Our First Vacation...sort of...

The view from our condo

We were in need of a vacation.  Just us, the five of us, that didn't include visiting family.  Since Lyra Kate came along, almost 4 years ago, we have only taken vacations that were to visit family - many trips to my Mom's on the Alabama Gulf Coast (I mean she does live at the Beach) and one long trip with Scott's parents to visit Gigi and Uncle Larry in Kansas City.  (The trip was long because it was about 11 hours in the car one-way, with a 2 year old and a 1 year old, both who got the stomach bug, and I was 4 months pregnant - not because we were traveling with Scott's parents). Anyway, I was longing to "get-away" for a few days with just Daddy and the littles.  And so we found one week in March where we could make a break for it and headed to the Smokey Mountains. 

This is what happens when you say "give Sis a hug!"

I love it there, in the mountains.  My people had to be mountain people, because I always feel at such peace there.  It was Spring.  Winter had left and everything was green and beautiful. 

Looking at the flowers

We are not much on going to the shows that they have in the area.  In fact, we had planned on doing much more before we got there.  Instead, we only went to the Aquarium in Gatlinburg.  It was our first trip and the girls enjoyed it. 

Looking at the fish

We spent two days in the National Park.  The first day "hiking"!  We actually took a trail behind the Sugarlands Visitor Center that led to a waterfall, which the park ranger suggested would be stroller friendly.  She was wrong.  Scott ended up carrying the stroller more than anything else.  The girls did have an adventure since it was muddy, beside a stream, and included a plank bridge. 

Our wandering child, Lila Grace, about to climb over the edge!

The last day of our vacation we spent in the park also.  We drove toward Cherokee about halfway.  We found access to one of the mountain streams that wasn't too step to climb down to with our 3 littles.  The water was low, exposing the river bed.  Our girls threw a lot of rocks.  And brought a lot of rocks home - something they apparently inherited from their Daddy. 

Rock throwing fun!

We then drove back to Sugarlands where we walked the handicapped trail.  It was a old homesite that the park is letting nature reclaim.

Old homesite - all that's left is the stone chimney

 It was by the stream.  We explored this area thoroughly.  Gracie found a walking stick which now has a permanent residence in our garage. 

Gracie's stick that she found in the woods

After that adventure, we drove towards Cade's Cove.  We were looking for the old schoolhouse, but we missed the turn off and couldn't turn around.  We ended up leaving the park through Wear Valley and coming back into Pigeon Forge from north of the National Park.  It was a beautiful drive.

Mountain steam

We have one rule about food when we are out of town - try to eat somewhere we do NOT have at home!  We did just that eating at Bubba Gump's (YUMMY), Red Robin, The Old Mill, Bullfish, Fudruckers and Calhoun's.  And of course we made the trek to the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg for breakfast one day.  It was wonderful.  Lyra Kate stuffed herself!  What can I say - we are Foodies (well, maybe not Gracie, she just likes chocolate). 

Tucker

We also did a good deal of shopping while we were there.  I love to shop at the Outlet stores for the children's clothing.  We bought most of our spring clothing that we needed.  We also took the children to their first Disney Store.  I didn't tell them where we were going so it was a surprise.  It took Lyra Kate's breath away when she saw the wall of princesses!  Gracie quickly found her guy - Buzz.  We let the girls pick one item each.  Lyra Kate got a Ariel the mermaid dress and Lila Grace got a real Buzz Lightyear.  We had two very happy little girls! 

Our favorite spot

Our favorite part was just driving and walking in the national park.  I could go every year if our budget allowed.  It was renewing for us to spend so much time together.  The children and I are always together but we miss having Scott with us.  This was a fun adventure.  I can't wait until our next one...maybe Disneyworld.

Our Philosophy Concerning Birthdays

My wonderful reusable Happy Birthday Banner

We do BIG Birthdays here is The Land of Lentz! Why?  Well, there are several reasons.  I've noticed a trend among a lot of people to skip the Birthday Celebration for their child and just do something as a family.  It really got me to thinking of why I like doing large celebrations.  So here's what I came up with...

Table centerpiece of party hats from the dollar store

1. It's the only day of the year that it's all about them. 
When you have multiple children, the focus is rarely given to just one.  We have three small children and our two girls are only a year apart in age.  We try and make Christmas more about Christ and spending time with family than about the presents.  When we go somewhere as a family, like the zoo, it's for everyone to enjoy.  Each child gets to spend time seeing what they enjoy and the rest of us just have to suffer through it (think Reptile House). 
On birthdays, the focus is all about them.  The party includes all of the people that they like - their friends and family.  The theme is picked by the birthday child or picked to reflect something the birthday child likes.  The food is stuff that child prefers or requests.  The presents are only for the birthday child.  The outfit for the party is picked by the birthday child.  You get the idea - as much as possible, we let the birthday child plan the day!  It's the only day of the year that is all about them! 

Tablescape for Tucker's First Birthday

2. It's one of the few times our children get new toys through the year.
We are not the kind of parents who run to the toy store every payday to get our children something.  In fact, we take all three to the toy store to purchase gifts for other children and/or baby showers without buying any of our children a thing.  Some may think that's cruel but I think it's teaching an important life lesson - sometimes we have to wait for things that we want.  We can go to the toy store, pick out gifts, look and dream, and then leave without any arguing, begging, or crying.  If there is something that the children really like we add it to the list of gifts that they would like for their birthday or Christmas.  The only times my children get new toys from us or their grands are Christmas and birthdays.  They get an Easter basket but usually only get candy and a book.  So birthdays are a big deal for them because it means new toys, movies and books.

Gift bags for Lila Grace's 2nd Birthday

3. It's a celebration of them!
I try to make each child's birthday special because that child is special.  I want to celebrate the day that God sent him/her into our family.  Making a big deal about a child's birthday is the same as making a big deal about the child.  The other night, Lyra Kate (our almost 4 year old) and I, went to buy groceries.  She usually loves to listen to music in the car but instead she wanted to tell me something.  What was that something?  She wanted to tell me all about what she wanted for her upcoming birthday party.  She had picked her theme, guests, decorations, outfit, food, and activities!  She also told me all the gifts she was hoping to receive!  I listened carefully and mirrored her excitement!  She was so thrilled to have a lot of uninterrupted time to tell me her plans.  She had spent a lot of time thinking about what she wanted. 

Tablescape for Lyra Kate's 3rd Birthday

4. The special events are what they will remember from childhood.
I know that I clearly remember every birthday party that I had as a child.  I also remember vacations and Christmases.  As I get older, much of the common stuff of childhood has been forgotten.  We want our children to have some wonderful memories of their childhood.  We see birthdays as an opportunity to really have fun and lavish each child with love.

Paper Lanterns over children's table

These parties are a lot of work.  Each one takes me about 10 hours of planning and prep work to pull off - invitations, ordering the cake, menu, shopping, decor, cleaning, clean up, thank yous, etc.  They are not very expensive.  Tucker's first birthday costs us only $100.  That was for his cake and iced cookies from the Bakery, tablecloth, paper products, invitations, other food and drinks, his outfit, and a banner that I invested in that will be used many times over the coming years.  This also included his gift from us and the treat bags for his guests.  Lyra Kate's birthday last year was a bit more expensive since we rented a large bouncy house for the party.  Minus that expense, everything else was only around $80.  Grace's 2nd birthday party was about $150, since we got her a really expensive gift.   

What can I say, we love birthdays! We celebrate on the morning of each child's actual birthday (which is rarely the day of the party) with homemade, fresh baked, chocolate chip cookies and milk for breakfast.  Scott and I wake the birthday child up by singing Happy Birthday to them. These next birthdays are going to include a new tradition - balloons.  We'll have to see how that turns out!

Daniel Fast Conclusions

I got so busy around here that I stopped posting about our Daniel Fast Adventure.  We completed the fast on January 22, 2012.  Other than me adding coffee back to my diet, we followed the plan for the entire 21 days.  It was challenging but very beneficial. Here are our healthy results:

Scott lost 9 and 1/2 pounds and 2 1/2 inches from his chest and 3 inches from his waist. 
I lost 4 pounds and 2 inches from my waist and 2 from my hips and 1 inch from my bust.

We decided to continue to limit our calories and follow a modified Daniel Fast for a few weeks to see if we continue to loose weight.