10 Years

On November 13th, Creed and I celebrated 10 years of marriage! 

To celebrate, we spent five days in our favorite place: Gatlinburg! We had so, so, SO much fun and have said a few times, I don't know how we'll top this trip next year. It was the perfect trip with my husband and best friend. So thankful for him and how much fun we have together!

On the way we stumbled upon Mt. McCloud and had lunch at their restaurant. 

This was the view from our table at lunch

Our annual race down the Alpine Slide at Ober Gatlinburg. 

I won...since Creed dropped his glasses case (with his prescription glasses in it!) off the chair lift and had to jump off his sled to find them.

Even though we were one pound over the weight limit, the attendant let us ride together on the Ski Mountain Coaster. We went so fast it was incredible!

The view from the aerial tram as we came back down the mountain

One day we drove to Clingman's Dome, the 3rd highest peak east of the Mississippi. It took us about 45 minutes to drive/climb over 5,000 feet in elevation and then we walked the last 1/2 mile. That's Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina in the back right of the picture. It's the highest peak.

I can officially say I hiked the Appalachian Trail...even it it was only for five minutes. ;)

We also did a three hour zip line tour. It was so beautiful and the view from the tops of the trees was amazing.

On one of the last lines we were encouraged to go off backwards and then flip upside down. We both made it!

At the end of the course we had to repel down from the final landing. 

While we were in Gatlinburg, we also did a little shopping and A LOT of eating and relaxing. We tried three new restaurants this trip and really liked all of them. We also stayed at the same cabin from our 2014 trip and it was still as great as ever.

Looking forward to 2016...

Turkey Run

One Tuesday morning we met Grandmom at Turkey Run Park and let Luke ride his bike. He did awesome! He loved the wide open path and rode over two miles that day. We also went to the silo, checked out another walking trail, and let Luke sit by the creek and look for minnows. Have I mentioned that we love Turkey Run? :)

Luke would ride pretty far from us, but when I called his name, he always turned and rode back. I guess that means he rode way more than 2 miles now that I think about it!

Our New Pets

I surprised the boys (including Creed- haha!) and brought home two Anoles (lizards) from science units at my school. We tried a "fostering" situation, and decided to go on with the full adoption. ;) 

The boys love them and are not afraid at all! (I, on the other hand, am very fearful of their jumping and scurrying abilities!)

Luke's Anole:

Meet Greenie Lime, or Gweenie Wime, as Luke calls him. (He also says his pet wizard.) 

Greenie Lime apparently showed dominance and stays the bright green color the most. He roams around the tank and likes to climb the sticks and even the wall of the tank.

Caleb's Anole:

Meet Hot Chocolate

While Hot Chocolate turns green at times, he stays a dull brown color most of the time, preferring to hide under the leaves.

We still have the small plastic container that I borrowed from my school, but hope to upgrade their living conditions soon!

The End of October

October flew by (as it always does!) and we took advantage of the beautiful weather. It was so nice having sunny, warmer days, and I know the boys loved spending as much time outside as the could.

Playing in the leaves at Grandmom & Grandpa's

An after-school park trip

Turkey Run park opened and it's only a few miles from our house. One Sunday we went out there to check it out. It is so, so beautiful!

From the top of the silo

The boys helped (a very tiny bit!) this year with carving their pumpkins. They each used Sharpies and drew the face they wanted. I think one handful of the seeds and they were done! 

Halloween 2015:

1966 Batman & Robin

(The 1966 was an important distinction. They love the original movie and wanted to look like "the original Batman and Robin!")