4th of July

Our family headed up to Brazil, Indiana to celebrate July 4th this year. You may remember that my Mom moved there when she married Pete. Pete is one of 12 children, so when they throw a party it's a big deal. We had a lot of fun and did all the small town, 4th of July, things you can imagine...we started with a garage sale, touring the covered bridges in the area, a carnival, and birthday celebration for 3 at Pete's brother's house on Friday. Saturday we journeyed to the Volunteer Fire House Pancake Breakfast before cooking and heading to the park for the big family bar-b-que and picnic. After dinner we played with sparklers and put the boys to bed before the fireworks started. They were so tired that they didn't wake up, even though the neighbor across the street put on a 30 minute show! Sunday was church, and Monday we headed back home after breakfast at the Sunrise Restaurant (Pete's favorite)! All in all it was really fun and really exhausting!

Saturday was the family picnic, and we brought our patriotic shirts, red and blue sunglasses, and glittery temporary tattoo to wear. What can I say, they told us there was a prize for the most patriotic! The big downer of the day was the fact that it was about 68 degrees and raining the entire day. The adults were freezing, but the kids didn't even notice; they took off their shirts and shoes and played on the water slide and with the water guns all afternoon. One big highlight was the wagon Pete made to drive the kids around. He spent a lot of time designing and building it, and I have to say I was impressed! He even drove an two hours on Friday to buy a riding lawn mower strong enough to pull it. I hope you can see in the pictures how nice it was.

Dave Matthews Band Show

On 4/20/09, we went to see the DMB with our friends Eric & Kelly in Birmingham. We all went to eat some BBQ at Full Moon BBQ before the show. For those of you unfamiliar with Birmingham, it has great BBQ. There is literally a BBQ joint within blocks of wherever you are in Birmingham, it's crazy....it's also crazy good. We left in plenty of time to make the show, however we barely made it in time. Full Moon was about 5 mins from the venue and we left there about an hour and a half before the show even started and traffic was so bad it took us 45 mins to go about 5 miles....and to make things worse, when we get to the show, the will call line is a mile long and barely moving. We finally got in, missed the opening act and didn't sit for 5 mins before Dave and the Band came out....wheeewww! That was a close one!

Now...this was my 16th time seeing the DMB...crazy huh? What makes them so good is that no show is the same and this one was no exception. We got to hear an incredible set that flowed very well. They played some really old tunes like Recently (one of their first songs) and jammed out some of my personal fav's like Ants Marching, Grey Street, and Dreaming Tree. They played 3 brand new songs (Funny the Way it is, Why I Am, and Spaceman) from the upcoming album and all of them were great. I believe we all agreed that Why I Am was probably our favorite of the 3...it has a great upbeat sound and a great hook. It will likely be the second single from the new album....I'm always excited for new DMB music, however their past few albums have just been OK in my opinion. This album has the makings of being a great one. Ok...back on track...they jammed out the song Recently with some clever rhythm changes (Did I ever mention Carter, their drummer, is a phenom) and jams with the horns that were crazy! Same goes for Rhyme and Reason, Ants, Cornbread, and Grey St....crazy jams! Dave let the crowd sing nearly the whole song called Jimi Thing...it was pretty cool. After Jimi Thing, they went into a Jam called "Anyone seen the bridge" into the song Too Much (Just for a second) as a fake...then into a rocking Tripping Billies to close the set. Now...in amongst all of this...Dave was in a funny mood all night, dancing crazy and being silly on stage, talking to the crowd quite a bit which also added to the entertainment value as he is a pretty odd individual.

The Encore was super...They played a few verses of another incredibly old song of theirs called Blue Water and then Dave played a very pretty song called "Sister." After sister, we all got a super surprise of DMB covering the old 80's song "Burning Down the House." It was very very awesome...and it wasn't even over then. We got Rapunzel as a closer, which is one of mine and Jennifer's favorite songs. It was a great great show...always leaves me wanting more. This was also Eric & Kelly's first time seeing DMB...and Kelly's first big rock concert in general. We all had a great time and I think DMB set the bar pretty high for Kelly with it being her first show...tons O fun. Below is the setlist they played and a pic of all of us before the show.

Don't Drink the Water
Dreaming Tree
Recently
You Might Die Trying
Why I Am (New Song)
Rhyme and Reason
Funny the Way it is (New Song)
Ants Marching
Raven
Crash Into Me
So Damn Lucky
Spaceman (New Song)
Cornbread
Grey Street
Jimi Thing
Anyone Seen the Bridge--->
Too Much (Fake)--->
Tripping Billies

Encore:
Blue Water (First verse)
Sister
Burning Down the House (Talking Heads Cover)
Pantala Naga Pampa--->
Rapunzel

Picture of all of us before the show...

Our Trip to B-ham

Last weekend our family traveled to Birmingham, AL to visit our friends and see a DMB show. It has been a year since we were last there, but we haven't seen most of our friends since Brody was 6 months old (4 years ago), so we were really excited to catch up with everyone. We stayed with good friends, Eric and Kelly Smith, who we also went to the concert with. The Smith's have three boys too-Eli, age 7; Brandt, age 5; and Asher, age 2.

On Saturday Draven & Brody participated in a track meet that the Trussville, AL Track Club was having. Our friend, Kelly, created the track club last year, so we had an in with the staff to get the boys signed up! They each ran the 50 meter, 100 meter, 200 meter dash, and 200 meter relay. They also had the opportunity to participate in the Shot Put and the Long Jump, but we missed the announcement for the Long Jump so the boys only did the Shot Put. Draven really enjoyed running and "getting exercise," but his inexperience hurt him a little. He came in 3rd, 4th and 5th in his events. He got better as the day went on, and worked really hard. Brody was the only boy in the 4 and under group, and they awarded the top boy and girl, so Brody won all his races! He really did win the 50, and would have won the 100, but he stopped half way through. We think he got confused and thought he should stop at the same spot he did for the 50 even though we explained it a couple times! The 200 was half way around the track and Brody lost some steam on the longer distance-I think he was 3rd overall. Brody has been wearing his medals ever since. It was really fun to have the boys participate, and Kelly's boys, Eli & Brandt, were participating, so boys had fun cheering them on too.

Sunday we attended church in our old ward and got to see lots of people! It doesn't seem like we've been gone from there very long, but when we saw the youth it seemed like we had been gone half a life time! The boys I used to sing with in Primary were passing the sacrament! Pierce enjoyed giving the Alabama fans a hard time about Coach Saban, and they did the same about Coach Kiffin. After church our friends, Aaron and Jordan May, came to the Smith's and we grilled hamburgers and let the kids play until we heard a tornado siren and we all came in. Luckily the tornado warnings were south of us so we didn't all have to huddle in the basement while we were eating!

Monday we visited our old house and had lunch at Nikki's Authentic Southern Restaurant-one of Birmingham's best eateries-before going back to rest up for the concert. Draven still talks about our "old yellow house" sometimes and seeing it made us all a little homesick for it.

I'm pretty sure Pierce feels differently, but if it was just up to me, we would still be in Birmingham. I love our friends and family that are here, but Birmingham, and the memories of our family there, have a special place in my heart. Brody was born there and our family grew so much, as a family, while we were there. I never thought I would say I miss Alabama, but I do!

Dave Matthews Band!!!

Yep...It's that time of year again! Another stop to see DMB! As many of you already know, we are huge fans and we always try to sieze the opportunity to see DMB at least once every tour. DMB is starting their tour a little earlier than normal this year, with spring dates to kickstart support of their latest album to be released on June 2nd....can't wait! We are going to see them play in Birmingham, AL on April 20th. We have some great friends down there (other than DMB:o) and we are looking forward to catching up with them and hanging out for a few days. If all goes as planned, I will just be getting finised up with school a few days prior and this will be my little graduation getaway celebration of sorts. It can't come soon enough!

In light of this post, I just changed the playlist to all DMB so enjoy if you are a fan...I guess I'll add the 90's and now music I promised in the previous post after the DMB festivities are over ;o).

The Newlyweds

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, Pierce and I went on a trip to Panama City Beach. The last time we were there was on our honeymoon, 10 years ago. Our parents watched the children (including the 10 yr. old dog) for a whole week while we were gone. It was wonderful! We rented a convertable Sebring, spent some time reliving old times, and spent a lot of time just hanging around. Some of the fun things we did included snorkling, going to a waterpark, building a sandcastle, and eating on the beach at some fun restaurants. Of course, the best part of the beach for me is the beauty of it. The sunsets, the sound of the waves all night, the feel of the sand as it exfoliates your feet, the smell of the saltwater, the taste of good seafood. I just love it. And I loved being there with my wonderful man. Before we left, Pierce bought me the new Stephanie Meyer book, Breaking Dawn, so I spent every spare moment reading it for the first few days. Then, the first morning we were there we got a call on the room phone saying that I had a delivery at the front desk. So, I got dressed (it was only like 11:00) and went to get "my delivery." Pierce had flowers sent to the hotel-a dozen roses and six callalilies. Callalilies were the main flower from our wedding-isn't he the best! This vacation was a great time for us. We got to be together and make another memory to cherish.

Dave Matthews Band!!

Long awaited Concert Review...
As many of you know, we took a trip to Charleston on the July 4th weekend to visit my sister and watch our favorite band…DMB! I have been a fan of theirs since they came on the scene in the early 90’s and have been to 15 shows over the years. Of all 15 and Jennifer's 13, we can safely say without hesitation, this was the best concert we have ever witnessed….DMB or otherwise.

First of all, the concert was general admission seating and was at Joseph P Reilly Park where the Charleston Riverdogs(semi-pro baseball) play. We got there early (about 4pm), got in line with the other DMB crazies and were able to score ourselves a spot appx 6 rows from the stage….really close! It was really exciting because we had to try and outrun the other DMB crazies to get to the stage! Jennifer had made a sign earlier that day, which at the time I thought was a little silly but I didn’t hold her back or anything. On one side she put in a request for her favorite song (called #36), and on the other side she put “DMB sets us free!! Happy July 4th!” It was in red, white, and blue lettering as you can probably see from the picture.

Just before the band came out, the entire stage was covered by a HUGE screen that displayed graphics of the American Flag while playing Jimi Hendrix’s version of the star spangled banner over the speakers. After the star spangled banner, the screens lifted and DMB went into their first song, Seek Up, which has a really slow intro. As Dave stares out to the crowd and looks our way, I hold up Jenn’s sign and he gives us a smile. The really cool part is that later in the show, the camra man (who films the concert for video to display on the bigscreens) pans across the crowd and we hold up the sign again and it’s displayed on the big screens….DMB Sets us Free! At this time, the rest of the band take notice to it and are obviously smiling and talking about the sign. At the very end of the show, Dave waves to the crowd and throws his guitar picks out….he looks our way again and I hold up the sign again and he points right at us, waves, and gives us a peace sign as he walks off the stage. Carter (drummer) also comes over to our side of the stage, points to us with a drum stick and chucks one over to us…I had my hand on it but couldn’t pull it away from the 2 other guys in front of me….rrhhhhhgggg!!! Very disappointing but Jennifer consoled me with the fact that it was definitely meant for us.

Aside from the reaction we got from the band because of Jennifer’s sign, it was just an amazing show. The energy of the crowd was off the hook and the band was on fire and played a really energetic and fun show. They had 3 cover songs (which is rare for DMB)…they played Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”, Neil Young’s “Hey Hey My My,” and another song called “Sail Away” which referenced Charleston in the song and made the crowd go nuts…this was also an independence day related song. Sledgehammer was really fun and it was a great song for them as Dave sounds very similar to Peter Gabrial. They had Tim Reynolds (phenomenal guitar player) playing electric throughout the whole show...this is another reason this show was so amazing. They don't normally have the electric guitar in the mix and he sounds great with the band. They also had a guest (Jeff Coffin from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones) on the horns that replaced Leroi Moore who was injured in an accident a few days before the show. This guy had crazy energy and was jamming all over the stage and having fun….considerably different from Leroi. I'm not a huge Neil Young fan but they rocked the house with Hey Hey, My My for the first song of the encore and then when we thought it just couldn't get any better...they closed out the night with Tripping Billies. The crazy thing is that they played the last 5 songs of the set with closing style jamming and energy.

Here is the setlist…
Seek Up
Old Dirt Hill
Best of What’s Around
Crush
You Might Die Trying
#41
Everyday
Cornbread
Sail Away (Cover Song…not sure who)
Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel Cover)
Ants Marching
Sister
So Damn Lucky
Louisiana Bayou
Crash Into Me
So Much To Say-->
Anyone Seen the Bridge?-->
Too Much

Encore:
Hey Hey, My My (Neil Young Cover)
Tripping Billies

Anybody interested in listening to this live show or nearly any other DMB show for that matter, there is a great website that allows you to stream live DMB shows on your computer. You have to sign up but it’s totally free and totally worth it if you are a DMB fan. Here’s the link.

Aunt Lanie & Uncle Mylin's

Our next stop was my sister's place in Charleston, SC. After a long 5 hour drive from Augusta GA, we were super excited to finally arrive at our final destination. We were all so wiped out that we just ordered a pizza and hung out on the first night. Draven wasted no time in checking Aunt Lanie's DVD collection which to our surpise, included the classic 1970's TV show WONDERWOMAN!! The boys loved the show and it brought back memories for Me and Jennifer because we grew up watching it on TV. Brody always goes after Aunt Lanie's cast iron train and is content with that as long as he can keep it away from Draven. I think PJ was just happy to be somewhere for a while...we all were.

On Saturday, we all took the boys to the beach for the first time! We also got to hang out with our twin couple, the Kinney's. They, along with the Smartt's, have been pregnant and have 3 kids that are the exact same age has ours. They are pregnant again so obviously that makes Jennifer and Me a bit nervous!

The boys were so excited and had a blast playing in the surf and getting hit by waves. Throwing sand became a big hit as well as you can see in the video...it was really windy so the sound on the video is not the best.

Next Stop-Birmingham

Well, with my surprise party on Sunday, we didn't leave for Birmingham until Monday. Pierce was going down there to help one of his former peers at IKON with opening a new site, and the boys and I went to visit friends and so we could just drive straight to Charleston from there-Pierce wouldn't have to come back to K-ville to pick us up. On Tuesday we met up with my friend Kelly and her 3 boys-Eli, Brandt, and Asher. We drove to the middle of nowhere and picked blueberries. It was more fun than I thought and really cheap. We paid $8 for over a gallon of organic blueberries. One funny and aggravating part was that Draven decided to be stubborn and not say he was sorry when he got in someone else's car and started playing around. So, he spent the first half of our time there sitting in the van until he said he was sorry. So, after blueberries, the owners drove us around the farm on a hay ride, and picked sunflowers for us. Then the boys fed a donkey and some sheep from their hands. It was very fun, and they enjoyed playing with old friends.



Wednesday we had to check out of the hotel so the boys and I went to the park and the mall just to waste time until Pierce finished working. The park was really fun and relaxing. That afternoon we drove to Augusta, GA and stayed with our friends Verina & Sam Scroggins. Sam was actually on call-he's a dental surgery intern-so we didn't see him. But again, the boys got to play with Scott and we got to see our old friends. We still miss the friends we had in B-ham. It was nice that we had a reason to see them again.

Six Flags over Georgia

As many of you know, the most recent Copeland Tour began on June 28th at Six Flags in Atlanta, GA. The company I work for (IKON Office Solutions) put on an employee appreciation day and treated us to a day at Six Flags. Grammie came over friday night to babysit the boys so Jennifer and I could get up at 5am to head to Six flags in hopes that we could arrive there in time for the gates to open. We were able to achieve that goal and as we arrived we hooked up with another co-worker and his buddy and went straight over to get in line for Goliath (pictured above). For those of you that like roller coasters, this is far and away the best one we have been on. It's a fairly new roller coaster that has probably been there for a couple years now. Since we got there early when the gates opened (which is the way to go!!), we were able to get on the ride within about 15 minutes AND we road in the very front! It starts off like the typical roller coaster, slowly ascending to 200 feet high, with a sweet view of the city at the top. Just as you soak that picture in, you begin the super fast (appx 70mph)fall down 200 feet and up and around and down and everywhere in between. Super super fun ride that got the adrenaline going and pretty much ruined us for the rest of the day.

Next we road Superman, which was a ride that I have wanted to try since it was built back around 2001...last time we were there it was a crazy wait for that ride. It was super good, it definitly makes you feel like you are flying. The only part that made me a bit nervous is that it swooped down towards concrete and gravel a couple of times and I was scared to death my long legs were going to be scraped to pieces!!

We also road a couple other rides before getting a little wiped out and dehydrated from the hot weather. I also paid $10 to get in a 3 point shooting game that I absolutely did terrible in. I made 1 shot out of 12....which is horrendous. I'm a decent long range shooter but it just wasn't my day for this and it was irritating especially since I was talking it up beforehand. Lucky for me, Jennifer didn't marry me for my amazing basketball skills ;o)

On a tragic note, in case you didn't see the news over that weekend, there was a death at the park that day at the Batman ride. This ride is up there with Goliath and previous to riding Goliath was my favorite ride. We were waiting in line for Batman for about an hour and a half and we were just about 10-15 minutes from getting on the ride when the line stopped moving and police were making there way through the line in an urgent fashion. There were a couple of Six Flags employees coming down through the line and although they didn't say anything, you could tell by the looks on their faces that something was not right. Apparently, a 17 year old boy and his friend were there as a part of a church group and hopped 2 six foot fences to grap a hat that had fallen off the roller coaster. One of the two boys got struck by the roller coaster and it killed him instantly. We didn't know all of this at the time and the park did a good job of evacuating the area. We learned what had happened later that night when we got to our hotel room...it was a little eerie to say the least.

Getting Ready for DMB!

Jennifer has been really ready for a change of music...so in preparation for our upcoming vacation to Charleston SC on July 3rd, we decided to have an all Dave Matthews Band playlist. We will be going to see them in concert on the 4th at the baseball stadium there (Joseph P. Riley Park). My sister lives in Charleston and we are going to spend a long weekend with her and her husband Mylin. If you like DMB's music, tell us your favorite song!

Coming Home

Cute bottom chasing ducks
Saturday was our final day of vacation. I was really trying to convince Pierce to stay another night, but no such luck. I was excited to get home, but at the same time I was having so much fun just being with our family and away from our daily responsibilities. The last night, Friday, Pierce and I made s'mores again after we put the boys to bed. Then we sat by the fire and just talked; about the boys, our vacation, all the things going on in our lives right now. I think that was my favorite part of the whole trip. Pierce and I talk and communicate really well, but that night was just better.

Each of us has a different favorite part of the trip so here's the list:
Pierce-the Caverns
Me-the last night
Draven-the Cavern & the Waterpark
Brody-the swirly slide (at the waterpark)
PJ-I think he liked chasing the ducks the best.

PJ also learned a new phrase on our trip; "Jedi says woof, woof." No one can understand him except the family because his version sounds more like "Dadi, puff puff."

PJ & Pop at Reunion
On our way home we detoured through Chattanooga for a small family reunion. We met at Riverpark and had a picnic and let the kids play. The reunion was for my paternal grandmother and her sister's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. My grandmother had 7 kids (only 3 were represented) and her sister, Marguerite, had 4 so there were quite a few of us there. It was the first time I had met most of Aunt Marguerite's family. We also visited my great-Aunt Louise. She is 89 and living in a nursing home, so it was good to see her again.

Camping, Day 5

Today started out just like all the others-with Pierce making a delicious breakfast; today it was pancakes and sausage again! Then we headed to Rutledge Falls. These falls are on privately owned land, and the owner generously lets everyone enjoy them. The trail was really steep, so Jedi, PJ, and I stayed at the top overlook, but Pierce, Draven, & Brody went all the way to the bottom. You can swim in the pool made by the waterfall, but we decided it might be a little cold this early in the season!
The area around the waterfall was beautiful. The house was an old, brick, civil war era home, and they had this cute red barn in one of the fields. The sun was great today and as we were walking back to the car I just thought this scene was really pretty...
Then, because it was so much fun yesterday, Pierce took D & B back to the rec center water park. Again they had a great time, and got to show off what they could do (going down slides and such) to their DAD! After PJ's nap they came back and we all went to the pool here at the campground. It has a slide and a jacuzzi, so it was fun too. PJ did not like the water at all! I don't know if it was too cold or too big or what, but he cried and held on for dear life.
The boys are totally exhausted! So exhausted that we can't get them to go to sleep. Urgghh!

Now We're Camping

For dinner on Day 4 we finally made a fire, roasted hot dogs, and made s'mores! As you'll remember, Pierce is very particular about what constitutes "camping." You have to be in a tent, you have to have a fire (even if it's 90 degrees outside), you have to have roasted hotdogs, and you have to have s'mores. The last one was just added two years ago, when my brother, Jason, and I finally introduced him to this delicious camping treat. So...the boys loved it! They helped roast hot dogs and marshmallows, and loved eating it all up. Thankfully we can really say we went camping this week!

Camping: Day 3

So we got off to a good start on Day 3...we took a little trip to McMinnville TN to visit the Cumberland Caverns. As you can hopefully see by the pictures, it was a beautiful place. The boys were really excited to go underground....I kept telling them it was the batcave where batman lives, but I'm not sure they believed me. Our tour guide was pretty good and told us a lot of stories about how the cave was found, that it was used to make Salt Peter (part of ammunition for gun powder) for the civil war. The boys didn't care much about that but they did enjoy climbing around in the cave. The only part they didn't like was the part where the tour guide turned off the lights and showed us what complete darkness was like. So dark you cannot even see your hand in front of your face. The darkness didn't last but for a moment but the boys were glad the lights came back on. Enjoy the photos...the ones of the jeep were from when we left the cave. They use those to drive into the cave for maintenance and such.



Leaving the Cave


Later in the day was a little rough....We think the boys were pretty wiped out from the cave and so were Mommy and Daddy. We got back to the cabin from our trip to the cave a little late so we had to be a little quick about getting our stuff out and set up the campsite....for real camping ;o). I ended up breaking one of the poles to our brand new, only used once tent...the good thing is, this part was repairable. When we got the tent completely set up, the boys decided to play inside, and who wouldn't...its a pretty cool tent and they've never been camping before. So as they are playing, Draven decides it would be pretty cool to zip up the divider between rooms and jump into it.....well, it only took one time and before we even knew what he was trying to do....RIPPP!! Big whole in the side of the tent....the brand new, only used one time, pretty expensive tent. Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy were pretty irate at the moment. We were all tired, I had just spent an hour getting the tent to cooperate, Jennifer had rushed to get everything out of the cabin, etc, etc...we all had a bit of a meltdown. We knew Draven did not do it on purpose and did not know that what he was doing was necessarily wrong, so we tried not to be too hard on him....it was a learning experience to say the least. We bought some Duck tape for Draven and me to repair the hole enough for the week, but longterm it is not really repairable and we will likely have to buy another tent. Aside from this misadventure, we had a fun day going to the cave and spending our first night outside.

Camping, Day 2

Here are some pictures from Day 2....and we posted some pictures on Day 1 as well.

So, today was much more fun than yesterday. We didn't do anything special, but I think that is why it was so much fun. Pierce made blueberry pancakes and sausage for breakfast (yum!), and then we spent the rest of the day goofing off. We played at the playground three times, took a walk on the Nature Trail, read books, the boys watched a movie, etc, etc. We did end up staying in the cabin one more day because it was suppose to thunderstorm again. Did it? No, of course not :( We hope to be in our tent tomorrow which will be good, because according to Pierce we aren't camping right now. This is just a hotel where you have to walk across the pavement to use the restroom. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I was all excited to be in our tent and doing the whole camping thing.

Tomorrow we are planning to visit Cumberland Caverns in the morning. The boys seemed to think it would be cool to be underground!

Camping 101

Rain
Our Cabin
1. Get to the camp site before the rain starts so you can get the tent put up.

2. Talk to someone who has stayed at the location where you are planning to camp.

3. If the pictures look too good to be true, they probably are.

4. No matter what, have fun anyway!

There are no pictures today, but I'll be sure to get some posted tomorrow. This has not been the picture perfect start to our vacation that Pierce and I dreamed of, but we are still excited and the boys are too-tired, but excited. Before I give you the dreary details, let me started by telling you a cute Draven story. I was in the bathroom with Brody for his 20th trip today (he had a lot of water on the trip), but Pierce just told me this...He and Draven were in the cabin-I'll get to this next-and Draven excitedly told Pierce, "come here, I have to show you something!" So Pierce went into the boys' room and Draven said, "This is the happiest I've ever been in my whole life!" And showed Pierce his sleeping bag and his bed and was really excited. Doesn't that melt your heart?! It makes all the craziness worth it.

OK, to the details...The trip was uneventful except for the 5 stops we had to make before we could really get started-eating lunch, Pierce's work, Pierce's other work, pee pee breaks, etc. Why is it that when you're trying to get somewhere with a car full of kids you have to stop a dozen times? It always happens! Draven also asked every five minutes how many more minutes it would be before we got there-his version of "are we there yet," and Brody kept asking when we were getting to Nana's house?! So, we finally get to Manchester, TN and we are all excited, driving down the interstate, spotting the exit sign, when we notice the KOA sign just off the interstate on the left. Yes, just off the interstate. Who ever heard of a "campsite" that has the calming sounds of 18 wheelers 200 feet away? Then, I went in to register and the kid at the desk asks if we want to upgrade to a cabin for the night, because it's suppose to rain. Nah, we say...it won't be that bad. Just as we got the tent laid out on the ground the lightning started and the clouds opened up! We sat in the humid car for an hour hoping it would let up soon. It finally did, but our campsite was so water logged that we couldn't set up the tent. So, after sitting through an hour in the rain, I went sheepishly back into the office and asked if we could upgrade to a cabin. I think that should have been Pierce's job, but he did the driving instead. Then we went to the highclass eating establishment, Walmart, for dinner because everything was so wet we couldn't start a fire. While at Walmart, the KOA man called and said he had made a little mistake. The cabin he had put us in was rented for tomorrow and could we please move all our stuff to another cabin?! So, we are spending tonight in the comfort of a 2 room cabin, all in beds, and thinking about staying here tomorrow too, as it's suppose to rain all day again. The weather.com people had it all wrong!

We are still optimistic though, and the boys can't wait to get to the playground and the fishing pond, which really are very cool. I think they have to have something awesome to put in the pictures to lure you here. While sitting in the rain Pierce said he wanted to have a real Griswald family vacation...he may just get his wish!