Car Date

You can almost hear the internal conversations going on here.

Leigh: What's with the shirt buttoned all the way up to the collar? Does he not know it's going to be 94 degrees today? I mean, it's not like it's the middle of July or anything. What a nerd.
Cameron: What's with the ponytail on the side of her head? Did her hair have a stroke? Could she not afford 2 rubberbands? What a whack-job. Leigh: This is going to be a really fun trip.

Cameron: I wonder what these things do.

Leigh: This gum is really good.

Cameron: Hey, these binoculars make everything look red!

Leigh: This is so much fun!

Cameron: Hey--your ponytail looks red!

Leigh: You are getting on my last nerve with those stupid binoculars.

Cameron: These things are so freaking cool.

Leigh: I need to get out of here.

Cameron: These things are so freaking cool.

Leigh: Whatever.

Cameron: This is the best date I've had in a long time.

Topsy Turvy

If you need a good laugh, run around the house with your shorts on your head and your shirt on your butt. It never fails to be a knee-slapper for us.

Happy Family

This is Serpil's depiction of our family. God bless her for not drawing my hips to scale.

The Case for Supervision

Consider yourself forewarned: any time you turn your eyes away from Leigh, no matter how briefly, you're in for a surprise. For example, you may find her covered in blue yogurt...

... or sand...

...or Aunt Lynn's eye shadow.

Or you may be in for an interesting dining experience...

or an equally-as-interesting wardrobe choice.

Never A Dull Moment

Great Smokies, Great Fun

It didn't take long at all for the kids to realize how much they love their cousins in TN. Leigh was most happy to pose for the camera with Reece and Russell, who she didn't let out of her sight for 48 hours.

It also didn't take very long for the photo shoot to turn into an opportunity for Hunter and Leigh to stick their tongues out, stand on their heads, and show their butts to the camera...

...and laugh hysterically at how amusing they are.

Afterwards, they enjoyed a little time in the hot tub, which Hunter believed almost cooked him.

Leigh was happy to show Uncle Chris and Cody the Pull My Finger app on Mommy's iPhone.

And by the end of the night, these shell-shocked Mountaineers wound down with some popcorn and a midnight viewing of Ice Age.

From Sun-Up to Sun-Down

This was the view from our cabin in TN last weekend first thing in the morning, pretty stunning.

One by one, the Breakfast Club woke up and were thrilled to try Captain Crunch for the first time ever.

Later that morning, we ventured into Gatlinburg to grab some lunch and check out the amusement park. Leigh & Reece were buddies walking the streets of Gatlinburg, while my husband was thrilled at the selection of stores.

Big smiles from Nana and Leigh

It was no surprise to us that Leigh absolutely LOVED her newly discovered boy cousins, especially Russell and Tyler.

The big event--the Family Reunion--started later that afternoon in a huge cabin across the street from our mountain crib. Hunter and Dadddy were extremely taken with the air hockey game on the 3rd floor.

Leigh kept herself busy with Papa and with riding the alligator (otherwise known as the elevator) from the 1st to the 2nd floor of the cabin.

Despite my very strong desire to show off a picture of these 3 good-looking siblings from about 30 years ago that Nana brought to the reunion, Chad forbade me to post it. He didn't seem to get as big of a kick out of his FRO that he sported as an 8-year-old as I did. So, here's the same good-looking crew 30 years later.

Nana and Papa brought about 600 lbs of steak to this occasion, which everyone was happy to dig into at dinner. ...and after a full day of cousins, water slides, air hockey, steak, and tactical outdoor shops, this was our view before we went to bed that night.

Ober Gatlinburg

Too cheap to fork out $200 for a day at Dollywood, we spent our Saturday at Ober Gatlinburg, which doubles as a ski resort in the winter and an amusement park in the summer. After putting away embarassing quantities of BBQ and fried okra, we boarded the world's largest aerial tramway to ride up to the top of the mountain. This may have been a mistake, as we were forced to squeeze in the car and swing from a cable with 120 other TN mountain tourists, who had likely eaten as much BBQ.

We managed to make it to the top, and there were times when the view of the Great Smoky Mountains even made us forget that we were standing in a stranger's armpit.

Once at the top of the mountain, our first stop was the pirate ship, where Hunter, Leigh, and Reece fully enjoyed sliding down the big red slide off the side of the ship.

The bumper cars were next, and although Leigh didn't make the height limit, Hunter got to drive with Daddy-O.

The highlight of the day, however, was undoubtedly the Blue Cyclone Rapids. Easily the biggest waterslide Hunter has ever tackled, he and Daddy had an awesome time on this ride. In fact, they were all over themselves with glee that they made it down this monstrosity.

Not impressed with the boys and their Blue Cyclone, Leigh opted to try out the kiddie rides with Nana and Papa. Not long afterwards, she led Nana to the Dippin' Dots stand to get a treat while they waited for the thrill-seekers to return.

The last stop of the day was the chair lift up to the Alpine Slide, which I hear is good, but not as awesome, as the Blue Cyclone.