Smokies View, Part Duex

Here is part two out of two of our Spring Break posts. The first one was mostly views and stuff but this one has more pics of us doing stuff. I had mentioned that we went to the Ripley’s Aquarium. We were pretty impressed and felt it was worth the $44 it cost us to get in. We saw some four-eyed fish, piranha, barracuda, and frog-fish – but the best part was the huge aquarium with the sharks, eels and giant sea-turtles. Like I said before, we went “underneath” the surface with the sharks and they were swimming directly above us – very freaky. As you can see by this picture, Jackson was having a good time.

We had picnics at local parks on Tuesday and Wednesday. After eating our ham and cheese sandwiches courtesy of the local Kroger, the boys got to play on the playgrounds. I managed to catch a good one of Carse and Kim enjoying the swings here:

And perhaps my best shot of the trip, here is little Carson grinning at me as he was climbing up some steps at the playground.

Two years ago, when we were down there, Jackson (almost 3 at the time) picked out a “silly hat” like the one Steve wore on his Blue’s Clues movie. He just had to have it. You should have seen the look on people’s faces as we strolled through Gatlinburg with his shades and this silly hat on. Here is a shot of him (at the time) by a really cool fountain. I recall that he was dancing and entertaining the passers-by.

(The friggin file will not upload!!!)

Here he is, two years later at the exact same fountain – sans the silly hat.

By the way, if you have never driven through the mountains with two children who both have ear infections, you ought to try it sometime. I think you would enjoy the screams as you enjoy the breathtaking scenery.

SMOKIES VIEW

We got back late Thursday night from our Spring Break trip to Gatlinburg. We had a really good time, I think....Those vacations that could be classified as "relaxing" are still probably a few years away, and we know that, but we still had a really good time. We were fortunate enough to get good weather pretty much the whole time, as well as the trip down and back. The boys traveled well and it helped that Jackson was able to watch Scooby Doo 2, The Incredibles, Ice Age, etc. on the way. You would not believe the view from the cabin we stayed in (here's a look).

We definitely kept busy and made the most of our time there. We had for years heard about the Applewood restaurant and had always talked about trying to eat there sometime. Well, this time we found it and ate there Tuesday night. It was the best meal I have had in years...It was so awesome....the food kept coming and every damn crumb of it was so delicious. We also went to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies and were in awe of the cool fish and underwater wildlife, particularly the sharks....it was one of those deals where you get on a moving sidewalk type thing and go underneath the water with the sharks and stuff. Very cool. Of course we also drove through Cade's Cove (not to be confused with property of Jackson Cade Whited). I don't think any trip to the area is complete without doing that. We did not see any bears, but we did see tons of deer, some wild turkeys, and some of the most picturesque We rode go carts at The Track and played miniature golf at Ripley's Old MacDonald miniature golf. We had picnics on Tuesday and Wednesday and played at playgrounds afterwards. Did manage to get a small amount of outlet mall shopping done, as much as two little one's will allow.

Here are a few shots that turned out pretty good:

Not long after we arrived Monday evening, here is what the sunset looked like from the deck. Very nice!!!!

A shot of the "Smokies View" Cabin we stayed in:

I was driving through town today and I saw this sign at the Cloverdale First Baptist Church. I had to go home to get my camera before they changed it.

The First Day Of SPRING!!

This is what we have been anticipating for weeks – the first day of Spring! It sure was a treat to wake up to six inches of snow. School was cancelled for Kim and I decided it was not smart to trek down to Bloomington in this mess so we decided to make the most of the situation and have a fun day at home.

Kim treated us to an Apple Dutch Baby for breakfast.

Then Jackson was anxious to get outside to play in it.

Jackson and mommy worked on a small snowman while daddy made some hot cocoa and Carson took a nap. I guess this mean the first day on Fall this year will be 95 degrees and sunny.

Haven't put very many shots on here of the lads lately. I guess I have been putting opinion stuff on here the last couple of times. So here you go. These were taken this past weekend.

I'm not going to write much, just mainly wanted to get a couple shots on here. We are just kinda hanging in there, looking forward to going on Spring Break to Gatlinburg the week after next. We have a cabin reserved for us in the Smokies so that is sounding good right now. We got Jackson signed up for baseball for this Spring, so this will be something new for him that I'm sure will produce many news entries in TWN when the time comes. Carson seems to go from one ear infection to another. Probably a result of the new day care that we have had them in 3 days a week. Welp, I'm going to bed....IU is playing San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA tournament and they are losing at halftime (surprise!). Maybe we'll watch the Hoosiers get beat from the coziness of our bed, so long as I can stay awake.

I was just about to click shut-down on the computer and saunter off to bed when for some reason I decided to put down a few thoughts that will probably end up on TWN.

Being a parent. There is just nothing like it. Being a parent has caused me to have this urge to speak endlessly with people who will be expecting their first child in a few months. I don’t know why. Someone that I work with shared with me that her and her husband very recently discovered that they will be having their first baby. I had just showed her a montage I put together on Jackson and Carson with the background music, “Godspeed, Sweet Dreams” by the Dixie Chicks. She was so touched by the piece that she closed my office door and shared this news with me, and then mentioned that she had only shared this information with one other person in the office because it was so early still. I then had this urge that I jut mentioned, to talk to her for hours about becoming a parent and how my life is forever changed. To give her some kind of insight into how incredibly difficult it is and indescribably happy it makes me, both experiences usually within a matter of moments – and several times a day. It is the hugest emotional roller coaster ride for me. Before Jackson was born, I knew it would be a challenge, of course. But nothing can prepare you for the experience.

Now that we have had two kids now for more than 14 months, it gives me even more perspective. Has anyone ever noticed that life just seems to gradually get more and more difficult? At least this is the way it seems for me at this juncture of my life. Or maybe I just forgot about the stressors of being 15, 19, then 24….geez, what the hell was so hard about those times? Relative to now? I’m sure it was stressful at the time….but obviously I lacked the perspective then that I have now.

You know, I would have it no other way right now. I love my two boys more than I can describe accurately. Kim and I were blessed with having our children at times we were planning to. God literally gave us these awesome gifts right when we asked for them. Both of them. I was fortunate enough to find my soul-mate relatively early in life, while others have spent much of their adult life searching for someone to love the way I do Kim. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work in the field that I have chosen, and advance at times when it seemed like the natural thing to happen. So many things have fallen into place and I literally have nothing to complain about. But am I complaining if I share with you how difficult it is to balance everything right now? I know this is a test from God – actually everyday is…God has extended me enough grace to deal with these endless challenges….but am I utilizing the grace that he has granted? I don’t think so, because I get so friggin overwhelmed! I’ll not bore you with the details. But I have actually read enough other blog postings from other parents who have similar daily challenges to help keep me at least feeling like I’m not going nuts and that it is harder than hell for them, too. At least Kim and I are not alone. I have been able to share stories and struggles with my buddies Todd and Jud, whom also have young children at home and are my age and at similar points of their lives.

The thing is, our society has evolved to the point where most families need to have both parents working. And when you have both working, especially both working full-time, and you have young children – you are in for it. Because it is damn near impossible to balance everything. You have to prioritize, I know. God do I know! But there are still plenty of things that are very important that are getting put on the back burner everyday because you run out of either time or energy. And it makes you look irresponsible to people who either do not have kids or who had kids in a different era when things were drastically different than right now. I have gotten to the point where I hate hearing a 25 year old person at work with no kids or spouse talking about how stressed out they are because they can’t get their car in for an oil change, or because their roommate is messy. Or maybe they feel that they are on the verge of a nervous breakdown because they have to work this weekend and they were really hoping to go out partying. Man. That’s tough. How do they deal with these crisises? Or I hate to hear them say they are “busy”. I know, it’s all relative….but I’m sorry, they are not busy. Get yourself a full-time job, a spouse with a full-time job, and have yourself a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old. Then tell me if you still think you were busy before.

One other little observation I want to share....I have noticed that people who have small children often feel like when they go to work they can finally relax a little, not because they are slackers, that is not usually the case at all. But because compared to being at home, working is much, much easier!!!! Then on the other hand you have the single people with no kids talking about how much work streeses them out! It's the damndest thing, huh? I think this is a good example of the essence of what I am trying to convey right now.

Thanks for reading my dribble…..I feel a little better. Even though I know there is someone out there reading this with 4 young children right now, and that person is saying to him/herself, “This guy thinks HE is busy?”. It’s all relative, so I need to chill out and go to bed.