Camp LeConte

By far, one of my FAVORITE things that we have done was our Camp LeConte experience. 

The situation included monsoons, thunderstorms, more rain, a million hours in every day and 3 kids/3 adults in a very small outdoor space. And...it was seriously so much fun; I am already trying to plan our next trip. 

It is called "glamping" because you have an option of a safari tent which is basically just a slightly larger tent on a stand with beds and an electrical outlet. So, you know, not really a tent at all. 

Honestly, how cute is this whole set up?? 

Also, once we planned it, we knew we had to bring Reese with us because these 2 are the best of friends. 

The boys & I slept in the bed on the right and we had a very snuggly few nights, excluding the moments when Max peed all over the bed on the first night. We were able to find out firsthand why the little store includes a tiny laundry facility. 

Noni was ALL over this idea the second that we heard about it. I mean, there are so many reasons that I love her, but her DESIRE to create experiences and memories is one of the best. She might be the reason that we didn't go crazy during the thunderstorms. 

I mean, just thank goodness that we brought Bop along because he definitely provided all of the meals. 

This kid only wants to be outside/catching stuff ALL.DAY.LONG. 

This kid just wants to eat sugar in his Mama's lap ALL.DAY.LONG.

There was a little playground on the campground. 

And, they even had a pool! Now, let me be clear-the weather was about 65 degrees at certain points so there is no way the water was warm, but they did not seem to mind.  We would wait for the clear moments between the storms and run down there until it started raining again. 

This might be just before Max burned his hand...every party has a pooper and his name is usually Max. 

Also, my poor mom had to deal with my hysterical demands to google burn treatments while I was cuddling this screaming baby "inside," trying to find Monkey. I seriously have PTSD from the Chick-Fil-A playground stitches situation and expect the worst in every injury situation. 

Spoiler alert: he was fine. 

I mean, of course we had to bring this girl with us!

The campground was just so, so cute. 

Have I mentioned that it was raining during the majority of the trip? Seriously, one of their favorite activities was building dams with the water trails. 

Because of the rain, we played a little indoor mini golf. 

And, the kids all rode go-karts. Kids can drive at 4 but our little Pieces is not quite tall enough to reach the pedals, even with all of the extra seat pillows. The poor manager felt so bad because he had assured us that all 4 year olds are able to drive, so he let me drive her around a few laps. 

Meanwhile, this kid was THRILLED about being able to drive. He took it very seriously and actually did a really good job!

While we wanted to do more, we opted to do a short trail  in the mountains, which turned out to be a good call because it literally started pouring as soon as we made it back to our car. 

Reese did not want to climb on this limb because she was scared that she was "too little," so I, of course, made her do it and then she was so proud when she made it.

So, so grateful for these parents of mine. 

We made it to Cataract Falls, which is apparently the prettiest after a long rainfall, so that was definitely a silver lining!

Also, "Cataract." I know.

It was like some kind of sick joke. 

Everything was soaking wet and we didn't think anything would ever dry. But, how much do I love our hiking boots lined up together like this??

POURING. 

Also, the tent we were originally supposed to stay in had been blown away by a storm about a week earlier, so that was encouraging to think about as we listened to the rain pound our canvas home. 

Like all trips with small children, we were parenting with a change of scenery. I have been planning for this trip for awhile and had a ton of random stuff hoarded away, which turned out to come in handy during our tent bonding time. 

My mom did such a good job planning meals-we even had Mexican one night!

We had the best time & I cannot wait to go back!

Some videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ6mZVoueT0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2iTD8W5_Sc

A Ghostbustin' Good Time

First-a few shots from Max's Spring school pics because I cannot resist. 

He is so grown up. 

Despite all of my efforts to convince him to go with an Army/Military theme*, Max decided that he wanted a Ghostbusters party. I decided that I wanted a party NOT at my house, so we settled on the Muse. We really had such a fun time celebrating our favorite Ghostbuster!

*I just really wanted a theme that was easily available for shipping from Amazon or Target.com. Let's be honest, I do not live to be crafty. 

These pics will all be in random order and might not have actual captions. 

Reese LOVES Uncle Brandon. 

Nicole took so many cute pics of my kids/other kids.

#Goldstar

Lily made the sign on the table; I love her sincere investment in all celebrations. 

Inside the bags: fruit snacks, ring pop, pixy stick, Ugly Dog toy, shark tattoos. 

He was so, so excited about all of it!

We are always so grateful for friends/family who celebrate our kids with us!

Grateful for Mom's assistance in all parts of my life. 

I call this one "Parenting."

Such a cute pic of these 3. Also, Levi is obsessed with Noni and absolutely refuses to ever come near me. One day he will love me when I show him how to catch random animals in creeks and let him destroy my house full of boy toys, but today is most definitely not that day. 

This one is most likely my favorite shot of all of them.

Seriously, Nicole did such a great job capturing our boy. 

Also, I hate baking/cooking/crafting, but I love making things out of candy molds, which is why they are at every one of the boys' parties. 

Lily!!! She did such a great job helping me set everything up. I am serious-I actually needed her assistance. 

This kid was there, too. 

And, because 3 hours at The Muse is not enough cousin time, we jumped in our pool for a few hours after the party to continue the celebration! 

Some May festivities

On nights that I have to work late, I always get awesome pics like this from my boys. 

Max is in love with Monkey. I mean, he would rescue Monkey if there was a fire and leave us all to burn. 

We visited Uncle Curtis at an art festival and the boys had so much fun learning how to use spray paint, chalking and eating treats. Watching Curtis in action is pretty amazing because he is basically a celebrity in the art world. 

Posing in front of Uncle Curtis' mural! GG took the boys to visit when he was working on it and they loved seeing the finished product. 

Anderson took this his chalking very seriously. 

Max did not. 

Because we can never let a free day at Ripley's Aquarium pass us up, we spent quite bit of time there one day touching all of the sea life, stalking all of the animals and obsessing over the Pearl Harbor exhibit. Like most boys, he is really into WWII and wanted to look at every part of the exhibit. 

I paid $3 and the boys were able to feed the stingrays! This was absolutely the HIGHLIGHT of their lives. It was pretty cool. 

We always go on random walks and sometimes we bring things home with us. 

Random cupcakes. 

AE Graduation!

I think it goes without saying but I have the best job in the world. I will never, ever underestimate the good fortune that I have to be in a career where I know, without a doubt, I make a difference. It is cheesy, but so true. I am humbled, inspired and grateful. 

One of our amazing teachers had the students vote on superlatives for some staff members. It has been 5 years since I left Farragut and I am still shocked on a daily basis that I have made new friends. 

Cousin Shae sent the kids a box of all kinds of fun Science goodies! Also, I was wearing my Sonic shirt which was fitting. 

Max's "Crew" at daycare. These 4 have been tight since they were babies and it has been so much fun to watch them grow together. 

I think Max looks just like GG here! Her genes>all the genes. 

We went to Splash Country with the Brimers and had a blast! Granted, it was freezing and started raining after we were only there for about 3 hours, but it reminded me why they are our favorite people to hang out with! We will definitely be going back for longer/warmer excursions! 

Max's life. 

In order for Anderson to not lose his mind, we really need to spend some part of every day around wildlife/nature/creeks. We have really invested the better part of our last month into the creek at the library park and I have a feeling that we will continue this investment in the upcoming months, as well. 

On Memorial Day, we celebrated and shared our favorite things about America. Anderson had a very insightful, accurate answer. Max had no idea what we were talking about. 

I am telling you that we might as well move into this creek. 

We finally figured out how to actually catch the crawfish. By "we," I truly mean that it was a joint effort because I actually fell in the creek. 

I love when the moments where he reminds me that he is still actually a kid.