9 Galtinburg Gals...and a Boy

We just arrived back home from a 6 day stay in Gatlinburg, TN. I am EXHAUSTED!!!

Here are the details:
ATTENDEES: Cara, Lauren, Landon, Jessie, Maggie, Heather, Hailey (Heather's daughter), Dee (my grandma), Linda (my mom), and Sharon (Heather's mom)

VEHICLES: Cara's Expedition, Sharon's Camry, Dee's Volkswagen (not sure which model...I think it's a Jetta)

ACCOMMODATIONS: Gatlinburg Falls 3-bedroom cabin with hot tub and game room complete with Golden Tee and Multi-Game (PacMan, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Frogger) arcade games, pool table, and air hockey table

Beth Spencer and her family stayed at Gatlinburg Falls a while back and loved it, so we decided to try it out! We stayed in the Altitude Adjustment cabin (http://gatlinburgfallsresort.com/cabin.php?cid=630), and the pictures on the website do not do it justice!!! I would highly recommend Gatlinburg Falls to anyone looking for a great, fairly inexpensive, quick get away within a few hour driving distance. I've stayed at other cabins in Gatlinburg, and this was the best one by far!!! At the cabin, there is a guest journal that each group that visits that cabin writes details about their stay. It was fun to see what everyone else did on their trips. Very cool!

The "big" things we did were go to the Ripley's Aquarium, Wonder Works interactive learning center, Sky Lift, and Space Needle. We also hit the flea market and outlet malls. Jessie and Heather got a special card and secret instructions to go to another booth to be taken "behind the walls" to buy Coach purses. It was a little too weird for me, so I stayed out with the kiddos.

We had a blast...see below pictures for highlights!





Sunday night, the grandparents (or "Adults" as we called them) watched the kids so that Jessie, Heather, and I could go out on the town. We decided to get tattoos.



Heather got this swirly flower design. Very cute! She already had the Japanese symbol for "Heaven".

I was a little jealous when I saw the cool blue color. I had already gotten mine, and it was too late for me to change my color. :(




Our tattoo artist, JR, used to have a shop in Scottsburg, IN. He knew exactly where we were from, and it turns out that we even knew many of the same people. It sure is a small world!!!

This is my tattoo. It's the Capricorn symbol. It's about 2 inches high and is in the middle of my upper back. I had planned on just getting it in all black, but JR said he wanted to add some color and shading. I had no idea what the finished product would look like, but it turned out great!

Jessie got her existing tattoo touched up. It's an ichthys (Jesus fish) with her mom and sister's initials in it. It looks great, but for some reason, I don't have any pictures of hers. I'll get them from Heather and add them later.

Jessie acted like it was no big deal to get a tattoo and talked and joked around while getting it done. I did okay, but toward the end when JR was adding the color up my spine, I got really sweaty and angry. It hurt really bad! They said I looked like I was going to punch JR in the face. :) Heather doesn't "do" pain, and ended up getting sick with only 30 seconds of work remaining. Bless her heart! JR had a really weak stomach, so I told him to get out of the booth while I helped Heather clean up. She's a trooper! I really like my tattoo, and am already thinking about what my next one will be.

On Tuesday, we took the kids to a little carnival type of place, and they had a great time. I even got to ride the train! Notice my super-cool Coach sunglasses...Heather swears they are real even though we bought them at the flea market.

Happy Mothers Day!!!

Today, Jessie, Mom, and I decided to take the kids to visit Big Mommy (my great-grandma Martha) and my great-aunt Cris. They live in Austin, IN, and it is always an adventure taking a mini-roadtrip with the kiddos. I guess it is a small taste of what we will experience when we head to Gatlinburg on Saturday.

Jessie and I have always called our great-grandma "Big Mommy". We never thought that this was weird, but as we've gotten older, people look at us like we're crazy when we mention it. The story behind the name is when Grandma Dee was pregnant with my mom, Big Mommy was also pregnant with my great-uncle Roger. Big Mommy said that she wasn't old enough to be a grandma, so she would prefer to just be the "Big" mommy and Grandma Dee would be the "Little" mommy. It stuck, and I will never call her any thing but my "Big Mommy".

Big Mommy is an amazing woman. She is 86 years old, and looks amazing! She is so strong, and tells me that I need to look for a rich old man to take care of me. She also tells us to never let a man take advantage of us or treat us bad. She's says that men just aren't worth the headache. When you talk about someone with a flaw or baggage, she says "He has a spider in his dumplings". I love that phrase! She smokes a pipe occasionally, and used to carry a pistol in her purse. She's Hazard KY all the way!!! I hope I'm just like her when I'm older. :)

Big Mommy and all of her great-great-grandkids

My great-aunt Cris is an amazing woman as well! She's in a wheelchair, missing a leg from her diabetes. She's blind, on kidney dialysis, and is a breast cancer survivor. After all of the physical attacks she has endured on her body, she still has an unbreakable spirit! She is one of the most caring, loving people I've ever met.

This woman needs to write a book! She has never been married, and she says that it's a good thing. She could never imagine having to ask for permission from a man to do anything. She also said if a man were to lay a hand on her child, she'd kill him. :) I completely understand. When I got pregnant with Lauren and wasn't married, she called and made me feel so much better. She balances never being judgemental equally with telling you exactly what she thinks.

Her son, Steve, was born one day before me. Cris and Mom were pregnant at the same time, and when Cris called to tell Grandma that she had just given birth to a baby boy, Grandma was getting ready to leave to get my Mom to the hospital because she was in labor. How crazy is that?

A few months ago, she was in the hospital for kidney dialysis, and Jessie and I put on a little impromptu concert singing a handful of songs for her. I've never felt so good about my singing as when we sang for Cris. She loved it! I feel guilty that I don't see her more often. Jessie and I need to make a concerted effort to make the good ol' trip to Austin every chance we have.

Jessie and I are very lucky to be surrounded by such strong, smart women. They are truly examples of what independent ladies should be. The bar certainly has been set high for Landon with the women he has in his life. He'll have a lot of trouble finding a girlfriend/wife that we think is good enough for him. :)

On a side note, my friend Kent from work and his wife Kelly gave birth to a big ol' baby boy on Thursday. Baby Cohen was 9 lbs. and 21 inches long. He's a doll. How cool is it that Kelly is celebrating her first Mothers Day with her three day old son. :)

New momma Kelly is absolutely beautiful!

Proud papa

Happy Mothers Day to all! Be sure to treat all of the mothers in your life with respect and love every day of the year!

Cara

Kentucky Derby 2008

I got to go to the Kentucky Derby courtesy of Heartland Payment Systems, the great company I work for. Here are some of the pics from the amazing day!!!

In the TARC bus on the way to the Downs

Me and my hot momma!

Our tent was right next to the red carpet...here is Carson Daly (he is super skinny in person)

This is Lennox Lewis...a boxer

We also saw Hugh Hefner's girlfriends, but I wasn't wasting the battery power to take their picture. Yuck!

MOI!

The view from our box

My momma

Me again

Me and the big boss...the "Marty"

The restroom trailers...oh yes...we even had lavish bathrooms!!!

We had a blast! A special thanks goes out to Mrs. Deola Haymaker for watching the kiddos! I have the best grandma in the world!!!