Things that make Kenzie smile

One day it was raining and Kenzie was upset because everyone had to go inside.  After the rain stopped, we looked out and there was a double rainbow- a complete one!  Even though it was very clear and vivid in person, it was actually kind of hard to photograph; the colors wash out.  And the upper one is a little harder to see.  This is the best picture I got.  Since we live that the end of a cul-de-sac on a hill, the rainbow spanned over our street with the mountains in the background. 

Added bonus when it rains:  Cute rainboots. 

This is our next door neighbor, Samantha.  Kenzie thinks she is prettier than Hannah Montana (she really is) and cooler that just about anyone.  She is 16 and sometimes keeps Kenzie.  We invited her to go on a walk with us.

What that really meant was that Kenzie walked with Samantha and we were left behind and forgotten about as usual.  

Best thing about walking after the rain?  Splashing in the puddles, of course.

About a week later, we went to Anderson's princess birthday party.  Here they are modeling the crowns they crafted themselves.

Okay, so anyone wanting to make Kenzie happy now has the basic ingredients to make that happen.  Double rainbow?  Check. (although I'm sure a regular rainbow would work fine).  Cute rain boots?  Got 'em.  Doing anything at all with Samantha?  Check.  Splashing in puddles?  Yep.  Birthday with her bestie? Of course.

Mission accomplished.

Mini Trips

Have you ever been to Lake Winnipesaukah?  It's just past Chattanooga into Georgia.  I have always heard people talk about it, but had never been until July.  You know how fun the county fair is?  Well, it's like the county fair bolted to the ground.  But cleaner.  And with better rides.  And oh yes, the small lake in the middle.  They have all the same yummy fatten-you-right-up fair food and they are pretty inexpensive.  Anyway, we went and it was seriously fun (well, except for that one ride that takes you up and just drops you- that made me see my life flash before my eyes.  Not fun.). 

Also, there were these huge, huge carp in the lake so when you were on the lift ride that takes you across, you could see them from above. 

No carp in this picture, but I swear they were there.  They were about the size of Kenzie.  Seriously. 

I actually took quite a few pictures, but on this particular day, it was hot enough to make the devil sweat, so very few were post-worthy.  You can tell it's bright and hot by Kenzie's face- she's doing the "peep-eye".  That's what my grandmother would say when she would turn on the light in the morning when Collen and I would wake up at the farm.  When it's so bright you can only hold one eye open, that's the peep-eye.

Next up, The Lost Sea!

If you have never been to The Lost Sea, that's another place that is worth visiting.  It's this big cave near Sweetwater.  After you walk through for awhile, you end at a room with a lake.  And who doesn't enjoy a boat ride on an underground lake?  They stock the lake with rainbow trout but over time, due to there being no light in a cave, the fish lose their rainbow colors and also end up almost blind.  It's actually kind of sad now that I think about it. 

There are people who have gone diving way under the cave walls and found that the lake actually extends over twice as far into a different room, but it's entirely filled with water and no one knows how big that other room is (their sonar devices wouldn't reach any further).  Anyway, it's very interesting.  Kenzie wasn't really a fan at first.  I think she thought we were going to a haunted house or something.  It didn't help that once you're really far into the cave, they turn out the lights to show you how pitch-dark it really is.  On the way out there is this rock (shown above) that's supposed to give you good luck if you touch it.

Kenzie took the above picture.  I think she did a pretty good job for a four year old!

Kenzie is wearing a frog hat and Erin's is a pizza hat.  They are at the Crazy Hat Shop near the cave entrance.  I am still trying to figure out what crazy hats have to do with an underground lake.



Back in the Saddle

I am embarrassed.  No, seriously, I am.  It has been so long since my last post.  It's pitiful, really.  And I have no excuse; other than the fact that sometimes it's difficult to upload pictures correctly so I just quit instead of spending time trying to figure out what went wrong.    I just think posts are boring without pictures, you know?

So here is what I'm going to try.  Instead of playing catch-up all in one big swoop, I'm going to attempt to highlight past events every couple days.  I mean, the reason I even write this blog is to keep friends and family (especially those who refuse to do Facebook) updated about the happenings in our family.  If my past blogging habits were how anyone was keeping up with me, I could have been eaten by alligators for all they know!

So here we go.

Every year we go camping for the 4th of July.  And when I say camping, I don't mean rent a camper and "rough it" on the pull out couch.  I mean camp in a tent.  Sleep on the ground.  Build a fire.  Real camping.  I do require that there be a bathhouse somewhere nearby, but that's just for basic hygiene.  Plus Kenzie would flip out if she had to use the woods as a restroom.  The above picture is on the top of a mountain overlooking the Ocoee river. 

The cool thing about camping near the Ocoee, is getting to ride bikes or hike down to the river when they close the dam.  Then you can play on the rocks and even swim through long rock tunnels underwater.  I wasn't brave (crazy) enough to try that last year, but this year I was courageous (insane) enough to take the plunge.  Sadly, there is no photographic evidence of this, but Kyle and Erin will confirm that I did it.

 Kenzie being pretty

 One of the only pictures that exist of me with no makeup (& likely the last you'll ever see)

On a rock near our campsite

The sad thing is, I can't really remember all the amusing stuff that happened while we were there since it's been 3 months ago.  I can tell you that a copperhead snake fell out of a tree about 5 feet from the campfire and strangely, Kenzie and I were the only ones that didn't jump out of our chairs.  My reasoning was that (in my mind) snakes rarely jump out of a tall tree with the intentions of landing on someone to bite them.  I figured that he probably suffered a frustrating fall, was going to shake it off, and then try to climb the tree again.  And that's what he did.  He did fall 4 more times before reaching whatever height he was going for.  Alec was concerned that the snake would somehow make it into his tent while he was sleeping.  You know, because snakes can operate zippers and all. . .

The other funny thing was about my car.  I had just gotten a new G37 convertible (remember in that earlier post I said it was my last day in the G37?  Well this replaced that car.  See?  Tying all the posts together).  We always bring these little speakers that Erin will plug his iPhone into so we can listen to Pandora radio (which is an awesome app if you have never heard of it).  Well, he couldn't find the speakers and the iPhone doesn't sound all that great by itself so we decided to put the top down on my car and turn up the radio.  That was fine until we realized it was kind of loud so I pulled the car closer to the fire, put the top up, and rolled down the windows facing us so you could really only hear the music from one side.  After awhile, I got scared that all the smoke was going to suck into my car and ruin the new car smell, so Erin took a Neat Sheet (kind of like a blue fabric tarp) and anchored it to the top of the car with rocks so it fell over the window like a curtain.  And that's how we listened to music every night.  I'm going to try to find a picture; I'm pretty sure I have one.  It's more comical if you see it- I mean, is it a redneck sound system or is it a cool new car?  Who can tell?

It was a fun trip as always.  Except for when Kenzie and I were driving back and got rear-ended in the McDonalds drive through.  Did I mention my car still had temporary tags?  Sometimes I really think our last name is Murphy.  At least we have humorous stories to tell.