Already causing a stir!

I got a call at work from Grace's Daycare saying she had a bite mark from another kid. I laughed thinking it would just look like a tooth mark on her cheek. Come to find out Grace was dragging some kid down on her and got chomped in the process. We don't know if it's accidental or on purpose. Either way I still think it's hilarious that Grace has met her match. She started at this place when school started, and the two year olds are having territory issues. After this incident they are more or less avoiding each other. Grace likes it when the preschoolers are there so she can play with the big kids. There is also a baby girl whom she dotes on. The girl's mom told me that Grace is gentle with her which shocks me. The last time Grace was around babies she was treating them like she treats her dolls. There's a reason for the term ragdoll.

I was a little nervous with going to an actual daycare, but this one was run by my friend's friend. The lady built her basement as the daycare, so there is a huge 'playground' in it. Grace is always talking about the slides and going to Julie's house. I am thankful that she loves it so much, and seems to get along with most of the kids quite well.

I have to tell another Grace story that I thought was cute. One of our neighbors are Frank and Gertie. A few weeks ago Grace started calling Frank, Hank. I guess the Fr sound is too difficult. Anyways, every time we are outside she is wondering where Hank is. She gets really excited when she sees he's out. The other morning we were getting in the car to go somewhere and she said, "Hank, Mom?" I told her I didn't know, he was probably sleeping. She replied, "No, Mom... Eat." I busted out laughing because she must have thought it was too late in the day to be sleeping. She's heard me say that Frank is either eating or sleeping a little too often!

Hope you have a great week! It's sunny and fall-like here!

The Smokies

We are finally back from our week long trip to the Smokies and Gatlinburg TN. It was a much needed relaxing vacation. The ONLY downside to the trip was that it rained almost every day. Oh well, more sleep time, right? You can look in the photo gallery for more px if you are interested.

Friday 4: We left Hancock at 4am to head to Champaign. We met Susan around 3 and she showed us around campus. I forgot the camera. Dad Mom Matt and Michelle met us at O'Charley's for supper. That is my absolute favorite restaurant and of course there are none in MN.

Saturday 5: We drove to Clarksville Tn to have lunch at my friend Tammy and husband Dave's house. He is an army lawyer at Ft. Campbell. They showed us around the fort, which was neat since I've never been to one. It basically was like a little town that was gated. We arrived in Gatlinburg at 11:00pm.

Sunday 6: We had a late church and then went to the Flea Market. We found a few bargains we couldn't pass up, and then went back to go swimming. Grace loved it as usual. She is always asking where her 'hwim huit' is.

Monday 7: We slept in today and went to Ripley's Aquarium in the afternoon. It was pouring buckets so this was a good place to go. Afterwards we walked a little of downtown Gatlinburg.

Tuesday 8: Rustin won us a ticket to Cirque de Chine at our resort's 'Get to Know You', so we went there in the afternoon. The morning was spent at another resort convincing a salesman we didn't want to buy a timeshare with him. Let's just say 'only 90 minutes' lasts 4 hours and free cash and restaurant gift certificates isn't always worth the time you have to spend warding off vultures. We learned our lesson in timeshares! The Cirque de Chine was very entertaining with the Chinese acrobats, drummers, and motorcyclists in a cage. Even Grace sat bug-eyed the entire time. Later that evening we were out walking around the resort when out of the corner of my eye I saw a bear walking by rooms. I freaked out and gave Rustin the camera. I took Grace back to the room all the while hearing "Where's the puppy Mom?" Nice puppy! We had been warned that bears like to stroll through the resort around dusk, and I'm kind of glad I safely witnessed it.

Wednesday 9: We devoted this day to the actual Great Smoky Mt. Nat'l Park. When my family came along time ago I remember it being very curvy and stomach unsettling. Unfortunately this hadn't changed. We hiked to Laurel Falls and very much enjoyed the views. We headed to Cherokee NC to the Indian reservation since it was raining. Grace enjoyed the Bear Zoo and we did a little window shopping. We headed back anticipating climbing to the top of Clingman's Dome. The turnoff to the dome is halfway between Cherokee and Gatlinburg and then you still have 7 miles of up-mountain driving. It was pouring so we debated going but decided to anyways. I decided it would've been a neat place to hike on a sunny day. Oh well.



In the evening we ate at a pizza joint with an arcade. Grace loved it. Rustin liked playing Deal or No Deal. After we played one round of golf.

Thursday 10: We went to play our other round of golf this morning. Here is Grace in her attire. She loves George as long as his leash is loose!

We walked the streets of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg one last time.

Friday 11: We left Gatlinburg at 4am again to head to Tremont. The trip was pretty uneventful and we picked up Susan in Champaign because her car was broke down. Bob and Jenny came out for supper and Eric and ReKeeta and Abbi came after work for the evening. We had a nice time visiting.

Saturday 12: We girls did a little shopping during the day, and then we visited the Grandparents in the afternoon and evening. Grace loves all of them but kind of gets confused when we say Grandma and Grandpa and my parents aren't there. We got to see Brett and Laura's new home that evening.

Sunday 13: Church was packed for a wedding in the morning. We said our goodbyes and left after lunch. We made it home in a record 10.5 hours since Grace was born at 10:30.

I was so excited because today I didn't have to get up and go to work. My summer, city job is through so I am now working 2.5 days a week. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on house work, or maybe a book or two!

It was good to get away. I came back refreshed and ready for fall to come. This is always an exciting time of year!