I took the latter part of this week off and attempted to make some day trips to various places, however my attempts were, well, they didn’t always work out. 

For example, the original plan was to pick Regan up Wednesday morning and then head over to Greensboro to the water park there.  Well, Sam came home from Nana’s with a mortorcycle burn on her leg and I was advised to keep her out of the water for a while.  So nix that plan.  So we took our time driving back to the Noke and stopped at McDonald’s and at a playground on the way and it was nice. 

I had decided after dinner that we would go to the playground and well, it started raining as we were clearing the dinner dishes…

Yesterday, we were going to go to the zoo.  We had our picnic lunch packed and we got in the car and were on our way when it started to pour.  We headed to KMart to kill some time and it was still raining when we came out.  So I told the kids that we would get up first thing to head to the zoo this morning before the rain started. 

I got them up, dressed, Sam’s dressing changed and we were at the zoo by 10:30.  It was just a dreary day and you knew it was going to rain at any moment.  But I snapped a few pictures before it did!

The kissing llama wasn’t there and this is about as friendly as this one would get!

I have the same expression on my face when I attempt to read a map!

The kids donating to the habitat!

This guy just looked so comfy!

That’s Roanoke from the Zoo…normally it’s pretty…well that still is pretty, but on a clear day, it’s breath taking!

There are normally tons of these little guys out and about, but today just these two…and they weren’t out very long.  Matthew says my flash scared them away.

The kids waiting for the Zoo Choo

A very nice woman came over and offered to take a picture of all of us!

One of my new favorites of Matthew and Samara…

They’re being silly…

Samara and Regan…

Miss Regan posing like a pro!

So we didn’t get to do all that we had planned to this week…we still had a great time!  I’ve enjoyed the time off and the time with the kids!  I finished Harry Potter and savored it.  After all, I’ve got another 2 years to wait for a new book, and have started on a new series by Janet Evanovich.  The first book was One for the Money and I had that finished in a day!  My nurse recommended them to me and they are a mystery with a humorous twist and I’m just loving them!  The library was out of Two For the Dough, so I went and bought it at Barnes and Noble the other night!  They are just WONDERFUL.  If I keep this pace though, I'’ll have all 11 of them done in 2 weeks!

Until next time…

Last week, the kids were at Nana’s and Papaw’s and we were dog sitting for Tim’s Mom. Jack’s never a problem, however, we had strict instructions not to let Jack on the furniture or in the bed because he’d come home expecting to be able to. Try as we might, Jack was adament about being right next to us wherever we went! Poor Tim couldn’t even read alone!

And of course the dogs became our kids for the week and I snapped pictures. I actually have proof that Jack gives kissies…he doesn’t normally!

Until next time…

11AM Saturday, we hit the road…headed for Charlotte, North Carolina for our “date” with Kenny Chesney.

By we, I mean my best friend Sondra and I…Tim would rather be caught DEAD than to go to a Kenny concert!

She had worked all night, so I drove, with the intention that she would sleep during the 3 hour drive. I think she slept, at most, an hour and a half. We got there shortly after 2 and checked in. I figured she’d sleep. She said, “get your suit on, we’re going to the pool.” So we did. Took a dip, relaxed and then she says, “I’m hungry, we’re going to eat.”

Sondra and I always get Mexican when we go out to eat and there’s always a margarita involved. This time was no different. We lucked out…Charlotte’s BEST Mexican restaurant was infront of our hotel. (We figured it must be good when we walked in and there were more Hispanic clients than those like us!)

We ate and had our margarita. There’s a reason I don’t drink. That margarita knocked me on my butt. We went back to the hotel and started getting ready for the concert and I crashed. When Tim called I woke up and it was 6:30…an hour before show time.

Of course, we were like high school girls getting ready. We both packed for 4 days even though we were only going for 24 hours and scoping out each others clothes to make sure we looked perfect for Kenny. ROFL. I just had to laugh. Sondra is the youngest 41 year old I know, and she’ll be quick to tell you that I’m the oldest 28 year old!

We finally left…and got to the coliseum. WOW! It was huge. The parking lot was as big as an amusement park parking lot! We made the woman behind us mad when we stopped to take these pictures…

And before going in we snapped this pic of ourselves and the big bottle of Cruzan Rum (Kenny’s sponsor)…I’m getting REALLY good at self portraits!

Then it was time for the show to start…Pat Green opened and then Gretchen Wilson played for about an hour. I people watched. What I noticed most were the amount of people in cowboy hats and flip flops…only at a Kenny concert! (Of course there were also people there that I wondered how they could afford to be there!) I was amazed at the size of the place as I certainly hadn’t been in any establishment that big!

Kenny started at 9:25…flew in on a little bar…and he was amazing! Uncle Kracker was there to help him with “When the Sun Goes Down” and sing a few of his songs and it was just an amazing night. He played all 3 of the songs I wanted him to: “The Woman With You”, “”Live Those Songs Again” and “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”…and yes, he waved at me, blew me kisses and told me he loved me…lol…

Here are some pictures and they stink because we were so far away and that zoom button only does so much!

Then after the concert…at 11:30 we headed out to Coyote Joe’s…one of the biggest country bars on the East Coast…AWESOME…I wanted to ride the bull. I was advised against that.

Back to the hotel by 2 (Sondra lost her steam, by that point in time, I wasn’t ready to go to bed!) and to sleep…only to be up this morning to hit the road.

At 10:02 I walked into the hotel lobby to grab something from what they called a continental breakfast before we hit the road…there was no one in there but me and the hotel dude working behind the counter. I don’t know if he was but he appeared to be the manager. So I go over and have my hand on a muffin…my hand is in the little thing that has the muffins and I’m just getting ready to pull it back and he came over, closed the lid on my hand, and said “I’m sorry, this is closed, it’s after 10.” I just stood there and stared at him. I couldn’t stop staring in disbelief that he wouldn’t let me have the teeny tiny muffin and go on my way.We paid good money to stay in that hotel, and no, I didn’t realize that the breakfast ended at 10…however, that muffin wouldn’t have killed him to give it to me…i already had my hand on it. It really was the worst part of my weekend get away.

But we went to IHOP and ate and came on home…

A very nice trip…we’re already talking about what we’re going to do next year! =)

Until next time…

Heather

Hear that? Nope…there’s nothing to hear…except maybe the dog snoring and the radio in the back ground.

That’s right…I’m home alone!

Tim left for his golf weekend about 5:30 and the kids headed out about 6:15…

Just ordered pizza (with the toppings that I wanted) and am enjoying some time to myself! (That and packing to get ready to go see Kenny tomorrow!!! =))

I better not get used to this!

Until next time…

Heather

something happened with the old template when I added the 4th of July pictures. Not sure what, but I didn’t like what it was doing. Our address is still the same, just a new look…until I get bored with this one. I’m tickled because the template only came with 2 boxes on the side and I figured out how to make another one for our photos…=) It’s the little things I know…So here I am at 1:45 AM fiddling with a blog that serves no purpose other than for me to broadcast those important in my life to others, some who know us and some who don’t…

Oh well..it was important to me to make it right.

With that, I’m off to bed…

Until next time…

Heather

Or is it? I always remember the camping trips I went on as a child and how much I really liked them. As soon as we got there, Dad would tell us to get lost and we pretty much stayed lost unless it was time to eat.

I was in search of boys and my brother just rode his bike around and found other little friends.

I’ve figured out that as an adult there’s alot more work involved in these trips and getting lost as soon as you get there really isn’t an option! However, depsite the work involved they are rather nice.

We went to the Wytheville KOA and were in the same site that we were in last year. What are the odds of that happening? Tim got there first and by the time the kids and I got there (there was an accident on the way down so the hour trip turned into two!) he had the tent and screen porch up. I had the bikes with me, so we got there, took the bikes off and told the kids to get lost while Tim and I finished setting up.

The first “I’m bored” came about 30 minutes later. How can these children possibly be bored? We were literally right across from the playground, game room, store and there are a gazillion other little heathens running around! And they have their bikes! We put a stop to that real quick, but the bottom line is that “I’m bored” translates into “I want to go to the pool and nothing else!”

Tim got our campsite set up really nice…

Like I said, it’s the exact same site we were at last year!

Friday night, we didn’t do much, the kids rode their bikes, and Tim and I relaxed a bit. Tim didn’t even get a fire going…but it was a long day…

Saturday morning the people next to us were up early…and so was Rhoda, so I got up with Rhoda and Matthew and putted around. Tim got a new camp stove for his birthday last week so I made coffee on that with our new coffee pot that we bought last camping trip.

The girls got up and since Tim was still sleeping, I took the kids down to play putt putt…thank goodness I didn’t play, I would never have been able to concentrate.

We got back and Tim was up so I took the kids to the pool. They were so excited. The slide wasn’t open yet, and it really wasn’t that hot, so we didn’t stay that long. We came back and had some lunch and then headed back to the pool to leave Tim to his horseshoe tournament.

This time the kids got on the big waterslide. Matthew just goes. He doesn’t care…face first, feet first, sitting up, on his back, on his belly…and he loves to make a splash. Most of the time I had to catch the girls. They did brave going down without their water wings as long as I promised to catch them. They would go down without being caught if they had their wings on. I attempted to teach them to doggie paddle, but that didn’t go over real well. There’s always next time.

We went back to the site to watch Tim finish up his tournament…

While watching Tim, the girls decided to pose for a few pictures…

What hams!

Tim won…he’s now the proud owner of a tee-shirt that says “I’m a winner at the KOA Wytheville”…i confiscated it for a sleep shirt since I forgot Sam’s pajamas and I had to give her my shirt…

Tim took me to play putt putt for my annual butt whooping…I only lost by 2, but I lost…and then Tim discovered the quarter game, where you stick quarters in the machine and try to get more out…I finally left the game room…I was out of money…

Back to play…Tim read and eventually we had dinner and headed down to Kareoke…well Sam, Regan and I did. Somehow I got swindled into singing “Dancing Queen” with the girls. I’m not sure how…but there we were…and then all of a sudden I see Matthew in front of the stage screaming “Tim said it was you!”

So, since I sang a song with Samara, I had to sing one with Matthew…well we all got up there and sang “When the sun goes down…” Yes, I do believe we won’t be able to show our faces in Whytheville anymore…

The girls were tired, so I got them bathed and into bed, and Tim and Matthew guarded the fire and made s’mores.

Sunday I slept in a little…not much..the people next door were loud. The girls didn’t get up until almost 10…and then they were off playing.

Tim took them up to the pool for a bit…and I snapped a few pics of them…

I got ready for my volleyball tournament…and yes, now I have my own “I’m a winner at the Wytheville KOA” tee-shirt!

Tim comes back and says that he needs to find an ATM since his money mysteiously dissappeared…I start freaking out, only to learn that the money mysteriously dissappeared into the quarter machine! So he goes and comes back and gets Matthew to go go cart riding.

We had dinner and then putted around waiting for the fire works to start…we went on a hay ride…

And Sam tried her hand at horseshoes…

And Tim relaxed…

Then the boys got the fire going and the s’mores set up…

Once it was time for the fireworks we all went up to the bon fire and the girls entertained us…

And then the kids and I had fun taking pictures of ourselves…

Then the owner thought we were off our rockers and took a picture of all of us…

I snapped one of Tim and Regan…

Then the fireworks started…and Rhoda took off…so did Tim…not voluntarily though. Poor thing was scared to death, so Matthew, Samara, and I stayed for the show…not too bad…but poor Rhoda…scared the pee right out of her…all over the tent…it’s funny…we’ve used that tent twice and twice she’s gone to the bathroom in it…

Matthew reached his limit and he went to bed and the girls and I sat around the fire…

Off to bed and up this morning to pack up and head home…

Happy 4th…

Until next time…

Heather and the gang…