Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote so I’ll dive right in.
NATE’S FIFTH BIRTHDAY. We have earned our second Chuck E. Cheese merit badge. Nate’s birthday was a week ago Thursday. You know, that place was a lot busier than I thought it would be on a Valentine’s Day.
Nate invited two of his friends from church for the party. They came over that afternoon to play at our house and then we headed out when I got home. One of his little friends has Guitar Hero on his Wii at his home. I think the poor boy was suffering game withdrawal the whole time he was with us in spite of where we were. At any rate, I think all the kids had a good time.
GETTING AWAY.With President’s Day last Monday we took advantage of our extra day off and went to the Smoky Mountains. (The kids actually got a six day weekend as the schools were closed for ice and illness.) We left Friday afternoon when I got home from work and got to Pigeon Forge pretty late.
The kids have always been really good travelers but this time they had pooled their money and bought a portable DVD player with two screens. Once we got on the road and they finished their supper from Sonic we never heard another word out of them.
Saturday morning found us at Log Cabin Pancakes for breakfast, a family tradition for us. Then we went to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, home of all things strange and bazaar. Afterwards the kids were begging to go swimming so we went back to the condo. I took the kids to the pool and Vicki hooked up with Angi (a high school/college friend who lives in the area). Vicki and Angi found a restaurant where they could spend the entire afternoon visiting.
Sunday morning we slept in, ate in and got a late start. When we did stir from the condo we decided to drive into the mountains a bit and find a short trail to hike. We had not filled up with gas since leaving home and had a quarter tank left. While Vicki and I knew this was enough for what we wanted to do Nate found it very distressing and pointed out every gas station we passed. Ben, on the other hand, knew we planned to walk through the woods and was very worried about bears. If Jenna had any concerns about this outing she kept it to herself. I don’t think she could have found a break in the conversation to express herself anyway.
We wound up hiking to Laurel Falls. The falls are about 1.3 miles from the parking area on a paved trail. There is a 300 foot change of elevation so it was a good little hike and took about an hour. The boys climbed ever large bolder along side the trail going and coming. We had never taken this trail before and the falls at the end were worth the trip.
We went swimming again after supper that evening. The next day we headed home.
BAPTISTS MAKE A UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE WORLD CAN END NOW. While on our way through Gatlinburg to hike to Laurel Falls Bro. Bill called us on the cell phone. He had the results of the church’s vote on hiring Vicki as the Children’s Minister. She is the first person in my memory to receive a 100% vote in being called to work at church (results are usually higher than 95%, but never unanimous). I told her that unlike all the other staff members she now has the pressure of knowing she needs to please everyone at church.
SAYING GOODBYE. Jake, our dog, has passed away. It probably happened Tuesday. Pauline found him Wednesday morning. He appeared to be feeling fine Friday when we were packing to leave. He was so playful I had to get on to him for trying to grab the handles and straps of all our bags as I was loading the van. Sunday Pauline mentioned something about him not eating. By the time we got home Monday evening he looked like he did not feel well. He must have gone off to be alone, as animals will do when sick, after that. I laid him to rest in a quiet spot in the woods.
BASKETBALL. Basketball season will end for us next weekend but I must report on Ben’s game yesterday. First of all, it was one of the roughest games I have ever seen his team play. All the boys played well but very aggressively. They were scrambling for the ball, running into each other and falling all over each other throughout the whole game. Ben made six points, but his last goal was the best. He was directly under the goal and rebounded the ball. He knew he didn’t have a good shot so he looked around for someone to pass the ball to but no one was open. So, he tossed it up and in it went! Then he looked over at us with the little smirk that boys have when they are pleased with themselves but don’t want to show it too much. Of course, having all this friends from his cub scout pack there to watch wasn’t too bad either.
Joe
