Tag Archives: Alex

So Much Fun – Part One

Another three weeks have gone by since my last post – and let me tell you, they have been Very.Full.Weeks!
It started off with the
Absolutely Amazing Adventure with Alex
Alex
We’ve been doing the Take-the-grand-when-they’re-ten adventure for 12 years now. And each adventure has been unique and fun!! We’ve done Baltimore,  Washington, DC, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Williamsburg, Galveston, TX, all things Delaware, and Lake George (NY) in past years. This time we decided on Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN. It was a great choice since if you can’t find something fun to do in that area  you must be in a sorry state indeed!
There is one thing about these adventures, though – the kids still have all the energy of a 10 year old. But the grandparents keep getting older. So this year we opted not to go to Dollywood (though I’ve heard it’s amazing), and instead focused on other low-impact fun! Like a grand dinner theater,
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some time in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park,

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a foray into the Cherokee culture,
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exploring the deep blue sea at the aquarium
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and finding challenges at Wonderworks!
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A true highlight was the trip to English Mountain Fish Farm for some fishin’ and catchin’ fun!
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You were pretty much guaranteed a catch – and then they cooked ’em up just fine!
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(OK – if you’re a serious fisherman this is not the spot for you. But if you’re a 10 year old girl who loves fishing, but hasn’t done much catching, this was the place to be!).

Whether we were out exploring the town, playing miniature golf, or eating at  fun restaurants, we always ended the day in the pool! (After Grams and Pops took a power nap!).
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This was our first adventure without Lizzie (the RV), but we had a sweet cabin (ok, it was a single wide!) in a nice campground close to the action, so we think it was a great success. While we missed having all our stuff with us (and a familiar kitchen), we still managed just fine! Games were played,
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good food was eaten,
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and naps were taken (no documentation, but trust me – they happened!).
It was a grand week, filled with memories and we’re so thankful we had the time to spend with Alex!
It was a pretty quiet ride home to Columbus
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which brings us to Part Two of this post.
Check back soon!
Thanks for coming along to Pigeon Forge with us! If you’d like to see more pictures of the trip, you can check them out HERE!

Steph

A couple of glitches and some birthday wishes!

Just like any 20-year-old dwelling (whether it’s on wheels or not), things are bound to break. When we got Lizzie back from her spa treatment (and new turbo thingamajig), we noticed that the levelers were not working. It wasn’t a big deal at the moment since we were parked on a nice level concrete pad, but that is not usually the case. Gary did a bit of troubleshooting, contacted an RV tech, zeroed in on the problem, and while it took a bit of time, finally got the parts on order.
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They have just now arrived and hopefully all will be well by the time the weekend is over! Our spot here at Forest Glen is level-ish, and I just have to chase after our wheeled chairs now and then. It’s all good!
We also noticed when we set out from Kentucky to drive to Texas that our water pump wasn’t working. Really??? Well, a stop at Walmart to pick up several gallons of water and we were good to go. We’ve spent weeks and weeks at our Vermont cabin without running water, so we are well-trained in life without water coming out of the spigot. And the toilet still flushed with a little water rinse so no problem there. Now that we’re hooked up to ‘city water’, the pump isn’t necessary, but the part is in hand and hopefully is also on the “needs to be fixed” list for the weekend.
Meanwhile – a slightly bigger glitch appeared when we were at our Lindale house and Gary started working on the shed space that is destined to be my very own sewing studio. (Ok, it’s just a sewing room – but “studio” sounds pretty fancy, right?). First up was addressing those soft spots on the floor. His first thought was some water damage, so he was quite dismayed to discover that it wasn’t water damage, it was termites.
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And they had been busy!
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So what started as floor repair has turned into a floor rebuild – with a good termite treatment thrown in!
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He cut back the drywall to make sure the wall studs weren’t damaged
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and got to work doing the rebuild.
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I failed to get a picture of his most recent progress, but when we get back to the house later this month, I think we’ll (let’s be real – he’ll) be ready to put down the subfloor. And then I will have to decide on flooring and paint colors (since we’ll want to paint before we put down the final flooring, right?). It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!
So there you have it – just some of the Life that has come our way in the last couple of months. But even with those unfortunate (though manageable) glitches, we still have so very much to be thankful for! First of all, we’ve had our dear Lizzie for all these years and she has rarely given us any trouble. And now we have a house – and all the fun stuff that comes with it! While I’m trying to figure out what cupboard to put the peanut butter in, he’s out there fixing things – levelers, pumps, and yes – even floors! He truly is my superhero! And I thank God for him every day!

But wait – the Birthday wishes!! I cannot let the day go by without sending out special birthday wishes to our precious granddaughter Alex –
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who turns 10 today on the 10th.
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It’s her golden birthday – and her entrance into the double digits! Happy birthday, darlin’! We love you to the moon and back (with or without that crazy hat!)!!!

Thanks for stopping by, friends!
Steph