Monday Again

It's Monday and I'm back! First of all -- I must say thank you to Nicholas and his dimple for filling in on my blog for a day! hee hee...

Today we are trying to get back to our routine after a wonderful week of Fall break. We kept quite busy with a visit from my in-laws and all that it entails (the Pumpkin Patch, Dollywood, the zoo, swimming and other such fun). We also got to spend some time with our friends after my in-laws left. We went bowling, to a birthday party, to Boo at the Zoo -- overall, we had a great week!

I also turned a year older since my last blog visit and would like to say thanks to all of you for the birthday messages on my blog, by email, by phone and in person. I appreciate it! Now the dreaded countdown to 40 has begun and if the months keep flying by the way they have been -- it will be here before I'm ready! Seriously -- can anyone tell me what has happened to the last three months?? I swear it was just August and all of a sudden we are sneaking up on November!

I have taken quite a few photos the past several days and thought I would share a few from Dollywood. If you've never been there, let me tell you it's probably the cleanest amusement park you will ever see. It is so pretty -- surrounded by the Smoky Mountains and landscaped beautifully. The people that work there are mostly older retired men and women who are quite friendly and great with the kids.

I personally, am a complete wimp when it comes to amusement parks. I cannot do roller coasters or anything that will make me dizzy or turn my stomach. This is quite embarrassing, considering my six-year old was riding every coaster multiple times! You can see from the photo below, she is right in the front seat with her brother -- enjoying every minute of it (and making mommy quite nervous! eek!) It was the first time she was tall enough to ride all the rides, so she was pretty happy. The picture next to it is Nicholas and me riding the flying elephants -- those are so much more my speed! LOL

(And I have NO idea who that crazy dude is waving to me from the back of the roller coaster! LOL)

Another big hit with my family was the water ride called River Battle. On this particular day, it was quite chilly when we left home and I told the kids no water rides until it warmed up. My husband said -- "No water rides AT ALL today -- it will be too cold!" Then he saw River Battle and all of a sudden he was like a little kid ready to play with the water cannons. I didn't think we would ever get him off the ride! These photos show my kids and their dad shooting at people as they ride by -- and there is my father-in-law, shooting back from the sidelines. They were all drenched! It was quite entertaining.

I am looking forward to catching up with all of you this week -- I hate not having time to read your blogs! Hope you all are doing well and enjoying some beautiful Fall weather. Have a GREAT week!