Last Day in Chattanooga:Raccoon Mtn, Lake Winnie!

All good things must come to an end.....

our last (bonus) day, started out raining, so we headed to our last indoor activity around, Raccoon Mountain Caverns. It was a fun tour, and I'd love to go back with just the hubs sometime (20 years from now may be first available date) and stay in a cabin!

When the sun finally peeked out, we got to see the entrance sign!!! It was pouring cats and dogs when we arrived!

Here we are in the cave!

And we made it out to sunshine!!!

Then we headed to our actual destination, Lake Winnie!!!

We were thinking it was going to be cheesy, but found it that for us, it was anything but!!!

We are a fair lovin' family, and this place was like the fair times a gazillion!!! It had something for all of us! I wanted to post all our pictures from here, but elected to try to narrow it down! I tried!!!

Most of the pictures have Derrick in the them with Noah, but rest assured, I was there, and I rode almost every ride they did, I just didn't make the press as much!

Excited we made it!

Noah's first request....the bumper cars!

Daddy's first request.....anything off the ground!

Noah's ultimate favorite....the Wacky Factory!

Where was I?

Finding an evening date!

Fun time on the lake.

I'm the one in red with my arms in the air!!!

Mom's request....the Tilt-a-Whirl!

Nicholas's ride....the stroller!!! lol!

Fine driver I had!

A water slide!

Noah's first real roller coaster! I tried to take their picture on it, but 4 failed attempts got me nowhere!!!

Our conclusion ride! When it loops to the top, the operator held it still for 30 seconds, while we were upside down....D convinced me somehow to ride it myself....I yelled ROLL TIDE when the ride was paused!!!



If you are ever in the Chattanooga area, and if you have children looking for fun, I'm telling you DO NOT MISS THIS! We had such a great time. It's a little off the beaten path, but the admission price, including unlimited rides, is cheaper than our county fair!!! You can't beat that!

Next up will be our journey home!!!

New Rugged Cross

"Children find everything in nothing; men find nothing in everything." ---Giacomo Leopardi

This past Father's Day, Noah said he wanted to build something for his Pa-Pa for a gift.

We really didn't have much to build with around the house, and I had no idea what Noah had in mind.

However, we found a couple of scrap pieces of wood and some old paint, and this is what we came up with!

The handy man all ready to paint the wood.

He used a tiny paint roller to paint both pieces an olive green.

And trimmed the edges with a tiny brush (notice his squat!).

Here he is squeezing in some dinosaur time while waiting for that coat to dry!

After the green dried, he took a paint brush and dipped it in black paint. It sort of made a camouflage look.

And of course his trusty assistant helped with the hammering together of the wood!

And, ta-da.....a beautiful hand-painted cross to go in Papa's shed!!!

That boy's very talented, if I do say so myself!!!

And now he is ready to build more, so he says, as long as the dinosaurs came come!!!

Vacation Part 6: Cartersville GA

So, almost wrapping this vaca up....thanks for your patience, and for bearing with me!

I do have some other posts to share soon that are not vacation related....I promise!!!

Derrick has family in the Atlanta area who we do not see often, and while we were in Chattanooga, I felt like we should look them up and get together! I will not be that close to family and not try to get together, blood is thicker than water. So, I contacted our cousin to find out what's what, and she suggested this place. We had such a lovely day!

Aunt Marian (married to D's dad's brother!), Derrick, and cousin Laurie!

 This was my first time meeting cousin Laurie and the first time our children met! It was so exciting!

We've been in touch over the internet, but it was so good to meet her! If any of you know me well, or have read this long, family is a top priority for me!

The museum had tons of gorgeous artwork, but I wanted to post just our family fun this time....maybe another post of just western art!

After touring all of the art, the museum offered a hands-on area for the children....and ALL of them got to play!!!!

Noah, Lily Claire, and Sam!

By all of them got to play, I mean ALL!

Even Nicky Brees liked cousin Laurie and the horsey!

 If you are ever near Cartersville, please stop in! I fell in love with downtown!

Noah, Sam, and Derrick!

Lily Claire, Sam, Noah, and Nicholas

Just us 4....the proof I went on vacation with those boys! ha!

Independence Day Happenings!

Here's hoping everyone celebrated our country's birthday in style.....we sure did!

We swam with friends and family!

Noah and my "borrowed daughter" Maddie!

We crashed Anthony and Aunt Richie's vacation!!!

Although we live 20 minutes from here, me, Noah and Maddie were sure wishing our permanent address was right here!!!

Nicholas sure tried to walk with Anthony! And Nicky gave Anthony kisses the whole time on the tummy!

How sweet!

What better thing than Crico's on the balcony! D used to work at Crico's some during college, and they still gave us a deal!

We came home to this surprise in our yard!!!

The boys had to cruise over and show off for Maddie!

Then it was to the park to hear the Crimson Priority sing! The bass singer is none other than my Daddy!

Someone little got to help them out on one song!!!

And it sounded great!!!

After all of these festivities, we just weren't going to get baby Nicholas to stay up late for the fireworks, but Noah and I were fortunate enough to see most of the neighboring town's display right from our own yard! No crowd, Nicholas resting in his own crib, and us being in p.j's.....yes please! Happy Birthday America!

Vacation Part 5: Chattanooga Ducks and ChooChoo

We spent another time in Chattanooga riding on a Chattanooga Duck. These were used in war, they are part bus, part boat! We *highly* recommend you doing this if you have children with you and you are in the area! We had a blast. For more, click here!

Here's a Duck on the street!

My boys waiting to ride!

Love it here!

Here's the boat ramp!!!



Now we're sailing!

Captain Noah even got to drive!!!

Thinking he was big stuff....and he was!

 Next, we hopped a city trolley, and headed to the historical Chattanooga ChooChoo!



The outside

Model Train Display

At the ChooChoo Train!!!