Week 7
Good gracious,
were we really gone that long?!?!
Week 7 was spent on the road.
We took our time getting leaving our beloved
Carolinas
and took our time getting back to the
Great State of Texas...
We said good-bye to my folks
and
and
stuffed the car to the gills,
full of stuff and kids!
Unfortunately,
the half a bushel of potatoes
and
the 7 pumpkins we accumulated
while we were in NC,
did NOT make it in the car
much to my dismay.
I begged and pleaded
so did the kids,
but the hubs put his foot down
when he couldn't close the hatch
and the kids had to hold
stuff in their laps!
Haha!
We went by the umpteenth
and final NC ortho visit
for J.
His arm was still as crooked as snake,
but there wasn't a whole lot to do about it
at that point.
We got our x-rays
and they sent us on our merry way.
We had been planning to go through the NC mountains
on our way home
and spend a few days.
However,
we had NO idea where in the NC mountains.
I spent most of the time in the car trying to find
somewhere to go!
We decided we wanted to spend Halloween
somewhere fun,
so we wanted to make sure there was something planned
in whatever city we decided to stop in.
We made a pitstop in Winston-Salem to see my baby sis,
We had a great time!
But it was WAY to short.
After spending too little time with the baby sis,
we hit the road again,
the problem was,
we had less than an hour of driving to decide
where exactly we were going!
So after more on-line hunting,
from the car,
we decided to head to a cute looking
little town
that had a neat looking little
"resort"
called Blue Ridge Village.
However,
I didn't call...
I absolutely
LOVE
LOVE
LOVE
the NC mountains!
LOVE!
Side Note:
My oldest, R, loves the snow.
He hates being cold,
but loves the snow.
Since we moved to Texas,
he has been asking if we could
go back to NC when it snowed.
Um, no kiddo - that is not how it works.
When he found out we were headed
back for our little trip,
he started
wishing
and
hoping
and
praying
for snow.
I,
being the realistic momma that I am,
did my best to let him know
that we were going during the fall,
not the winter
and it would probably not snow while
we were there.
I didn't want him to get his hopes up
and then be disappointed...
He talked about it the entire time
we were in NC
So that being said...
we started watching the weather
in the days leading up to our little
mountain trip.
It mentioned the word "snow"...
I didn't mention this to my oldest
because I didn't want him to get his hopes up.
As we started our assent into the NC mountains,
it began to drizzle a little,
then the temperature started dropping outside the car
(so said the thermometer in the car)
my husband pointed that out
quietly to me.
I started to get excited.
Like a little kid myself.
Then little white flakes started to fall from the sky.
I couldn't believe my eyes!
On October 29th
it was snowing in NC!
I very excitedly pointed it out to the kids
as tears of
sheer joy
beauty
disbelief
awe
rimmed in my eyes.
I could not believe what I was seeing.
The ONE thing my baby boy had wanted,
more than anything,
was to see snow while we were in NC.
The poor child had been wanting and hoping for a YEAR
for this...
I quietly said a little prayer of
thanksgiving to God
for making my baby's
wish for snow
a reality...
We made it into Boone
and decided to keep on trekking...
We were sitting in some traffic,
so we rolled the windows down
so the kids could enjoy a little of it...
from the comfort of the car.
Ms. Priss was LOVING IT!
Mr. T, not so much...
If you look carefully,
you can see the snow coming
in through the window and landing on his carseat.
Daddy thought it was so cute
how excited I was,
so he snapped this pic of
one happy momma!
As we got higher into the mountains,
the snow started coming down harder and harder.
And not everyone has vehicles equipped to drive
in this stuff.
So we wound up getting caught behind a car that was stuck,
he couldn't get traction.
We put our suburban in neutral
and attempted to put it in 4WD.
However,
it wasn't engaging.
So mommy and daddy started
to panic a little.
Here we were,
no hotel reserved,
snow coming down
FAST
and
HARD,
four small children in the backseat...
After what felt like an eternity,
we finally made it to the resort.
And wouldn't ya know it,
since the storm had come on so quickly
their guests were staying...
so there was
no room at the inn.
And apparently the lady was a little rude to boot!
Here is the view from the car
while the kids and I waited on daddy.
Before we headed back out,
we attempted to put the car
into 4WD again.
Thankfully,
this time
it WORKED!
I think daddy and I both let out
the biggest sigh of relief.
Also, thankfully we had my phone and internet.
We made some phone calls
and found a spot for us
a little over a mile further down.
This is the first chance my sweet boy
is getting to actually PLAY in this
much wished for and desired
SNOW!
The kids warmed up by the fire in the lobby
after the chilly walk in from the car.
We checked in and daddy started attempting to unload.
We had done our best to put our overnight
stuff on top.
But it was still a FEAT
getting things into and out of that stuffed car!
When we got to the room,
we were greeted with this letter
informing us of the potential of a powerful storm
(called Sandy) coming through and
of what to do in case
of a power outage!
Aye!
What were we getting ourselves into???
While daddy was making 50 million trips
to and from
the car...
the kids got to step right outside our door
and indulge in this
beautiful white stuff!!
Then they would come in for 5 minutes and warm up...
(yep, it was cold enough to justify that face)
some of his snow with his baby sister...
Good gracious I am getting some precious pictures
lately!
Yes, my child is out in the snow,
with short sleeves on!!!
Looney bird!
doesn't he?
Mr. T got out in it too...
But after horsing around and flopping around in it
like the big boys...
he decided he didn't like being that cold...
After they were all done playing in the snow,
they did get to warm up in the jacoochi tub.
(that is what it was called years ago by a lady
when daddy and I were buying our first house,
it has kinda stuck)
They actually did get in a bathe in it.
Then we tucked them all into bed.
See how this works?
They got the king sized bed
while daddy and I got the pull out sofa!
But we got our own room,
sort of.
We are now at the point
where most hotels will require us to get separate rooms
we try to get adjoining
or we just don't tell them
exactly how many kids there are
since we all fit in two beds anyways.
This time,
we got two adjoining rooms...
that had been turned into a suite.
The kids got the nicer side...
The next morning,
we decided to head to a different hotel.
This one was OK
but the breakfast wasn't the best
and the snow was supposed to keep on coming down
so we decided we needed to head
into a bigger town
to attempt to ride out the snow.
So we headed back to Boone.
While there,
we searched out some glove & hats
and stumbled across this little gem!
We HAD to get it!!
Once we had hats & gloves
and were settled into the new hotel,
we went on the hunt for a park,
where we could do some serious
playing in the snow!
Mr. T passed out,
so *someone* HAD to stay
in the car and keep an eye on him...
While we were staying warm in the car,
daddy and the other 3 built a snowman!!!
Then the snowball fights started.
The boys are setting up their ammo...
And Ms. Priss was freezing to death...
already...
Then Ms. Priss apparently got pegged in the head
by an errant (or maybe not so errant) snowball
and carried around most of the
errant snowball with her...
it stuck to her hat!
Man she is a cuite!
When Mr. T finally woke up,
I decided we should atleast get out long
enough to get cold...
he didn't like it...
At all!
Which was fine,
I got a front row seat for the
upcoming snowball fight!
This is a GREAT shot of daddy
hitting Ms. Priss with a snowball...
square in the face!
Then J getting daddy back!
I am not sure who is having more fun here...
daddy or J!
Then R got smart and took cover behind a light pole.
Look how happy Mr. T is from the warmth of the car.
Apparently daddy nail R in the head too!
After the others were frozen solid,
we packed back up and headed back to the hotel.
I had done a good job of shopping and packing
food we could eat in the hotels.
So we went back to the hotel
with another jacoochi tub.
The kids got warmed up
while I fixed dinner.
This was dessert.
This is the ONE food item I was able to
bring back with us...
This is my birthday cake...
I get the same cake every year
from the same bakery.
This year,
with all the illness going through the house
we didn't have a party to celebrate,
so I wound up taking the uncut cake with us.
You saw how packed our car was...
where it the WORLD do I put a cake???
Well, it got sat on,
imagine that!
But it still tasted great!
The next morning we decided to keep on moving.
Our plan, all along,
had been to find somewhere fun and special
for the kids to trick or treat.
We had gone to Boone because of their
downtown festival called
The Boone Boo...
but with all the snow and cold weather.
It was a game time decision
and we weren't willing to wait.
So we loaded back up
and decided to head to Asheville.
(Another favorite NC city!)
We did take the kids by the park one last time before we left Boone.
Ms. Priss in her traveling garb.
However,
we had to make a detour back to Banner Elk.
When we left the first hotel,
we unintentionally left some pretty precious cargo.
This little fella...
Nana bought this for J when he was born,
she brought it to him in the hospital.
He started to attach to it when he was about 18 months old
and hasn't been without it since...
so he was definitely worth the 30 minute detour.
(almost just as much for mommy as for J)
So here he is in the Halloween costume the boys made for him.
I decided to snap one more picture of the snow,
because I knew we were leaving it...
Then we drove into this...
There are simply no words to describe this.
This is what does it for me and daddy.
I was fighting tears as we were driving through these mountains,
just in awe of their beauty...
and how much I missed them...
I'm so excited you got some snow while you were here!! This post is very timely because NC just got more snow! Love the pictures and the pure bliss of your children in the snow.
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