Bears Go To The Movies

Regal Cinemas is offering free movies on a first come first serve basis this summer. It is on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10:00 am. They are older movies but good ones. Loving to watch movies in the theater we decided to test the waters and took Teagan and Kaitlyn to see Horton Hears a Who.

The bears being so young have never been in a theater before. We luckily found a small row of just four seats. Perfect to corral two little ones. Daddy was sent to get popcorn, a movie treat they get at home and absolutely love. They looked around and didn’t really want to roam. Seeing all the people and being in a new environment satisfactorily filled their senses. Daddy came back with a huge bag of popcorn and even bigger drinks. I have no idea what he was thinking. His excuse was “It looked smaller on the shelf.” I brought cups and gave each of the girls there own popcorn and we were set to watch the film.

Once the lights went out they got very still. I was afraid of them getting scared so I hyped it up a bit and clapped my hands announcing the movie was about to start. Teagan turned to her Daddy and said “Dark.” “Yes, it’s for the movie to start.” My bright one then replied “I need my flashlight.” I’m sure that wouldn’t have gone over well.

The first few minutes of the movie I didn’t even watch. I was gazing at my little girls. Listening to Kaitlyn laugh and laugh at the images bouncing over the screen. Smiling as Teagan held the same piece of popcorn unable to think about any other action than watching the movie. This was a big day. Huge for me as I love going to the movies and have missed such simple pleasures since we started our family. Yes I’m going to be subjected to kid friendly and sometimes brain numbing movies for the next few years but it has finally arrived. Movie night is back!

Think again.

About twenty minutes into the flick Kaitlyn started to fidget. She no longer wanted her popcorn or gallon of fruit punch. I tried to hold her and let her stand in our row but she wanted out. Sacrifices have to be made so I scooped her up and headed for the wings. Another little tot was there so they walked with each other a bit. Kaitlyn would get to the end of the hallway and come back. She would pause and watch the screen then come back to me. I felt she was sufficiently calm so I took her back to the seats. Five minutes later and we were gone again. This time the hallway was no longer acceptable. I tried but it was just not going to work. Ready to pack it in I saw Daddy and Teagan gathering our stuff and coming down towards us. Apparently Teagan didn’t like us being gone and started to get fidgety as well.

All in all we watched 45 minutes of the movie. No true loss. It was free so we were only out some drinks, popcorn, and stripped of the aspiration of seeing some summer movies.

To see the theaters in you area participating in the Free Summer Movies here is a link to Regal Cinemas website. http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx

Good Addiction

I have a slight addiction that I’m secretly proud of. Every day for over two hours I enter on-line contests. Most of you just laughed and said no big deal. Let me rephrase my obsession. Every day I enter over 150 contests. Ranging from lotions to grills, sometimes even jewelry. I visit over 150 websites to enter these various contests. Doing the required entry sometimes entails visiting the sponsor’s website to review their products for an interesting fact or other wonderful gotta have item to comment on in the sweepstakes website.

Don’t get me wrong I have won things. A canvas tote bag, a candle, capris and even that grill I mentioned. It’s a portable charcoal grill, not extravagant but completely cool. I only enter contest for items I would actually want. I’m not trying to win things and sell them on Ebay. Something my Husband has suggested several times. These prizes are things I want. Things that would make kitchen duty a little easier or me smell a little better.

But I have to admit that the reason my habit is so intense is do to the fact that I get more than just the chance at the prize. For every contest I enter I get a minute or more to fantasize about winning. What would I do with $10,000? How would I enjoy that wilderness getaway in Portland? How cute would Teagan look in that flower dress? I love to win but I love to lose myself in these mini fantasies. Like most people my little family is going through extremely hard times. The tunnel is long and some days I swear there isn’t an end. So instead of becoming depressed and destructive with the present being so gloomy I take a mental break. I dream of things not conquered by today. And sometimes I get a tangible twinkle of a dream.

I won these Akoya Pearls from http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/ and I might not have any place to wear such beautiful pearls to right now but as my Husband told me “That’s not the point of jewelry.”

What Did She Say?

Kaitlyn has started to stretch her vocabulary. She of course has the normal words; Momma, Dadda, bottle, Bibi (her blanket). Actually she has over twenty words and one sentence she uses on a semi-daily basis. I know this because at her Doctor’s check-up we were told she should have at least ten words and being neurotic I immediately started to count to verify that yes our second child is also brilliant. The Doctor verified that Kaitlyn having a full sentence does indeed make her a genius. She didn’t use the word genius but she said above average which is basically the same thing.

In this process of learning new words and how to use new words there is a lot of gibberish that is used. Some if it can actually take the shape of a word but most is just learning how to unfold the sounds. Which results into a lot of “What?” and her getting frustrated and having a fit. Luckily Kaitlyn’s fits are short lived as most of the time one of us can figure out her dilemma.

Some gibberish she has decided she likes and uses regardless of word value or not. For instance she has named Teagan “Roe-roe.” I have no idea how it came about but I think it is cute and after weeks of being called this Teagan has accepted it as well.

Also with the word formation comes parental impression. What we or even her Grandparents think she is saying. Kaitlyn’s Poppy will swear that in the grocery store she saw me walking past the isle and said “Here I am Momma.” That would be huge. She would have used a full sentence, with proper structure, and meaning. This is plausible and I might truly buy that one. However the Hubby insists that my darling daughter Kaitlyn said to me after I gave her a juice cup, “Thank you Momma, I love you best.” She knows the words thank you, Momma and I love you but does she know to string them into such a complex sentence with thought?

That settles it she is a verified genius.

Happy Father's Day

This is dedicated to the Dad in this house. I will not mention the wonderfulness of him as a husband but will focus on the spectacular man that is my girls’ Daddy.

On April 1st 2006 he was officially Daddy and he embraced it from the beginning. He read books, listened to my gripes, took Lamaze and talked to my belly daily. On the day Teagan was born he was there for the entire 22 hour process. Sleeping in a chair just to be in my room. Upon seeing her tears rolled down his cheeks in joy. Joy that has only been duplicated once since that day. That would be of course the day that little Kaitlyn was born. Daddy was there once again, the complete 21 hours. Waiting for his duplicate to be born. And she is the spitting image of her father.

He had not changed a single diaper in his entire life until his little girls. That didn’t stop him from being hands on in changing, feeding, rocking bears to sleep and when they just wouldn’t sleep, he held them. On nights when they would cry I might have gotten their first but he was just a step behind. It has never been just me in the middle of the night during an illness. He is there getting anything to ease their pain.

Daddy is the fun one. The playful one. The one who chases them and allows them to chase and catch him. Daddy is the one who sets up their shows so they can watch them on their computer. He is the one who lets them have that extra cookie. Daddy is the one who lets them plays in puddles or with sticks and doesn’t cringe at the dirt. He’s the tickler, the peek-a-boo-er, and the best horsey ride in town.

He does more than most Dads. But more importantly his love for them rivals the love Mother’s have for their children. I have seen pain stencil his face when they are sick. Joy at their every little achievement and later recounting the moment repeatedly with pride. The emotion I witness the most is love. When his girls climb up in his lap to watch a show or drink a bottle they meld into him and you can actually see his heart melt.

I am thankful he is my husband but I am BLESSED he is their Father.

Happy Father’s Day sweetheart.

Cincinnati Chili - Bear Style

I am going to post recipes here and there so I thought I would start with my Cincinnati Chili. I love this meal and so does every member of my family. If I’d make it, Hubby would eat it once a week. And the girls love it too. They normally eat the beans, then the meat and lastly the noodles. Very methodical. I hope you like it and please let me know.

Cincinnati Chili – Bear Style

2lbs ground beef

1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced

15 oz of tomato sauce
3 cups of water

2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ tablespoons vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup chili powder

1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon

5 bay leaves
35 whole allspice

32oz can kidney beans
spaghetti noodles

cheddar cheese
Hot sauce

chopped onions

• Brown ground beef, onion and garlic in large pot. Drain grease.
• Put bay leaves and allspice in a muslin bag or my trick a tea strainer.
• To meat mixture add tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, chili powder, red pepper, cinnamon and throw in spice bag.
• Bring to a boil. Drain beans and add to chili, reduce to a simmer for three hours.
• Boil noodles to be ready for chili.
• Layering: place a good heap of noodles in a bowl, ladle on chili, top with cheddar cheese, dashes of hot sauce and onions. Now the hot sauce and onions are optional but don’t forget the cheese.

What is in a name?

****WARNING THIS POST HAS MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY******

I am stuck in the potty training world and the vocabulary that goes with it.

What do you can your…private? Or better yet what are you teaching your children to call it?

I’m teaching Teagan to call it what it is, her vagina. I just heard hundreds of women cringe. Why is this a faux-pa word? It is a vagina. The medical term is vagina. Not hoo-ha or waa-woo. Seriously I have heard these phrases.

I said vagina in front of my Mother and you would have thought I slapped her. Why, why, why she asks. Because that is the name. I don’t tell her to call her head a melon, it’s a head. My husband calls it a melon but let’s not get side tracked.

Yes I could have gone with private but I just don’t understand this horrible stigmata. I’m not using the “c” word. Okay I just heard thousands of women gasp. These are words ladies. Simply words.

So this is my question. Please leave me a comment on what you call your area or what you are having your children call it, I'm just curious.

Potty Phrases

Things I have heard on this potty training journey.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah (thick with sarcasm) we’ll try again later.”

“I want to wear diapers.” Now that one was very sad.

“Get outta here so I can pee-pee.”

“Big, gigantic poopy!” And it was too.

“I gotta try.” As she beats her little fist in her hand. She gets her dramatics from me I don’t know where.

“Don’t cry little poopy.” (?)

Might I just add that in the last four days I have talked more about potty goings than in all my three-plus-decades.

Teagan is also trying to get out of going to sleep at night by getting up over and over again saying she has to go. I’m torn because I don’t want to discourage her as the whole process is to learn to go to the potty. But at the same time she is squeezing out a tablespoon at a time just to get out of bed. She has literally gotten out of bed 15 times in the last 2.5 hours.

Helper Sister

Kaitlyn has taken to temper tantrums. Not a normal one where the child throws their entire body on the floor with arms and legs flailing accompanied by a nice loud constant scream. But an exceedingly cute one. If she asks for something and you do not oblige within, oh I don't know, a nanosecond she starts stomping her feet like she is squashing grapes and whining like a little lamb. "ah-ah-ah-a-a-a-a-ah."

The problem is that it sometimes takes me a bit to figure out what the child is wanting. Her vocabulary is rapidly expanding but at the same time she is not pronouncing her new or old words as well as she should. Trying to explain this to a 1.5 year old is futile. So you ask her "what" about three times and it's over.

The other obstacle in this tantrum phase is that Daddy finds it hilarious. So while she is crushing imaginary grapes he is hiding his laughter and turning beat red. This makes me laugh out loud because, I am not as debonair. This does not make little bear happy. Luckily we eventually figure it out.

The best part is Teagan really tries to help us to understand Kaitlyn and for Kaitlyn to get what she wants. If she can’t help the language she can always help to hug it out.

Sleep Wanderer

Teagan is my wandering sleeper. She doesn’t sleep walk but occasionally she will find another spot to sleep, other than her bed. I’ve found her under Kaitlyn’s bed. She likes to sleep in the recliner or on the couch. And once we found her down the hall in front of our bedroom door. This child has always had issues with a bed. As an infant on those really exhausting nights Hubby or I would lay with her in our bed and just pray she would fall asleep. Not once did she sleep in our bed. She would sleep with us if we were on the couch but I didn’t get much sleep as I was too afraid of rolling over on her or off the couch.

The other night Hubby and I were chatting a little in bed before turning out the lights. When I heard a bed squeak down the hallway. The squeaky bed is Teagan’s. This is a nice alarm system when little bear tries to sneak out of bed to play.

So after the squeak I hear little feet running straight for our room. Then a jump and in-between Hubby and I was the cutest little girl who was so excited to be up and in bed with us. She said a few nonconsensual things in a whisper followed by a soft giggle.

“Do you want to sleep with us?”

A huge smile lit her face and she nodded yes.

She put her head on my pillow and we all snuggled in to go to sleep.

At this moment of smelling her hair and holding her little body all burrowed in sheets I got sad.

Even though I look for a job every single day I am lucky to be a SAHM and enjoy watching my girls developing and turning into little people. Every day I am in amazement at their intelligence and exuberance. I marvel at how quickly they learn things and how fiercely independent they want to be.

Yet at that this moment I saw my little girl in the future as a teenager. Going off with her friends, being involved in sports and groups and having little time for her old Mom. This is what children do. They grow up, become independent and dance to their own tune.

So I squeezed her tighter and wished she would stay my Tea-Bear forever. As if foreshadowing in real life she mumbled something to me and got up and went to her own bed.

I have tried very hard to appreciate my girls everyday but realize that I will still miss this time and times to come. That’s why memories are sweet.

Potty Games

I have a feeling that a lot of coming posts are going to be about potty training. If you don’t have children you should read these anyway because when you do have kids you’ll need the reference. For if that foolish lady can do it, you can to.

One obvious hurdle we are going to have with potty training is dealing with Kaitlyn. She wants to be a part of everything Teagan does. Every time we go to the potty Kaitlyn flips out that she cannot sit on it too. I don’t mind too much because her jealousy of Teagan’s special attention gets me extra Kai-Bear hugs throughout the day and they’re just fantastic.

I’m not one to incite moments that can be easily diffused. So I let Kaitlyn sit on the potty. She will just sit and hum or talk in her gibberish. Teagan does not like it but at the same time Teagan will not be as melodramatic as Kaitlyn would if I denied her.

Something has happened that has made me confident that letting her sit there is a good idea.

Bath time can be ruined very quickly by a poopy. We can all agree with this yes? Yes. And Kaitlyn is 99.9% of the time the culprit. Lately she has taken to getting out of the tub to do the pooping so at least the tub is not tainted, just the bathroom floor.

I see the little bear climb out of the tub. Sneak over to the little potty and sit down. She sits for a bit and gabs then gets up and walks back to the tub. I immediately come over and see that she has pooped in the potty. My 18 month old has pooped in the potty. I gave her a high five, congratulated her and did a little dance. Even Teagan said “Good job.”

I might have to go get another ten dollar potty and train both bears at the same time. Below is Kaitlyn "playing." I'm sure she will hate me or have to go to therapy from me posting this picture but it's too damn cute not to.

Life is Learning

I post this for the Hubby as he has now found a new random shout-out word.

“Turd!”

This is what Teagan yells as she runs into the kitchen, naked, as she had up to that time been in the tub.

Me “Did she just say turd?”

Hubby “She doesn’t know what a turd is.”

I grab the cleaner just in case and head to the bathroom. Just as I see Kaitlyn’s naked butt run out of their bedroom and back into the bathroom.

On suspicion I check their room first. Sure enough my little angel (Kaitlyn) has crawled under her bed and pooped. Why under her bed? I don’t know I am just thankful she hasn’t been more creative with it as some kids can be.

“1, 2, 3.” Did I tell you Teagan can count? I don’t think this was the best time for her to show off her math skills but life is a learning environment.

Potty Training Process

Teagan is 2. 5 and is very conscious of the potty. Conscious enough that I know it is time to start thinking about potty training. She is showing all the signs and I swear it's not just because really want to have at least one child out of diapers.

The entire potty training process is daunting. There are so many thoughts and theories on how to train your child. There is three day boot camp, treats, stickers, and little potty versus potty seat. I've researched it all, yet I kept in mind that each child is different physically and emotionally.

Teagan, however, is a genius. Therefore I just bought a potty seat and a stool. She used it once, maybe twice but did not like the wobble of a seat on a seat. Thus she didn't want to learn. Without her desire I also put it off. And put it off. Made some additional excuses and put it off some more.

The time has come and at this point no excuses will do. I went to a bulls-eye of a store and found a $10 dollar little potty. Teagan liked the one with a face and a handle or the one that played a little ditty but as much as this is for her I have to clean and take care of it. Ten dollars it is.

I unpacked said little potty and she was very excited to "use" it. The first night I got three pee-pees. She wiped herself and even pulled up her own pants. Then came the next day.

She has showed no real interest. Once or twice I got her to sit down but the enthusiasm was gone. I was really hoping for a poop in the potty as that has not been achieved yet. I am not discouraged. Tomorrow is another day.

Camping With Bears - Post 3

Our entire camping trip seemed like we were always close to cool, refreshing water yet never got our feet wet. Especially annoying since most of the time we were hot and sweaty because we climbed hills to see these beautiful refreshing places of water. So on our final day of camp we decided to check out the local tubing outfitter. That’s right we wanted to see if they would allow us to take our 2.5 and 1.5 year olds down class 2 rapids.

We went to Cool River Tubing (http://www.coolrivertubing.com/) in Helen, Georgia. They said that tons of people took their kids down but they discouraged infants. INFANTS?! I felt I was slightly nuts taking my toddlers, yet other people are trying to take their infants down the river.
I wanted to have Kaitlyn with me as she is the baby and I’m too neurotic to trust her to anybody but me. So Daddy was in charge of Teagan. We got little life jackets for the girls and grabbed two tubes.

We linked our tubes together and I sat down with Kaitlyn and Daddy sat down with Teagan. To make sure everything was workable we stayed near the beginning for a few moments. Good thing as Teagan looks over to Daddy and says “You need to get out.” Daddy asks “what?” “Daddy, you need to get out.” Up the hill he went and grabbed a kid’s tube for Teagan and we were off.

At first I was in severe Mommy mode and was clutching Kaitlyn like she was the last bag of chocolate left on earth. While I also lectured Daddy to watch Teagan and pointing out he wasn’t being as diligent and apprehensive as he should be. To which he laughed and told me to lighten up.

It didn’t take long and I was enjoying the ride with the rest of them. Teagan was definitely nervous at first but that diminished after the first rapid. Instantly a perma-grin lined her little face and she was ready for the fun. I held Kaitlyn in a sitting position so she could see what was going on. Sometimes she would fidget and I’d lay her on me. At one point I suppose she “rested” too long and actually started to fall asleep. Ah, she is her Mother’s daughter. I love to sleep in the sun and my many sunburns can attest to this partiality. I sat her up and she discovered a new enormously cool game; slapping the water with her feet. This became the ultimate amusement on and off for the remainder of the hour long trip.

I have been white water rafting, canoeing and tons of boat trips but this was hands down the best time I have ever had on the water. I’m positive the exhilaration and delight of my girls was the major factor of the enjoyment. I wish I could say that everything went without a hitch but alas this is reality.

Towards the end of the trip we came up to a solid class 2 rapid. Now by myself this would not have been an issue. However I was not alone and my sight was slightly obscured when we hit. Kai-Bear and I went over the rapid and my big feet planted which caused us to flip. Neurotic Mom to the rescue. I was under water but I held that baby up so her butt didn’t even touch the water. I stood up with some trouble due to the rapids but luckily Daddy had gotten the tubes to stop and held them until we could get to him. During this time I seriously don’t recall any fear all I know is that I was going to get my baby to the tube and safety. Which we did with help from Daddy, since I have a bulbous butt and squeezing a donut lover into a donut is tricky.

Even with the little tumble I had more fun than I thought was possible. We will definitely do this again and hopefully soon. And might I add that once in the car Teagan passed out from the adrenaline rush and just shy of refused to get up to eat dinner. Below are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Camping With Bears - Post 2

This was not the first camping trip for the bears. It was, however, the first camping trip where both were mobile.

The main rule when taking children of any age camping is you have to be resolved to the fact that they are going to get dirty. Very dirty. Within minutes of arrival Kaitlyn was covered in mud, eating rocks and trying to wander away from camp. Luckily it stopped raining and I didn't have to deal with mud the entire time but the first night's clothes are ruined. When either Kaitlyn or Teagan felt that their hands were too dirty they just wiped it on their shirts. A habit that has to be broken.

Camps do not have bathtubs. You are lucky if they have nice showers that do not cost money to use. Our camp did have nice free showers but that point was lost on the bears. They HATE showers. Now I tried to prepare them for this for a couple of weeks before we went. At home it was okay because they still had the bathtub to be in while the water came down. Not so much love at the camp shower. We used the handicap stall because it had a pull down bench which I sat them on as I scrubbed them down. Both girls screamed, not cried, not whimpered, screamed the entire time the shower was on. As they were being dried off. And basically until I opened the main door to leave the restrooms. The next night it was seriously considered to just let them be dirty. Unfortunately I wouldn't have been able to live with it so I decided to use our dish tub. Daddy boiled some water and added it to lukewarm water in the tub. Kaitlyn was first and complained a little to the sponge bath but sucked it up rather well. Teagan even stood by the sidelines and tried to help scrub her down. When I put Teagan in she just plopped her butt down and assumed it was her little bath. Certainly not an ideal way to get them clean but neither is being partially deaf because of their caterwauling.

I've never had a campfire around the bears as I felt they were not old enough to give it respect. They now understand "no" and listen to it as well as a 1 and 2 year old will, so we made a campfire. They stayed away because of the smoke even more than me telling them to be careful.

You know having a campfire means you have to have s'mores. Teagan and Kaitlyn were completely under foot as soon as the chocolate bars came out. "Chalkit? Chalkit?" over and over. Hubby toasted the marshmallows to a golden brown, took out the graham crackers and put down the chocolate to make little s'mores for the bears. They didn't even get a full bite into them before they spit it out. Not marshmallow lovers. So I took out the chocolate and left it at that.

Overall the girls were extremely well behaved and listened to us. I gave them more freedom to roam and play than usual so it was a give and take adventure that I think they understood as well. But we ran them everywhere. Up mountains, into gorges and down rivers. But that’s tomorrows post.

The special moments I’ll remember the most are morning bottles in their director chairs, the girl’s first watermelon slices with rinds, huddling in one bed to watch Monsters, Inc. on a laptop and witnessing the exploring spirit budding in each of my little bears.

Camping with Bears - Post One

Five days and four nights spent camping in North Georgia is a lot to post in one blog post. So I'm going to split it in three parts. First part will be the hiking to see the nature spots. The lots and lots of hiking we crammed into two days. Second will be the ultra cute things the girls did and experienced. Third part is going to be a surprise and I'll let it be the cliched save the best for last.

We took the Bears to North Georgia and there is so many natural areas to see that it was rather hard to narrow down the sites we wanted to visit. We started with Tallulah Falls and Tallulah Gorge. This is a granite walled gorge that has a combination of five waterfalls through a 1,000 foot chasm. Lucky for us the rains had been heavy for a few weeks so the falls were spectacular. They have a path that is 1 mile total that we took the girls in their B.O.B. walking stroller. Now at one of the viewing points it offered a closer look at the falls by going down what they call the "Hurricane Falls staircase" which is 310 wire steps down to an 80 foot swaying suspension bridge and of course 310 steps back up. Hubby offers to take the girls on to the other areas while I went down to take a few photos. This walk is posted in several areas as very strenuous. Posting that I failed to read. Note to self, if someone took the time to make a sign I should take the time to read it. I must make note of the tremendous sound that surrounded me while down on the bridge. A thundering roar that vibrated my body and made the experience viseral as well as visual. It was beautiful but I was pouring sweat by the time I hoofed it back up the stairs. It did not help that while continuing the wooded trail I couldn't find Hubby and Bears nor reach them by phone/radio which just made me go faster. By the time I had made it to the end and almost back we got a hold of each other and they were around the corner at the car. I was drenched and out of breath as I found them sipping water and eating lunch. Next time Hubby can take the stairs.

Our next waterfall was Toccoa Falls located at Toccoa Falls College. It's only a 150-yard path to the 186-foot high Toccoa Falls. We decided to let the Bears stretch their legs and walk it. I've never been so close to such a massive waterfall. A few large rocks separated us from a torrent of water flowing into a hazy amber pool. I climbed some of the rocks to get closer while the girls played safely in a rocked playpen. The cool spray coming off the water was refreshing while the sound emphasized the power coming down the cliff facing. Not as enveloping as Tallulah Falls but just as poetic in it's utterance.Our last waterfall was Anna Ruby Falls. This is a merging of twin falls with Curtis creek dropping in at 153 feet and York Creek is 50 feet to form the double falls. This hike was moderate for most but pushing two bears up was calf burning fun. Out of all the falls this was my favorite. It was beautiful and tantalizing for as you are approaching the falls the sound builds with the crescendo of the combined falls. We didn't see a lot of animals during our camping adventure but on this trail we saw a chipmunk and two beavers, a parent and child, run across the path. It was really cute but I doubt the girls saw them as anything but cats with no tails.

On the next day with the waterfalls appreciated we wanted to visit the highest place in Georgia, the top of Brasstown Bald 4,784 feet above sea level. The Brasstown Bald Trail is 1.2 miles total and is extremely hard. Just as an example it climbs 500 feet in half a mile. The trail is well maintained which made the struggle with pushing the girls a little easier. They have a tower at the top offering magnificent views. We went on a virtually cloudless day and seeing up to the horizon was incredible. From the tower's vantage point you can see the neighboring states North Carolina and South Carolina as well as Atlanta. This was certainly more of treat for Hubby and I but the girls did roam around and play in the tower's historical center.

Back In Town

No I haven't forgot about you. The family and I went camping for five days and four nights. Wow what an adventure! I'll post all the details in the next following days with wonderful pictures but right now I need to rest.