon's white screen-- it was loading!  Three women from WAVA, all teachers that were sitting in to monitor the test in a place unfamiliar to them as it was to us, were in charge of 50 kids for state testing, and not a single child was able to finish.  When Brennon said, "That was just so stressful for me," I told him I heard him, but consider how it felt for the women!  "There will be time to work on ELA tomorrow after you've finished your Math.  If you need more time, Brennon come with Tyson when he takes his Science on Wednesday."  I sure hope they figure out the internet!

You know how we say "S, as in Stephanie," to help those hard of hearing know which letter to put?  Well, Brennon, wanting to do everything perfectly despite his hearing disability.  After all, it is Brennon that hears "extra fries" when someone says "exercise."  So he listened intently as she told him the testing name to put in, but was confused when it was much longer than was allowed.  "Mom, she kept saying F for Frank, but it wasn't fitting!!  She asked me if Caps was on-- they weren't.  She asked me if I was certain I was listening.  Another boy helped me.  I was just confused whether she meant for me to put 'for,' 'four,' or the actual number 4!"  It hit me.  He still didn't know what he was doing wrong as he told me the story, because the other kid had fixed the problem for him.  He didn't realize that she meant just the F and was differentiating it from S, which would have been what his true problem would have been.  But she was saying F FOR Frank, not F, AS IN Frank.  He took that very literally in his fight for perfection.  That's how Brennon has to think every single time someone speaks.  His brain hears things wrong nearly every word, so he needs to work fast to understand context, vocabulary, and figure everything out in a breath.  Poor kid!

Here's to hoping they figure out this internet before we go tomorrow!

Science

 Tyson and I are learning more about the earth and the rock cycle.  So, so interesting.  In an effort to have even more fun, the boys and I took a field trip to Target to get a few experiments.

This started off as a small, half-spherical white stone that felt like chalk.  In 12-hours, it looked like this.  Crystals are so neat!

Then we mined for gems.

Just to be sure we got them all...

We also wanted to "grow" rocks...

9-hours later...

After we mined and got the other two experiments started, Tyson and I took another field trip to Zales: The Diamon Store.  I could remember a few things about gems, diamonds, and precious metals, so I thought it would be fun for him to see a bunch and talk with a sales assistant.  Little did I know that I'd have my mind blown!

*Rubies and Sapphires are the same gems, just different colors!

*They now have LAB-CREATED DIAMONDS!!!  Made from... wait for it... DIAMOND SEEDS!!  They aren't as expensive as actual, mined diamonds, but they are still more expensive than cubic zirconia.  They are classified as true diamonds but have to be engraved with a number to differentiate them from mined diamonds.  Their color and clarity are as close to flawless as you can imagine since they are made in a lab.

Tyson: "That was pretty much the neatest field trip I have ever been on."  It was definitely memorable for me, too!

Puppy

 I would love to get her a puppy.  In theory.

4- Years

 

To: Shelby

Shelby wrote herself this note tonight, to help her process the feelings of Caden's 4-year anniversary tomorrow.  I'm thinking it could be a motivational speaking visual aid for everyone.  Oh, how I love her tender feelings, brave face, and courageous heart.
 

Outgrown?

Tyson: "I love that I can grip the front with my toes."