Camping FAIL

 We decided to go camping last weekend.  Our friends, Tim and Lisa, invited us.  Their daughter was turning 4 and they wanted to have her party at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground.  We decided that since it's about 20 minutes from our house, to give it a try.  Emersyn Kate has been sleeping through the night and we thought, "Hey, let's give it a go."  Well, a few days before we went, Brian started saying, "I'm not sure this is a good idea.  Could be the best night ever or worst night ever."  I told him to not be so negative.
Here we are setting up.

See that Jay Feather camper behind the boys?  Well, that's what Tim and Lisa were camping in.   We should have turned around and headed home then.  They have a kitchen, bathroom, AC, and 3 queen beds in there.  

Trying to get the fire going.

Analiese's party.

There was a lot of fun stuff for the kids to do  -play in the sand on the volleyball courts, swim, play on the playground, play basketball, ride bikes,...

Katie was napping in this pic.  It's been in the 90's for more than a month, I think and this was the first day in the 80's, so it actually felt kind of cool.  

Well, we tried laying the boys down at 9, but they were wild, so we let them back up and they played on the playground for another hour.  At 10, we tried reading to them again for about 15 min.  We could tell both of them were tired, but Beckett turned crazy.  He started crying hysterically and would not calm down.  Emersyn Kate was already asleep and Hudson managed to fall asleep with all the screaming going on.  We tried reading more and bribes, but he was so overly tired and confused that nothing helped.  At 11, I got in the van with him to try and get him to calm down.   At 11:30, he fell asleep, so I opened the van door and carried him over to the tent, the minute we got in the tent, he woke up and started crying some more.  We went back to the van again - we did that 2 more times, until finally about 12:45 he was knocked out.  We were able to lay him down and we tried sleeping.  I kind of dozed off, but Brian couldn't.  At 1:45, Beckett woke back up screaming, so I said, "That's it!  Let's get packed up and go home."    We packed up pretty quickly and were home by 3:30.  I quickly showered the boys to get the smoke smell off of them and gave Emersyn Kate a quick bath.  Meanwhile, Brian was unpacking the van and started laundry.  At 4:30, Brian and I finally laid down and fell asleep fast.  Thankfully, the kids slept in until 8:30.   Next time, we'll try camping in the backyard to see if Beckett is ready.  

This is the 3 of us before church last Sunday.  We all ended up dressing alike.  I dressed Beckett and Brian helped Hudson.  If only Brian and Katie were matching too, it would have been perfect.  

Grandpa and Gigi came to visit this past weekend.  We had a blast!  The time went by too fast.

Beckett's 1st Day of School

Yesterday was Beckett's 1st day of school.  We prayed for him to have a great day and to learn a lot this year.  Can't believe my little guy is starting school.  He did great at drop off and pick up.

  

Pictures were HARD!  Why can't anyone just look at me and have a normal smile?  Although, I love the excitement on his face in this pic.

This picture shows his true personality - shy but a little ornery.  

I couldn't get him to keep his tongue in his mouth.  I know I sounded like a crazy person to everyone walking by "Put your tongue back in your mouth.  Smile please.  Hold still.  Hold the sign still.  Don't touch your hair.  Please smile.  Okay, just look at the camera." 

Hudson was SUPER excited to be in the pic, not sure what I was thinking with my hair.

Everyone was done by this point.  So much for a nice picture with Daddy.  Hudson looks like he's on something, Beckett looks like he wants to punch Brian, and Brian is thinking "Can I please just go to work?"

Just keepin' it real.  

Summer Vacay

We just got back from the BEST WEEK EVER!  Instead of Florida, we decided to go to Gatlinburg, TN.  We decided it would be easier and closer since we have a 3 month old.  We were nervous that it wasn't going to be as fun, but it ended up being a blast!
This is a view from our balcony - the left side and the right side

This is what Beckett did about a thousand times.  He jumped and jumped and jumped off the side of the pool.

He also loved being thrown in the pool

Hudson just swimming around

My niece Jasmine loved being thrown in the water

Hudson loved swimming around - he did not want to be thrown or jump in the pool

My family

There was a creek behind our condo, and Brian let Hudson play in it 

We had gorgeous sunsets nearly every night

We could sit on our balcony and watch the Dollywood fireworks every night.  They put on a great show EVERY NIGHT.  

We hiked a 1.2 mile round trip trail and it took about 2 hours.  It was really pokey, but fun.   Hudson had his map to help us

Hudson taking photos with his tablet

Not sure where the peace sign came from

Looking for bears or foxes or squirrels - Hudson loved that map

My boys!

That tiny waterfall in the background was the end of our hike.  

Creek time fun again on the way back

My niece Jasmine and Emmie Kate

Hudson and Jasmine became really good buddies on this trip

We went to the aquarium one afternoon and they gave the boys those silly hats - I'm not sure what they're supposed to be

Grandpa and Beckett

There was a cute mermaid show and all the kids were screaming "A real, live mermaid!!!" and were in heaven watching them.

There was a moving sidewalk to watch all the fish and after about 10 minutes, the kids just sat down.

Leaving the aquarium - it ended up being way cooler than I expected

The next day we drove through the park and had to stop and take pictures with the sign

We walked to the creek

We had to retake the picture since the first guy that took our picture cut out the left side of the sign

We drove up to Newfound Gap - it's so gorgeous

It was 75 degrees up there, way better than the 95 degrees 4000 feet lower

The boys were over pictures

Later that day we did pictures with a photographer.  It was about 95 degrees and 90% humidity.  My hair kept getting frizzier and frizzier

After pictures we let the kids throw rocks and wade in the water

Afterwards, we stopped for some ice cream

Grandpa and his little buddy Beckett

The next day we went to Ober-Gatlinburg - a fun little amusement park with a fun tram up the mountain.   Hudson and I did the Alpine sled together.  We had to take the ski lift further up the mountain

Here's a pic from the lift- we had a blast on the ride

Beckett and Brian rode the slide together and had fun

Shot from inside the tram 

The next day we started our day at The Pancake Pantry - a delicious breakfast place we've always gone to

The Village in Gatlinburg - fun little shops

Walking around

The next day Brian took Hudson to the go kart track

They had a lot of fun rides for kids - Hudson and Jasmine loved this ride, but their favorite was the roller coaster.  They became such great little buddies on this trip, they were so cute together

Such a fun vacation with lots and lots of things to do.