Kind, Charitable, Warm, Loving, Giving, Hard Working, Funny.
These are words that only scratch the surface of Grandpa's endearing personality. We love him and will miss his stories and enthusiasm for life.
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Grandpa and the 4th Generation
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Bart, Charlie and Jane's Wish List (Not Anne!)
BART, Charlie and Jane think this is a family essential whereas Anne does not. You decide....(we all know what you are going to answer: "of course!") Be sure to watch the video and remember that it comes with 24 mini-figures!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Great Smokey Mountain National Park--From Arrrgh! View
This last week has been a great one! Who can complain when you have good mountain air to breath, a picnic to eat, trails to hike, a tent to sleep in, a communal bathroom, dirt under everyone's fingernails,--oh, wait. I'm losing my focus. Back on track--rain to smell, grande vistas to view, and your best friends to share it with? OK, so some people could complain about those things, but WE of the Family Crew could not. And while it did rain a little every day, THAT did not stop us--mostly because Bart is a little bit of a die hard. Did I say that out loud?? So, enjoy the next few posts (actually I think there are 9 total, if you can call that "a few") because we sure enjoyed making them!
For the Record: I had a WONDERFUL time! I just have to give Bart a hard time.
Hiking the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail (aka: The AT) touches 14 states going from Georgia to Maine and follows the North Carolina/Tennessee border here in the park. Since we studied about the AT in our backpacking course at CEU, we HAD to hike a piece of it!
As we learned, if it starts raining, no matter what time it is, Pack Up and Start Walking!
2 Miles down, 1,970 more to go!
Here we are on the trail. Bart forgot his socks, but don't worry. We found some for him to wear!
Hiking
The hiking was so fun here. Different than we've done before, but fun. In the West the views are readily available. You can see far and wide. Here there are trees, trees, trees. And it's beautiful and green. Because of the clouds (the smoke of the Smokies), the view wasn't always grand, but white fog. Still, when the air did open up for us to see, it was breathtaking.
Charlie loved the back pack. If Bart put the backpack on without him in it, Charlie would follow behind saying, "I sit! I sit!"
Jane tolerated the backpack. Her favorite game was Pull-Mom's-Hair-So-She'll-Whip-Me-With-Her-Pony-Tail.
This is one of the few times "the blue one" was used properly and not as a light saber.
Awww...
It became apparent after our first hike that kids are the ultimate "conversation opener" and we began to hear a variety of comments. Here are some of our favorites:
- "Now THAT's the way to travel!" or "I wish someone'd carry me like that!" or some variation thereof: we heard this >30
- "That's the prettiest backpack I've ever seen!" (Said of Jane)
- "My wife'll carry the baby if you carry me down."
- "OH! Fellow sufferers!" (this guy had a kid pack of his own)
- "C'mon guys!" Said to the kids. "You gotta start pullin' your own weight!"
Wild Life
There were a variety of animals that we saw. Elk, deer, salamanders, wild turkeys, all kinds of scary "buds" (bugs), and the highlight of our trip: A Mama Bear and her two cubs!
Elk were reintroduced to the Smokies in 2001-2. There are now 90 here.
We saw this bull, cow, and two calves our first night here. (Can you see the second baby?)
We saw this little guy at Laurel Falls. Apparently there is a huge population of salamanders in GSMNP, but we only saw one.
Mama Bear do-do-do
(you know, like Mama Shark?)
Baby Bears 1 and 2
To Boldly Go Where Several Little Boys Have Gone Before
Charlie could barely contain his excitement the second we got to our camp site. This boy takes after his daddy! Put him outdoors and he very literally IS a happy camper!
One funny story: Of course Charlie started jumping off of everything as soon as we got out of the car, and the big rocks separating our campsite from the driveway were no exception. He did stop, however, and consult me, "Mom. Poo!" about the moss covering said rocks. They did look a little fishy.
Learning the true ways of the force.
There's something about throwing rocks into a body of water...
Magic Tricks: Poof! My hands are dirty! and Disappearing into a Tree.
We've moved on from Buzz Lightyear and are now Superman!!
(complete with theme song on command by Mom and Dad)
Sneaky Jane
Jane did well on her first major camping trip. We could hardly put her down because she insisted on putting EVERYTHING in her mouth! One time I set her down on a blanket and not 5 seconds later I looked down to see her cheeks puffed out. Silly girl had a big rock in her mouth! I'm still not quite sure where she got it...
All this beautiful scenery was great for an amateur photographer. Especially with such a cute guinea pig!
Two Peas In A Pod
Here Jane wants to get in the water with Charlie.
Charlie and Jane had fun together on this trip. They laughed at each other in the car and worried about where the other was on the trail. We stopped several times while hiking so Charlie could give, "Bah-bee tiss." (translation: "Baby kiss.")
And Who Could Leave Out The Scenery?
From the fields to the waterfalls and riverbeds to the views, this place was AWESOME!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The Temple
Saturday we went to the temple and traded off watching the kids and going in. It was so nice! The temple is small (like Monticello, UT), but beautiful (of course). It made for a nice day.
"There is beauty all around, when there's love at home..."
"HI-YAH!!!"
Just for the record: Bart said this is one of those "perfect moment" pictures, that nothing really happened, but it's still pretty funny!
Activities At The Temple
While Bart was watching, Charlie and Jane had snacks,
and Charlie played in the trees.
It's a good thing temple worthiness is what's INSIDE you, not outside you or Charlie here would be in TROUBLE.
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