Look who's 4

When your birthday is the day after Halloween you just stay in a sugar high all weekend!  But this year at least I had time to make a cake. We went with a backhoe theme. 

He loved having Max and some family over for dinner.....

....because the jumping at the mall didn't go so well. All Wade has wanted to do for the last 6 months is do the bungee assisted jumping thing at the mall. He would tell everyone when he turned four he got to bounce at the mall. But today he watched some older girls go before him that were doing flips and really getting high. By the time it was his turn he was crying....so maybe we will try again next year. Max however had a ball and even went back for another turn ( but he is a big boy of 5 1/2 )

Happy Birthday Wade Michael, it won't be the last time things in life get overwhelming, but hope you can always find that smile again quickly. 

Trailblaze Challenge

Life has been a whirlwind since I did the Trailblaze Challenge on Oct 10^th for Make A Wish but I want this to be in my blog so I can someday reflect. 

 Sam and I were awake by 2:30am listening to a thunderstorm outside the hotel room window.  We had to assemble at 3:30 to get on the bus to the trailhead.  There were about 80 hikers and it was a rain or shine event.  I am so glad Mike insisted that I go buy a new rain jacket!

28.3 miles is a formidable challenge on a trail.  Roots, rocks, starting in the dark…were all made that more difficult with the wet conditions.  At times the rain eased up but we were basically wet all day.  Ironically it had been sunny on Friday and was sunny on Sunday.  The van ride to the trailhead was dismal.  

The trail followed the Oconee river part of the way, but we were not really able to enjoy much scenery…heads down watching every step and trying to keep the water off your face was what most of the day was like.  We began at 5:15 and at the second aide station knew we would have to keep a good pace if we were to make the time cut off.

 On this leg I got stung by a yellow jacket and as I stepped off a bridge onto a stump to make sure he wasn't in my pants I slipped and crashed down on my tail hard. Thankfully not my head!  

It wasn't meant to be...we had been hiking about 12 hours when we arrived at the last station thirty minutes too late. We had to take the van back to to the finish line.  I was disappointed but knew at least we didn’t give up (like some other’s did).  Of the 80 hikers about 20 didn't get all the mileage in that day. Hats off to those who did! Including our new friend Shari who was in one of the fastest groups. 

Wade and Mike had hiked almost two miles from the finish line hoping to meet us…and several hikers told me the next morning how much they had enjoyed seeing Wade’s enthusiastic smile on the trail as they were finishing that last leg.

What is important is that we raised over $6,000, which is about the cost of the average wish.  There are 200 kids on the waiting list just in the Western part of NC. 

Could we have completed the trail if it had been dry?  I don’t know for sure…but I think so.  So I settle for about a 24 mile day instead of the full 28.3 and know that I probably won’t  take the time away from my guys to train for something like this again….and pray we never need Make A Wish in our family.

 

Needless to say a big Thank You goes out to all who supported us and to Mike who spent a lot of Saturday's alone with Wade so I could train. I hope to look back more fondly on this day as time passes   

 

50 years....

Mom and Dad would have been married 50 years today....

Mike and I have worn their rings now for a little over 5 years, he will be 100 and I will be 93 on our 50th. I guess we are going for quality and not quantity. I just pray we are good models for Wade and he chooses wisely when it comes time for him to marry. So many of our kids don't get any marriage role models in today's world.

I still miss my Mom everyday and so wish she could be a part of our lives...I know she would adore Wade Michael and be very tired after he visited. 

And...she looked so much skinnier in that dress than I did .... But I was about 15 years older than her when we got married 😍

Beach days

We waited late this year to get to the beach, but rental rates the third week of September sure are good!  Kim's family had their Fall break so we shared an oceanfront house at Topsail beach. Wade  warned up to the water the morning we left. As he has read more stories about ocean life he has put two and two together that sharks and jelly fish live in the ocean!  Next year during the same week it will be a seven night Disney cruise!

Thank You Miss Pat!

I love my new Fox and Hedgehog pillows. They make the perfect reading spot on my other twin bed!!  

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

We took the pop up to Mile High campground near Cherokee NC so we could visit Wade's second National Park. I hope he grows to love these national treasures like I do. Daddy helped him stamp his passport. 

We hiked to Andrew's bald with our group for Saturday lunch. It was about 3.5 miles round trip and he did pretty good. It was more strenuous than out AT hike several weeks earlier and without a nap he requested Daddy carry him some on the return. 

Once back we scaled the tower at Clingman's Dome. I was here as a kid but in a complete fog. 

I lost my footing on the way down and was carrying Wade. We crashed to the pavement first on my knees and then forward. He hit his head but thankfully not too hard. It scared us both and I am so grateful the only lasting pain is my two kneecaps. They are getting better every day and won't stop me from doing my first triathlon on Sunday. 

We also got to see a lot of Elk!!  They have been missing from NC for over 100 years and it appears the reintroduction that started about ten years ago was successful!

Our campsite was perfect, just look at this view and it helped to have good friends along to share the trails!

Anniversary Trip to NOLA

Wade spent a few days with Aunt Kim while we took about 48 hours to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. We hadn't even boarded the plane yet when I realized Wase wasn't going to miss us much at all!

Neither of us had spent time in New Orleans and there was a ton to experience. We spent the first afternoon doing a lot of exploring....having po boys for lunch and ending up hearing Jazz at Preservation Hall then The Spotted Cat on Frenchman street. We made it back to the hotel for a late night PB&J and milk (one of the traditions at Le Pavillion)

The next day we started off with coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde...

....to fuel us up for a three hour bike tour of the French Quarter and Garden Districts. Yes we were the only two in the group that chose to wear helmets in the heat and humidity. 

From the bike tour , straight to the Natchez paddle boat for a ride on the Mississippi

A quick shower the dinner at Commander's Palace

It's been an amazing ride this first five years but I can't think of anybody else that would be better to have along this journey than Mike!  Thankfully, he signed up for another five.