November

On November 1st, both boys were recognized in chapel for making Principal's Honor Roll (all A's) so we celebrated that night with dinner at RecBar.

Creed and Caleb went down to Cumberland to put the boat in dry storage for the winter. :(

The weather was beautiful so they got to do a little hiking at the State Park as well.

Little brother and I stayed home and had a popcorn (and gummy bears) movie night.

Luke had his chapel program and did great delivering his lines. 

He also happened to be recognized that day for doing a "Good Deed."

The Sunday before Thanksgiving we got the Christmas tree up and Luke couldn't wait to get the Polar Express running.

We spent Thanksgiving in Charleston with Creed's family and then drove the following day to PeePaw's lake house. The boys began with a polar plunge...

After coming out of the freezing cold lake water the hot tub apparently felt pretty good!

The annual oyster roast
We had over 200 oysters with family and friends. It is always such a fun afternoon and evening.

The next day the crazy boys did another polar plunge, but this time talked their daddy into going as well.

I spent almost an entire morning trying to organize Luke's room, which is always littered with Legos and Pokemon cards. He was super proud that I hung a shelf at his level so he can show off some of his favorite pieces.

13 Years

On November 13th, Creed and I celebrated 13 years of marriage. This year we decided to spend the night in Knoxville before heading to Gatlinburg. It was an incredible week and we are so thankful for our time together!

Dinner out in Knoxville

We stayed at a hotel right in the middle of downtown so it was the perfect location to walk around and get to know the city. We really liked it and would definitely visit again.

This year, we did two hikes. The first hike was to Grotto Falls and the trail was very doable, just at around 3 miles. It was also a fairly crowded trail, since it was so short.

Grotto Falls happens to be the only waterfall in the Smokies that you can walk behind.

The following day we decided to hike to the summit of Mt.Leconte again, but to take a different trail. We ended up making a loop- we went up the Rainbow Falls trail and came back down the Bull Head trail. While Rainbow Falls was pretty to see, the Bull Head trail had incredible views as it went along the side of the mountain. 

We were prepared for the 14 mile round trip hike physically. We were also prepared with correct gear and brought enough food and water. I was NOT prepared mentally. It was so SO hard. The trail was very steep, gaining 4,000 vertical feet, which meant we also had to hike down 4,000 vertical feet. It took us right at 7 hours (including our time at the summit) and was very icy within a mile or two of the top. Plus, the trail was incredibly rocky. We had to walk staring down at our feet to make sure we had our footing- it was just plain hard. Later, we found out that these two trails are the two hardest in the Smokies. (Wish I had known that before we left...might have prepared better!)

We walked up for hours...

Halfway there... Rainbow Falls

We made it!
We inhaled numerous Cliff bars and guzzled water at this point. ;)

The summit is a little less than half a mile up from the Lodge. It was like climbing a sheet of rocky ice, so that half a mile took twice as long.

Heading back down...this part of the trail was incredible. It has been severely burned in the fire and the landscape looked like something out of a science fiction movie. (It was also the part of the trail where I was DONE walking...but we still had 4 miles to go...)

Next year, we won't be taking the long way up LeConte, although I am proud to say we made it this year. ;)

October

The beginning of October didn't go quite as planned...

Last year we had such a perfect fall break on Bald Head Island that we decided to go back this year. Incredibly, for the second time in just three years, we had to cancel due to a hurricane. Bald Head took a direct hit from Hurricane Florence, as the eye passed right over the area. 

Because the boys were out of school, and Creed had already taken off work, we decided to make the most of it and go up to Cincinnati for a couple of days.

First stop: Great Wolf Lodge! We got there late Wednesday afternoon and it wasn't crowded at all. 

Next we headed to the Marriott in Covington and the boys loved the "fancy" hotel, as they called it.

Our room had a great view of downtown Cincy.

That evening we went over to Newport on the Levee to have dinner and let the boys play.

The next morning we headed back to Newport to visit the aquarium. Luke is obsessed with sharks and really all kinds of fish so it was the perfect place for him. He kept saying "fun fact" and then would tell us some interesting fact about the fish we were looking at. Apparently he learns a lot from Chasing Monsters and all the other fishing shows he watches. I actually learned a lot from him that day.

The second half of fall break we spent at the Lake Cumberland, enjoying 85 degree days! The boys tubed behind the new boat

and Caleb got in a few wake boarding runs.

PeePaw came and stayed with us, which made it extra fun!

The highlight was Caleb finally being able to get up on a surf board! He was so happy!

Luke caught up on his sleep (apparently Cincy really wore him out!)

 
and...Caleb learned to surf! He is such a natural on all things water- he found the sweet spot, threw the rope back to the boat, and surfed!

The boys got in some good wrestling with PeePaw on the LilyPad.

PeePaw brought his fishing boat and the boys loved riding on it!

One evening we had dinner on our friend's houseboat and while we were up top, Luke was in their living room snoozing away...another nap. ;)

Our happy place...

Another day...another surf run

 Another day...another boat nap

At the end of fall break, we put the boat up in dry store, knowing that would be it until next spring. While we were disappointed that we had to cancel our beach vacation, we were so thankful for summer like weather at the lake!

Caleb, Luke, and Matteo celebrating Nana's 94th birthday

One weekend Creed took Caleb to the cabin so Luke and I had the weekend together. After church, we headed out to Farnsley Moremon landing for their Archaeological Day. Luke loves mining- rocks, fossils, gems, etc., so this was right up his alley!

At the cabin....Caleb, Creed and Grandmom hiked the creek behind our cabin all the way to the lake! They said it was the most beautiful hike!

Town Branch Creek took them all the way to Lily Creek!

Luke & his buddy Tey at Huber's

Happy Halloween!
Our neighborhood actually trick or treated on the 30th due to the rain storms that were expected on Halloween,

Luke as DJ Marshmello

Caleb wanted to stay home this year and pass out candy...but Luke was happy to share his loot.