Where we've been...

Have you met me??? I really really like to travel. So, wherever we live I have to discover what's "near" us. This time
we went to the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. To get there we drove through, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. It was a beautiful place. We invited my parents to come out and see us in Illinois and then go on the trip with us. it was so fun to have them along and so helpful (as you can see from the photo above. I rarely had to sit back by the kids and entertain them. And grand entertainer Grandma Ruthie is and Grandpa Robert kept Lola happy and Brad happy when I took over that seat and snoozed for a second) So...The Smokies...
It was very cold when we went but we still saw some spectacular scenery.

 We stopped at this Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum and that's just what it was. I loved it for the artistic coloring and set up. It was quite impressive to see.

 The driving around brought amazing views and scenes.

 A 2 miles hike up to this gorgeous waterfall.

 There was this large meadowy area which you drove around and could get out at several spots.

 That road seperates North Carolina from Tennessee. I guess you could say we've been to North Carolina because you could stand in both states at one point. Kind of like the time we drove 2 hours over the most rocky terrain in the Andes to be able to say we were in Chile and Argentina at the same time. Another trip with Ruthie and Robert. We are adventures!!

After a week of fun in the Smokies we drove home via Mammoth Cave Kentucky. This cave is 400 miles long. We did the "easy" hike with over 500 stairs and narrow passageways. Brad and I carried Lola and EZ. I would definitly recommend going to the cave if you every can. It was amazing to see.

Then a stop at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Kentucky.

And finally, a quick trip to the Kentucky Derby. Something is so fascinating to me about horses and racing. Once I was accepted to this all girls college in Virginia somewhere and I was awarded a pretty good scholarship and was really considering going until I received something in my welcome packet that asked me about how many horses I owned and where did I stable them. I could've only faked it for so long!! Another time, Brad came home from studying all day and I was glued to the tv watching a horse race called the Preekness. I'm just saying...it's fascinating stuff and seeing Churchill Downs was spectacular. Come to find out both my parents would love to go to a race one day.

And look at Chloe. She did her second dance concert. This time we tried the cheerleading/tumbling class. She loved it and did so well.

 Here we are smiling, which was a good thing because about 20 minutes later I got my first ever blow out in the van and had to leave it at Baskin Robbins. Good thing our friends was there to rescue us.

And Lola, see the boot on her hand. She sleeps with it sometimes and almost always will crawl around with a shoe on each hand. Crazy lady. She is officially walking, too.

A commitment

We returned the day before Easter from an amazing trip to the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. First of all, who goes to Tennessee? I love to travel and am always planning our next trip, but as a girl from Utah, I can't say that I'd ever even inquired about, much less thought I'd be traveling to Tennessee.  It was awesome and so was Kentucky! (more to come)

As we sat in church on Easter Sunday we listened to this 17 year old talk about how he was in an interview for his dream job. The interview was going well until the topic of not working on Sundays came up. The story ends with the boy telling them that he would not, under no circumstances, work on Sunday. He would hold strong to his commitment regardless of the outcome. I respected this boy so much. What a strong character. 

So, later that night, Brad and I got talking about how special it was to be back in time for church on Easter Sunday. How many times does Easter Sunday fall right in the perfect time for an extra day for travel or relaxation? We decided that night that we would commit to always being in a church on Easter Sunday, (or I guess listening to conference in our jammies every 5 years or however the voodoo calender system works:))

 My sweet parents were still in town. They left before we had a chance to eat one or two of the 18 hardboiled eggs we made. I tried to make cookies with them the other day and realized they were my only pack of eggs left...no regular eggs. So i made soft batch, then later in the day discovered that another carton I had seen way back in the fridge that I thought had hard-boiled eggs in it was actually a carton of good eggs. It was like gold. So i made those cookies in addition, but halved the batch, so that was good, right?

Do you see those lovelies above? What to do with hard-boiled egg leftovers recipe #1
and how to healthify an already kindof healthy muffin. Go over to www.22bluestars.blogspot.com
if you're interested. I'm not sure how people do all those linky things to other websites, but I only wanted to type it once.

Miss Blue

 Chloe Blue, guess who loves you?

This little girl of ours turned 6 last week. She got a bike, a jump rope, and some fun barbies. 

I love her testimony. She is so inquisitive. She wants to be a volcanologist and is so intrigued/mystified by volcanoes. She loves hearing you tell her stories. She has the most amazing memory. I love hearing and watching her read. She is so confident and can sound out anything. She loves routine. She loves to be with me. She likes to be the center of what we are doing or talking to.

She has very small feet but is pretty tall for her age. She could jump on the tramp all day if we'd/i'd watch her. She loves carrying Lola around. She loves getting Lola when she's awake. She "understands" so much of what we say and don't say. She has such a kind heart.

 She is also practical. She decided rather than buy a 6 year old crown, "we should make one because you're just going to throw it away in a few minutes".

 I made the Rapunzel cake this year. I wanted it to be all things "hair" so a 9x13 cake was dedicated to the yellow hair and then you can see the rest. She loved it. And always love how much Brad loves the cakes.

Happy Happy birthday sweet Chloe Blue.