Visit with Grandma & Papa Larry

I have to apologize ahead of time, I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. Granda Patti and Papa Larry arrived Sunday afternoon. We all played some Phase 10 (I should have taken pictures - Papa Larry insisted Morgan play with us and he helped her through the first couple of phases...so cute) that afternoon/evening.

Here you can see Morgan just loves curling up with Grandma Patti, but she refused to show her face!

So pretty!

Monday we were treated to a move, "Ice Age 3" - it was so great! Thank you for the movie and treats! Then the boys had Kenpo at 4:30PM and for once, I sat in and watched instead of working out. I think Grandma and Papa enjoyed it just as much as I did.

Here are the boys in their stance, getting ready to begin.
Kolton

Kaden

Spectators

Stretching

Sparring, before the official beginning.

The boys sparring. Sensei Vic was putting them through 3 minute rounds, but stopping after each point so that they can learn what counts and what doesn't. Kaden got his knee whacked and had to take a minute to let the pain subside.

Kaden sparring with another student, who he accidentally poked in the eye.

Kolton sparring with Sensei Vicky (Sensei Vic's daughter), they really go at her...giving her a run for her money. Kolton at one point caught her leg, so she got a little more aggresive and kicked Kolton, landing on his face. She felt really bad, but later Kolton accidentally clocked her in the face...so they were even.

Kaden sparring with Sensei Vicky, he is much more aggresive towards her than Kolton, we keep telling him to go at Kolton like he does Vicky...that what happens in the class, stays in the class.

Kolton sparring against the other student, both boys go a little easier on him since he's less aggressive than the boys.

Kolton's shiner, if you look closely you can see under his right eye it's a little red. Of course, there's no mark today.

The boys sparring.

Mattress Fun

How many kids can fit on a twin mattress?

Bring on the Fireworks!

Ride to the clubhouse

Setting up

Chilling & Waiting

She's a goner - she was asleep before the fireworks began.

Family Fun

We had a full house this year for the 4th of July. My folks came from Kansas, Jamie's dad and stepmom came from Kansas, and my sister and her family came up from Birmingham. Our neighborhood puts on a firework display every year, so my family was lucky to join us for it. Here you can see that it's finally cooled off enough for us to be outside wasting time until we headed to the clubhouse.

The older boys really enjoyed the fireworks this year.

Jason, Jeannie, and Ella

Ella got ahold of someone's water bottle.

Took a drink, then dumped it out!

My sweet sister, Jeannie.

Didn't know Jason was still taking pictures:

My smokin' hot husband - hahahaha!

Me and Jamie

Trampoline Fun

Grandpa Frank and Grandma Becky actually jumped on the trampoline with the kids, briefly - Kelsey, Morgan, and Cole LOVED it!!

Morgan and her Papa

Boys' Weekend @ Fall Creek Falls (Day 2)

Day 2 at Fall Creek Falls started off with some breakfast at the cabin, and then a horse-back ride through the Smokies for about an hour. After the ride, we were determined to find the trail that led to the bottom of the 'Falls and jump into the shallows.

There were only five to our party - us three, the guide, and a little girl who seemed to be a regular professional.

Kaden had the better horse this time, as Kolton's seemed to not be so "Sparky" as his name eluded to. Later on, we figured out he had tightened the reigns a bit around the saddle - essentially driving with the brake on. The horse was probably getting a little confused since Kolt was also (gently) kicking him to pick up the pace. Kaden had a similar experience with his horse outside of Pigeon Forge last year. My horse (Doc) kept creeping a little too close to Sparky until Sparky farted on him. Doc seemed to keep his distance after that. Overall, a great ride, and the boys were able to see a doe dart across the path as we were strolling through.

This is another picture of the Falls. The little white specks at the bottom are people. We intend to be those people....we've heard horror stories about the hike back up though. I've got a bet with the boys on how much longer it will take to come back up versus the hike down. We'll see who wins...

Boys are initially pumped for the journey. I'm cautiously anxious. It hasn't hit 95 degrees yet, and the humidity hasn't set in.

The boys though this was a race. Why do boys have to run EVERYWHERE?!?! I started getting worried as people coming back up the trail seemed to be needing a hospital bed, an IV, and some oxygen.

A nice (out of breath) gentleman returning from his trip to the bottom offered to take a pic of all three of us! ALRIGHT! This part actually reminds me of an area back in Kansas.

The boys thought it would be kewl to take a picture of them doing the one-arm spider man thingy. I must admit I was impressed by their stamina at this point.

Down Down Down.

Just about there! Only 20 minutes in!!!

Made it! The tricky part was the rocks close to the water. They were extremely slippery.

All three of us took our turns freezing out rears off and jumping in the water. Kaden is the photographer for this pic. Before he took it, he had actually scaled up on the large rock on the right of this photo.

Kolton had to stake his claim on the rocks, and attempted to pioneer a path to the back of the falls. The signs say not to, but he was feeling brave (and I was giving him a little slack in his leash).

Here's a video of Kaden and Kolton going their separate way (again). Kaden disappears into the forest like an elf, and Kolton is climbing the mountain like a ram with a purpose.

On the way back now. You'll note that this is the only picture I took of that part of the journey, and it was taken at the genesis of our return trip. Believe it or not, it took us less time to get back up. I guess you have to use a little more caution going down. But that doesn't (by any stretch of the imagination) imply that the trip up was easier. We all collapsed when we reached the van.

So, there's really not a lot of places to eat in Spencer, TN. We had grown fond of the gas station buffet and the bait shop by the liquor store (which grilled a mean catfish). Silly us, we forgot we were in the Bible Belt, and no-one is open on Sundays. We had to travel quite a ways to locate a store, and bought some ribeyes. A little marinade and seasoning, and we were up and cooking back at the cabin! The boys claim that these were some of the best steaks they have eaten!

Kaden is my fisherman, and one of these days, he and I are actually going to catch some fish. Here, we just watched those tiny boogers steal our bait. We'll be back though, and we'll have dynamite....