Amicalola Falls

We decided to go to Amicalola Falls today. We didn't want to waste this wonderful weekend with no humidity by staying inside. Days like this only come around every blue moon it seems. So we had a great time hiking up to the base of the falls. I got my workout in by pushing Sam up in the stroller as far as I could go. After you get to the base of the falls you have to climb 242 stairs to get to the top. No thanks, I'll drive. We took a lot of great pictures while we were up there. I had to pee so bad the whole time. Andy kept telling me to go behind a tree but there were a million people up there so I opted out of that one. Of course as soon as we got up there Griffen pooped but then begged to ride on our shoulders on the way down so that was a smelly good time.

After we changed both boys, we found a porta potty for me and then went to the playground. It was a really nice play area with mulch thank goodness and not sand. Griffen was having a really good time until he walked behind a girl that was swinging and got smacked right in the head and thrown back about 3 feet. Scared the crap out of me! Now he has mulch imprints on the side of his face. I think he was more shook up than scared. Poor baby. After that we changed both boys again ( Sam still has diarrhea from TN, and I guess getting hit just scared the sh*t out of Griffen). We then took this long ass dirt road back to a Baptist church that is in the middle of know where. Along the way we did find a spring that Andy got water from so now we will all have geartia ( I know thats not how you spell that) and will be having diarrhea for several weeks. I should know, I've had this before. Fun times.

On the way home we stopped and ate at Ruby Tuesdays where Griffen inhaled a huge bowl of mac n cheese, and okay, I admit, I inhaled a wonderful Triple Prime Cheddar Burger. Yes, this is why I'm fat. BUT we DID NOT order the Chocolate Tall Cake. I was really wanting it though.

So all in all, we had a really good time and I'm so glad we were able to get out and take advantage of this beautiful weather.

Our Trip to Tennessee

So we made it back from Pigeon Forge Monday evening. It was a really fun time had by all. And get this, the only things we came back home with besides what we had originally taken with us was a new cooler, a new Tennessee hat for Griffen, and a bad case of diarrhea for the boys. Yeah, we've got some sore bums in our house. My guess is that it was the change in the water because obviously Sam's not eating a whole lot at this point. Oh well.

Dollywood. Dollywood. Dollywood. If you have never been to Dollywood, I suggest you go. It is a wonderful, beautiful, and exciting park! It would remind you more of Disney World than Six Flags. The whole place is shaded and up in the mountains. Beautiful. We only ventured to one side of the park for Griffen but had a really good time. I can only imagine what else it holds. The food was really good also. We ate at a country cookin' buffet and it was pretty tasty. And no, we did not see Dolly or her boobs anywhere. A little disappointed.

The next day we went to Cades Cove to try out our new camera some more. We saw tons of deer and I actually came up on one that was bedded down in the woods. I was maybe 5 ft. away when I saw her. I would have never seen her had she not been chewing some cud and moving a leaf beside her face at the same time. We didn't see any bear this time. Last time Andy and I came we saw 2. We did see a couple of turkeys, snakes, and what I thought was a fox. And tons of squirrels when we stopped for a picnic. Did you know that squirrels do not care for grapes? After Griffen threw grape after grape at them he finally figured out that they did not like them. They will eat whole peanuts, bread with mustard, rice crispy treats, chocolate chips, turkey and cheese, and Cheese Nips. I'm sure they would have enjoyed a swig of Dr. Pepper too had they been given that opportunity.

So that's pretty much our trip to Tennessee in a nut shell. hahaha

Packing........Again

We are going to Pigeon Forge, TN this weekend. Andy was not able to go with us to Myrtle Beach so we are kinda throwing this together last minute so we can finally have a family vacation. Even Samuel will be joining us this time. This will be our very first vacation as a family of four. Actually this will be the first time Andy and Griffen have ever been anywhere together. So our plans are to maybe go to Dollywood. Andy is excited about this cause he might get lucky and see a certain someones assets, if you know what I mean. I have heard that Dolly does walk around the park quite often though she is in disguise. I'm wondering how she disguises those bad boys, or should I say bad girls. LOL Anyway, if I see her I will let you know.

Packing for a family of four sucks. It takes me a week to get the laundry caught up. Andy wears about two outfits everyday and I have to soak Griffen's clothes cause they get so dirty. Sam's have puke all over them and mine, well I'm really picky about how my stuff is washed. Especially my bras which I hang all over the laundry room to dry. It's like my own holiday bra garland. So packing for two little boys is not easy. They need play clothes, nice clothes, swimsuits, sandals, tennis shoes, socks, hats, burp rags (alot), blankets, bottles, formula, binks, music for nighttime, puppies (Griff's lovies), baby wash and the list could go on forever. I think that if I just pack myself my contact solution, glasses, and an extra pair of contacts I can live without everything else.

There's a restaurant in Pigeon Forge called Calhoun's. I don't know if there are any anywhere besides that area. They have the best ribs and steaks. And if you live in the South you have to get the corn puddin'. WOW! I could eat a trough of this stuff. It's just a real thick creamed corn but it is so sweet and soooooooooo yummy. I've never seen it on a menu anywhere else. I also get their Ale Steak. It's cooked in some kind of ale (ya think?) and it has black pepper and I think it's dried mustard on top. It is sooooo good. Have you figured out that I like to vacation just to eat at different places? There is also this place called Bullfish. Of course they have steaks and seafood but it's a bit pricey. Then there is Texas Roadhouse which I know are everywhere. And they have breakfast places called Log Cabin Pancakes or Pancake House or just every name you can think of with the word Pancake thrown in. These places serve really good grits. Gotta have my grits and their pancakes are pretty good too. What's that Weight Watchers? That's not on my list of things to eat? I'm sorry you're breaking up Weight Watchers, I can't hear you. We must have a bad connection, I'm gonna lose you. What? Oh well, I'll call ya back later.........when I'm done eating.

Fat Girls Don't Lunge

Got up early and went to BodyPump today. I haven't been in over a week. I could really feel the burn even though I think I need to add more weights. I feel the burn at the time but I haven't been getting sore the next day for a while now. I guess I'm ready to step up to 14lbs. I've been doing 10lbs. I really enjoy BodyPump except for the lunges. I can not do a lunge. I don't know why it is so hard for me. It hurts in all the wrong places when I do one. Like my feet. A lunge should not hurt your feet. Guess it's time to go shopping for shoes............again. Seems like I'm always buying shoes for someone.

Anyway, so my class consists of man and women. There are about 15 women and your token man, usually old and gray. I am by far the largest one in the group. It's kinda embarrassing. I know they are thinking that I really need that class and I agree though I'm not really using that class specifically to lose weight. It's really more about the toning and strength training. So all the women have on cute little workout clothes with the spandex pants and the tight racer back spandex tops with their cute little athletic shoes on their size 7 feet. Gag me. They either have no boobs or big boobs, cute perky ponytails, and hardly sweat at all. Then there is me. I wear sweat capri's, sports bra because I have in between boobs, and a maternity tank top. I wear a size 10 shoe so sneakers look like boats on my feet. My hair is really short and at 8:30 in the morning it's lucky it gets brushed. And then I sweat like crazy. So people probably think I'm fat and weak and just can't take it but actually it's really kinda easy (again I think I need to step up the weights). Except for the lunges of course. I really enjoy lifting weights and some of the steps that others hate I really enjoy and think I'm quite good at.

Oh well. At least I'm trying. And at least I know that way back in the day, I did look good.

Going to the Carnival

Every year in Jasper we have the same carnies come in and set up their rides. They usually set them in the same exact place every year but every so often they will switch it up a little I think to get people in there thinking there might be something new to ride. So anyway, our local paper calls it a "fair". Doesn't a fair have to have animals? and vendors selling their wares? All we have are rides and your usual cotton candy and funnel cakes. So wouldn't that be considered a carnival? Really I would like to know what you think.

Last night we went to said carnival/fair. Sam slept the whole time......thank goodness. Griffen's first ride was on a very squeaky train that went around in a circle. This train was so loud you could hear it clear on the other side of the park. You would think paying $25 for 28 tickets would pay for the cost of a can of WD40 for that sucker. Griffen enjoyed the first round and then I think he thought it was pretty lame cause he wanted to get down and do something else. Next up was the bear ride. It was these gigantic bears that you climb into and then it spins around slowly. Griffen did not enjoy this ride at all. I think it was being more enclosed that freaked him out. Either that or he found it to be incredibly boring. After that came the ferris wheel with daddy. Now this is a ride that we could have all three gone on but it cost 3 tickets apiece. I chose to sit this one out for many reasons. I'm not afraid of heights but I am afraid of sitting in this tiny enclosed basket that swings from side to side while way up in the air. Also I wanted to take pictures and Andy is not the best at taking pictures. And I didn't want to use all our tickets cause on the big kid side of the park they have some pretty cool rides that I like. Griffen can also be kinda hard to handle and I didn't want to be the one trying to hold onto him that high up in the air. So he really enjoyed that ride and I will try to post a pic soon.

After those rides, Andy and I rode some big kid rides that were great. We rode one called the Tornado that spins high up in the air and then you can control your own spinning in the pod you sit in. Of course Andy had us spinning so fast when we finally came down I had to sit a minute so my eyes could adjust. It kinda felt like a good drunk. Then we rode the Spider. This was my favorite. It was also a spinning ride but was super fast too. After that we used the last tickets for me and Griffen to ride the Merry Go Round.........twice. He really wanted to ride it but when we got on and picked out a horse he threw a fit about getting on it. Once it started up though he loved it and would then push my hands away. He did not want me to hold onto him. He's a big boy and could do it himself. We were out of tickets after that but then some lady came up and gave us some of hers that she wasn't going to use and we rode again. Griffen didn't want daddy to ride just mama.

.

Let me just mention some of the attire I saw last night real quick. Since this is a small town a big attraction like this draws all kinds. And I mean all kinds. The mullet is alive and well here in Jasper. So are tube tops on fat girls, daisy dukes on fat girls, very small bras on very well endowed fat girls and the list could go on. Now I may be a fat girl too but I would like to think I am a very well dressed fat girl trying to keep it all in not hanging out.