Christmas Gift Getaway!

After all my worrying that my hubby had skipped out on getting me a gift this year for Christmas, he surprised me with an incredible get away to Chateau Elan for just the two of us! He got some serious brownie points this year!!

He arranged for my mom to come to the house and take care of the kids for us... unfortunately, Rhyan had gotten up that morning and all day had off and on ran a fever. She was acting completely normal after a dose of motrin, though, which is a tale-tale sign of it being viral instead of bacterial. (Great tip from our Dr: if they have a bacterial infection and you give meds, they will still be pitiful and not feel well... if its viral, they'll be "normal" on motrin and only pitiful w/ the fever... its not a science, obviously, but a very good rule of thumb to follow on when to take them to the dr vs when to wait it out...). I felt HORRIBLE leaving Mama with my sick girl, and equally HORRIBLE for leaving Rhyan when she was sick, but our night at Chateau Elan was a "use it or lose it" kind of thing...  So we decided it was just one night and we were local, so we went...

The evening started out with a couples massage at Massage Envy. My, i do love a massage!!!

And then on to dinner at Midevil Times. I had bought tickets for Jeff for Christmas and we decided to just roll it all into one night of fun... a night of gifts to each other! We had a GREAT time at Midevil Times!

We were seated in the red knights section which was right next to the King's balcony!

We really had a fun time at Midevil times! Like i said, we were rooting for the red knight. As soon as we saw him we thought he wouldnt win b/c he's kind of thin and the green knight was super buff.... but we were WRONG! I mean, i MIGHT have something to do w/ the fact that the thing is staged ;-) But no joke, our knight was so fun! He was great at getting us excited and he had a constant smile on his face!

The food is so so. I mean, its just a fun experience in general, but the food is not gourmet or anything! We had tomato soup (which i've never eaten), a chicken leg, potato, a rib (random?!) and for dessert, an apple pastry. Like, the kind you can get at Kroger! HA! But it was  yummy none the less!

OH, and from this experience, Jeff has new aspirations as a retired man. He has decided he will be the King at Midevil times in his retirement days. But he made sure to let me know that i would NOT be queen with him and that since only the Kings daughter is in the show and I'll clearly be too old to play that role, that I'll need to contain my jealously when he finds himself working with a young, beautiful maiden... 

sure....

Our hotel room was beautiful!

The room came with breakfast the next morning and a bottle of red wine. We dont drink, but we hated to waste the wine so we brought it home. Anyone want it? I'm thinking it'd be a good gift, but then I cant bring myself to give someone alcohol! HA! I know its a "nice" gift, but it just seems awkward!

We decided to treat ourselves to dessert at Chateau Elan. We could have ordered something off the menu, or it was an option to do an all you can eat dessert from their buffet. We went with the buffet so we could taste lots of things... turns out, dessert is NOT the chateau's forte. Cakes were dry. Pies werent good. Basically, i'm just glad they had a chocolate fondue fountain so i could get my money's worth! :-) But again, it was a nice experience to just sit and enjoy each other...

That night, my mom called a couple of times b/c Rhyan was upset and wanting us to come home. The thing is, she was TIRED. And i knew if she would just go to bed and sleep, she'd be better in the morning. So I talked to Rhyan on the phone to try to calm her down and told my mom to just put her to bed. She ended up taking a dose of motrin, going to bed and being FINE the next morning. Fever free the rest of the day...

Breakfast, as i said, was included in our package. So we made sure to take advantage of it! And oh my, was it goooood! Totally made up for the cruddy night before dessert!

We took our time and got home around noon or so... I'll admit that rhyan's being sick threw a loop in the plans for the night b/c i was pretty stressed and worried about her. But I AM glad that we stayed, especially since she did fine all night. And it was incredibly sweet of Jeff to plan the get away for us! I told him as we left the Chateau that I dont ever want another Christmas gift in a box again... I want a small get away together. That time away and with him was the best gift he's ever given me! AND, he benefits, too... so I'm pretty sure our Christmas to each other is set from now on :-) And for me, thats just perfect!

Pigeon Forge: Coming Home

Our little mini get away was SO nice! It was so great to spend time with mommie. I forgot to mention it on "day 2" but I was cracking up at one point at Dollywood...

Mommie was in a companion wheelchair (that we brought with us) and Rhyan was riding in her lap. Well, Dollywood is pretty hilly! So I was pushing them both up a hill and we got to the top and I kept thinking "oh, good Lord, please dont let me slip!!! please help me to hold on!"
I'm telling you, they would have likely ran over someone and killed them or themselves (or both!) with the  speed they would have gained going downhill!! HA! Luckily, there were no "mishaps" and all were safe!

Ok, going home day!

Last year, Shlaine and I took Mommie to Pigeon Forge for her 80th birthday (and to Dollywood) and on the way home, we stopped for the "hot now" sign at krispy kreme. YUM. Lets just say that 3 girls can do some damage to a box of hot now's :-)

Turns out, Mommie and I like traditions! :-) So, Mommie, Rhyan and I went through the drive through and got a dozen... Dont worry, we shared half with Jonathan and Mam (in the other car). But the 3 of us for real each ate two! Yep. My little 3 year old ate 2 krispy kremes! She's got good taste :-) (it was a treat).

On our drive back, Mommie and I had some great conversation and she shared with me a good many stories from when she and Daddy first were married. Pretty neat and quite interesting!
Rhyan, however, was NOT happy about our talking. She was sleepy (girl did NOT get enough sleep in this quick 3 day trip) and was GRUMPY! She kept saying "PLEASE STOP TALKING!" hahah. Thing is, Mommie is half deaf so I couldnt whisper and Mommie is just not a quiet talker. Poor Rhyan ;-)

When we got into Franklin, NC (half way), we stopped at McDonalds and grabbed some lunch for on the way and handed Mommie off to Mama and Jonathan for the rest of the ride. Rhyan and I had an important appointment...

Baby Avery's Dedication!!!

I drove like a mad woman to try to be on time (and have time to change clothes) but it just didnt happen. We got there in time, but no time to change clothes. So, we joined in wearing jeans :-( But I was SO happy to get to be there! (Btw, a HUGE shout out to my sweet friend Ashlyn and Josh for keeping Mack for us!).

We shared a sweet time with our family celebrating little Avery! I have NO pics, though, so this cute one will just have to do!

What a great way to end a great, memorable weekend!

OK! I HACKED SOME PICS! (haha... from Liz)

 Ok, this is awful BUT, its the only pics of the 3 of us together! (Rhyan was in a "no pictures" phase)

 The proud parents with David Walters, the pastor at The Vine.

Pigeon Forge: Day 2

We started the morning with a trip to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast, which was Oh-So-Yummy! Rhyan ate like a little piggie! A full pancake (which is HUGE at Cracker Barrel), 2 eggs and a piece of bacon. Not to mention a full glass of milk. Oink Oink!!! ;-)

After breakfast, we headed up to the Wal-Mart for a few "supplies". I must say, my family are NOT minimalists at all. Me? I can do without pretty much anything for a few days. But my family "needed" coffee (for sunday morning only?! really?! stop at McDonalds peeps! haha). An hour later, we had gotten everything we needed (which really was just one thing: an allen wrench to loosen Mommie's Oxygen tank if she needed it) and headed back to the cabin for some resting before heading out to Dollywood.

We ended up getting to Dollywood pretty late. This was a HUGE regret of mine :-( I kept telling my family it always takes longer to get there and get in and active than they anticipated but they were afraid of Mommie (and Rhyan) getting tired if we got there too early. Ended up, we didnt have enough time. We all felt rushed :-( I ALSO regretted finding out AFTER our trip that we could have gone on Friday when we got there and that those day passes would also allow us to go again on Saturday after 2pm, which would have been perfect. I dont mean to sound like we didnt have a great time, because we DID! But I felt pressure to make sure that Mommie felt she really got to enjoy the whole weekend and didnt feel rushed seeing as how we dont know if she'll ever get to go anywhere again (not to sound pessimistic) and I felt that I didnt research enough before we went to make sure that happened. Boo!

When we first arrived, we made a list of a couple of shows we wanted to see but Rhyan was DYING to go ride some stuff and my Mama and Jonathan were wanting to try out a couple of the bigger rides. Mommie was just excited to be there and wanted us to have fun and as she said, was "along for the ride". So Rhyan and I headed to the county fair area and found a veggie tales ride... she LOVED IT!

Then, we headed on over to see the Christmas on Ice show. I HAD to take this pic... can you spot Elvis?!

During this particular song, this super bendy lady did this routine to the song "Oh Holy Night"... Rhyan was SO into the song... so much so that she dropped her popcorn and barely looked down and then ASKED FOR HER BIBLE! haha... she said, without ever taking her eyes off of the performance, "Mommie, I need my Bible". I about died laughing. It was definitely a spiritual moment ;-)

After the show, Mama and Jonathan wanted to go ride more rides and Mommie, Rhyan and I decided to go ride the train. Well, apparently the line for the train forms about an hour before the train?! OH my! And it was the LAST train of the night! I was so sad! And then I remembered that there is a separate line for the handicapped, so I asked an attendant and found out where to go... we only had to wait about 15 minutes for the train!!! Rhyan wanted to ride the carousel which is right next to the train, so Mommie waited and watched and we headed over for a ride. Rhyan LOVES a carousel!

We actually boarded the train first (they are SO nice about older people/handicapped!). We took our time getting settled and wrapped up in blankets to make sure we were very warm... it really wasnt a cold day (LUCKED out on GREAT weather!) but once the sun went down it got cool! Not to mention that on the train, theres a bit of wind :-). I held out my iphone and attempted a picture... adn OH, do i treasure this one!

Doesnt Mommie look GREAT?! This is just a very, very precious picture to me!

After the train ride, we headed over to see the Carol of the Trees. I always love this! So many lights!!!

By the time we got out, it was LATE (for Rhyan)! Rhyan hadnt yet eaten dinner so we went through a drive through and got a bite before heading back to the cabin. Rhyan ended up in bed around 10pm!

We all got settled in for the night and rested up before heading out the next morning to come home.

I didnt take any pics to accompany a "Day 3", but it was a special day (baby Avery's dedication!) so it'll have its own post, regardless ;-)

Bottom line, I was SO grateful to spend this weekend with my family! I missed Jeff and Mack, of course, but really Mack is too young to enjoy this and we cant really push his schedule like we can Rhyan's... this trip had too quick of a turn around for him to get any good rest. A not well rested Mack equals a grumpy mack :-) Next time, baby boy!

Pigeon Forge Trip: Day 1

On Mommie's birthday while having dinner at our home, she said that she had decided that she wanted something and that she knew I'd say "no" but that she was going to say it anyways. Hmmmmmm....

What she wanted was for herself, me, Rhyan, my mama and uncle Jonathan to all go together to Pigeon Forge and go to Dollywood to see the Christmas lights. Interesting combo, right? hahah... but, youknow, when your 81 year old Mommie asks for something, you do what you can to make sure it happens! So, I went online and found a small cottage to stay in and made our plans for the first weekend in december!

We headed on out in the morning around 9am. We were supposed to leave sooner but, as I expected, it took forever to get on the road. NOT because of Rhyan and I, mind you ;-) My mom had to pack up herself and Mommie and they both come with a lot of medical equipment and such. We stopped for lunch around 11 at wendy's and headed the rest of the way up, arriving around 1:30. I TOTALLY forgot to get pics of the cabin! It was small (only 2 bedrooms) but tasteful and right outside of dollywood! Rhyan (and Mommie) got a nap before we decided on what to do for the evening.

 That night, we decided to head to the gatlinburg aquarium. Traffic getting to it was HORRIBLE because we were unaware that there was a festival of lights on the streets of gatlinburg! It was crazy! But on the upside, there was NO ONE at the aquarium! :-)

We parked in the parking deck and had to walk a decent ways to get in... it was really TOO far for Mommie to walk. Rhyan was super sweet and helpful, though, and my Mama went up ahead and got a courtesy wheelchair for her. Mommie had bronchitis going into this trip so we were all worried about her a lot! 

Rhyan LOVED the big Christmas tree! Whats not to love?!

Her pose cracks. me. up!

This thing was hilarious for about 2 seconds :-) She was having fun opening and closing it but then it suddenly let out a big burst of air, which scared the beegeebies out of her and she cried and cried. lol. Poor thing!

She WANTED to touch the animals, but just couldnt bring herself to do it!

Love this of Mama taking pics of Rhyan :-)

Mommie had a great time looking at all the different fish. She hasnt been to an aquarium in a LONG time and she enjoyed taking her time and seeing everything. I'll just say its a good thing there was no one behind us!

Rhyan and her Grammy

Can you believe that my camera phone (on the iphone 5) took these last 2 shots?! I wanted to send some pics to Jeff adn was seriously impressed! They were better than with my DSLR (mostly b/c i dont use the right settings on my dslr)

We finished out the evening eating at the Old Mill. I was SHOCKED at how expensive it is! I've only eaten lunch there (which is reasonable) so I felt REALLY badly that I had recommended it and it was so much! But Mama, Rhyan and I shared a meal (it IS tons of food) and Jonathan and Mommie shared (Although she ate very little). It was a late evening and we had to get back adn let Rhyan get to bed.

Rhyan and I actually shared a room, but there was a big bed adn then a bunk bed in the room, so she chose the top bunk and I slept in the king :-) She did GREAT with us sharing a room, although I was self conscious of moving all night long! haha

Great day 1! More to come!