Easter in the Mountains

This year we decided for Spring Break we wanted to include a visit with my Grandpa Peck in Tennessee.

So we rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN and met my Mom and Clayton.
It was great time together as family, we were able to dye Easter Eggs, go on a hike and see a waterfall, rode a sky lift up the side of a mountain, and did A LOT of shopping.

 

This was our fantastic cabin, it was called, "On Solid Ground." Not sure about the name but it was very  nice, it had four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a hot tub, game area, theater room, and a lot more.

 

There is so much for families to do in Gatlinburg, we stopped at a place with a go-kart track and I am not sure who was having more fun, Daddy or Bradley...

 

 

We were also able to dye Easter Eggs and then the Easter Bunny stopped by to hide them for Easter.

 

 

Bradley really wanted to see a waterfall so we went on a two and a half mile round trip hike to see Laurel Falls.

 

We also stopped at my Grandpa's house in Tennessee for a visit. It was windy and the boys were not cooperating for a picture...

 

We had a nice trip and did so much more, but that is why I made a photo book about it.

 

Picture Post

Haven't done this in a while...

Be very afraid, Jaxson is not driving the Gator...

Had to document this, I saw my Great Aunt Lucille last weekend and she gave me this quilt. She said my Grandma Peck had given her the material already cut in bags before she passed away. Then she laid it all out and put it together, then hand quilted the entire thing. I am so grateful to have this quilt.

Jaxson got a Mater for his birthday and he loves it!

More baking fun...

Blue playdough road...

Jaxson has figured out how to take his clothes off and every time I turn around he is only half dressed!

Kids + Pets + Carpet = 2 1/2 Years

We moved into our newly built home two and a half years ago and I was already disgusted by the carpet, so it HAD TO GO!
We were just going to replace the carpet with more carpet, but we found a good deal on some nice hard wood  flooring and Dan and My Dad could install it so hard wood it was. The boys were so excited for another house project.

Work in progress... Jaxson and Bradley had fun coloring with chalk on the black paper that went underneath the flooring.

The final products, now to compromise on the rug that we want for the living room...



Happy 2nd Durthday to Jaxson!

Jaxson recently turned two and his new favorite song is Happy Birthday.

He can be heard laying in bed at night singing, "Hoppy Durtday to me, Happy Durtday to me...." it is so cute and brings a smile to my face. It's one of those things that I hope I remember years from now.

 

We had a little birthday party for him here at the house on his real birthday and invited Grandma Hayworth and Gary over to for dinner, cake, and ice cream. I made a cake for him, my cake decorating skills were very rusty and need some serious work.

 

 

Then we had a birthday party for him at Rush Pavilion at Columbian Park. I was really hoping the weather would have been nicer and we could have played at the park, but we have had a very late arriving spring and it was very cold on that day.

Jaxson had a "Choo Choo" party. We played the Bozo Bucket Game and pin the funnel on the Choo Choo.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to Jaxy and thank to all that came to help and celebrate with us!

 

 

 

Blog to Book

Following through with my original objective and intentions, I had all of my blog posts from 2012 printed and bound into a book. It was actually really easy, there is a company that you can create an account with and set the date parameters and they access your blog and convert it to a book.

I am so happy with how it turned out.

I love my parents dearly and they have many strengths, but documenting my and Anthony's childhood was not one of them. Now there seem to be pictures in all of our homes and as the years have gone by memories of how and when things went on have faded for all of us. Granted, we did not have the technology then to document like this and my children will probably have something much better than what I have.

Anyways 2012 is documented and I hope that I am able to continue to keep this blog going for years to come.

Spectacular Snow

We finally got a real snow. I have very fond memories of snow days and playing in the snow with my brother and my dad. (Mom was not much of a fan of snow and just preferred to look at it through the window, hence the reason she no longer lives in the Midwest and just looks at pictures.)

I have one very vivid memory from when lived in the, "Felix Homplace," while building mom's and dad's dream house, we had a snow day from school. We probably more snow than we had here a couple days ago. Dad had a snow day from work too. I remember him helping us pack the snow up into the stairs on the deck and banking it around in a curve. There are not really any hills around that house so we had to create one. Then once all the snow was packed, he helped Anthony and I pour cold water down over the snow pack. All we had to do was wait long enough for it to freeze, it was very cold so it didn't take more than a lunch break. Then we had a hill to sled and slide down for the rest of the afternoon. Dad always helped make the greatest snowmen too.

 I do fear that because of climate change, my boys will have very few experiences with those fun snow days that I remember. However, the other day we received around ten inches here at home. We went outside to play before the snow ever stopped falling.

It was great packing snow too!

 

 

Bradley learned how to roll a snowball big enough for a snowman.

 

Then we made his first snowman, think I was too busy working before so he had not had this opportunity before. We have also had a lack of major snowfalls over the past few years.

We went out the next day after to make another snowman and play in the snow some more. Dan rolled a ball for a thrid snowman before he left for work, then Bradley tried to sit on it... oops.

 



 

Jax was much more interested in eating the snow. It was a struggle to keep gloves on him, he kept taking them off so that he could pick up the snow better. I would put his gloves back on and I would turn around and he would take them back off. Then the second day I put two pairs of glove on him, it work for a while.



Making Room for Cattle and Keeping the House Warm

As a girl, one of my passions was showing and taking care of my 4-H cattle and it has always been a dream that one day my own children will share this passion.

Dan's Dad was a big cattle showman so I know that he has it in his blood as well. So one of our long term projects right now is clearing some of the woods for a future barn and cattle pasture.
We have been doing this as we have needed firewood for our outdoor wood burner, but I am sure that soon we will be hiring some sort of a company to come in and finish taking out the cherry trees and all unnecessary stumps. Then my dreams will really start coming true.
Dan and the boys have been using the truck to pull trees out. For some reason, it is very exciting when Daddy pulls logs or as Jaxson keeps telling us, Daddy pulls flowers. I am not sure why he keeps saying Daddy pulls flowers, but he is pretty stuck on it and talks about  it daily.
Anyways, just a few pictures from "pulling flowers" last weekend.

 

Guess you could call this an action shot...

 

Jaxson and Dick (the dog) are supervising.

 

Dozer the glove thief gets motion sickness very easily so he sits and waits for some poor innocent child to walk by with gloves on so he can steal them and run like the wind.

 

Is it spring yet?