pool to be

Dennis enjoyed a good bit of water play today. He went to a swim party at a friend's place after church, and after that, we helped Gran set up her new pool (which should be ready to swim in by tomorrow--how exciting!!). He sprayed us liberally with the hose while the pool was filling, so we gave up and climbed in to frolic with him. It was awesome, he said.

When we headed home tonight, he asked me if he could have a Popsicle. We bought a make-your-own kit, and the Popsicle holders have monster faces on them, so he loves them. I told him he could have one but he'd have to take off his white shirt first. He asked if he could keep his pants on, and he said "it's hard to keep clothes clean isn't it? Sometimes you just like to get dirty."

Tonight he read us a bedtime story in our bed. We have taken to covering up the pictures in his books so we know he can actually read some. He just gets smarter every day.

dive show

Sugared up and missing his nap--that's how he spent his afternoon. He presented Gigi with the birthday present he's been working on for her. He decided she needed a "lucky rock" so he chose a small rock from the yard and painted it to match her decor: red, black, and white. He made her a card today and was so proud of it and the gift. She was thrilled, having never before received a lucky rock as a gift. I might even be a little envious!

He showed off his jumping-in-the-lake skills this afternoon, astounding us with his cannonball, twister, and Buzz Lightyear dives. Then we got a demo of his new dance moves. The funniest thing about Dennis today: he was so happy that the best way he knew to express it was by telling all of us that he loved us over and over again. He said it to us individually and would occasionally announce "I just love all of you." He said it so much that it got funny, and when Trevor (Allison's nephew who was visiting today) laughed, Dennis turned on him and said "hey, that's not funny!". This, of course, made it funnier, and to defuse the situation, we decided to tell jokes. I'm super proud of one of the ones Dennis made up (one jewel in a sea of not-funny-at-all poop jokes). "Why did the dog cross the road?" he asked. The answer: "to bite the chicken."

ready to rock

I was unprepared for Ghetto Dennis, who made his appearance for the first time today. He stood before me with his ballcap on backward, sporting pendants around his neck and bracelets up his arm. He called me "Shorty". And he said "I want to rock my body now." I did happen to remember a song on my iPhone on my workout playlist entitled "Rock That Body", and I correctly deduced that he wanted to dance to that song in his room. We both danced to it for a few minutes, and I liked watching him really shaking it and spinning on his back on the floor a la 80's breakdancing style. And then he told me "I think I want to dance alone now. You should go and get ready and come back later." He presented me with a ballcap and told me to go find some necklaces. I knew I'd never be able to compete with his coolness, so I retreated to my cave to do grown-up stuff. He watched Shark Tale today. I'd say he was rather heavily influenced by Will Smith. Dennis has got some pretty good moves for a white kid. David and I sure can't groove like that!

After I'd had my fill of Club Dennis, we went outside to play in the mud after it rained. He pretended to be a construction worker and posed for this picture. Never a dull moment around here!

out of ideas

"So, Dennis, what should I write about you today?" I asked. He said "Hmmm... That I wore my flight suit all day long and that we watched superhero movies." He scampered off to get ready for bed. Let me preface this next part. For a few weeks now, when he appears in our bed in the morning, he does so fully dressed and ready for the day (sometimes even with socks and shoes). I took this as another sign of his growing up, and I do my part in restocking his clothing drawers. I fell short this week, though, too hurt to do much laundry sorting. This didn't occur to me until tonight, when he scampered back in to our room announcing "I'm only wearing a shirt to bed." Since he also had on underwear, I told him this was fine, and then I got a peek at the same Buzz Lightyear underwear I saw yesterday. I asked how long he'd had on that pair of underwear and he replied "45 years!". I put some clean pairs in his drawer immediately afterward!

Have I mentioned Dennis' superpower? Every time I set a book down, he loses my page for me. He flips over and closes the books I carelessly lie face down and open (often because he's climbing on me or the furniture holding the book). He snatches bookmarks out of the books I am more careful with. I don't think he means to--he's done it before he even thinks about what he's doing. It's an art form, one that has lately made me ponder the benefits of an e-reader of some kind! He'd probably manage to lose my place on that as well. He's very skilled.

top gun

Though we spent precious little time together today (thanks so much to Grandma for watching him while I was so under the weather), I was still able to enjoy Dennis in full Fighter Pilot mode. He donned his flight suit (arrived today, $8.95 included shipping, thanks eBay!) and became a truly obnoxious and arrogant flier, demanding that we hop in our 'jets' (exercise bikes) and fly behind his (elliptical trainer). He watched very few, very carefully edited minutes of the movie Top Gun, and when we refused to hop into our crafts, he hopped on his 'motorcycle' (his bicycle) and sped away down the hall (a la Tom Cruise). What I love: the flight suit has zippers to access his pants pockets. He isn't wearing pants under it, so as he sits here on the couch beside me, I'm catching occasional flashes of his Buzz Lightyear underwear. Sure enhances his tough guy image.

mind of a boy

I am going to have to learn to lock the bathroom door. This was not an issue in all the years I've been married: door closed = bathroom occupied. Dennis doesn't subscribe to that particular theory yet. Doors don't deter him. So I should have known better, should not have been surprised when he barged in on me this morning. He got on whiff of the atmosphere in the bathroom and clapped his hand over his nose, staggered backward, and pretended to collapse in a heap on the floor. He sprang up and asked (of all things) "what are you doing, Mom?". I answered with the most economical of responses: "bathroom--PRIVACY! See what happens?!?!" and I pointed to the door. He returned momentarily, brandishing a wand of bubbles in a long tube. He announced "I've come to fix your stinkiness!" and he pulled out the loaded bubble wand and danced around, waving it and flinging bubble liquid hither and yon. He left as quickly as he came, and I was left to try and safely navigate my way from the commode over a floor slick with his deodorizing attempt.

This afternoon, he asked if he could squirt water from his fire truck into my mouth, and after seeing that he was referring to a matchbox truck with no reservoir for actual water, I agreed. He aimed the tiny ladder at my open mouth and I pretended to lap it greedily. He giggled and asked me to return the favor. When I did, he looked shocked and said "yuck! I got SALT water!" and he retched and gagged and pretended to spit it out. What followed (I'm ashamed to say) was a 20 minute fake hurling contest between the two of us with loud gagging and funny faces and much laughter. It was awesome. I think maybe tomorrow we should try and get out of the house some.

the full repertoire

Today I struggled with the agony of a neck that is stiff and sore, largely due to Dennis landing on top of my head as we jumped into the lake together on Saturday. I haven't been much fun to play with, so he's assumed a lot of roles to entertain himself. He's been a ninja, several Transformers, an astronaut, a navigator, a cowboy, an army man, a newspaper delivery boy on a bicycle, a scientist, and sometimes just a sweet and cuddly little boy who told his mama that he wished she felt better. To quote his daddy, there's nothing like a little boy. Thank you again and again, Lord, for the marvelous little being that is Dennis.

taking me literally

Last night, Dennis finished every crumb of a large supper. I observed his empty plate in amazement, remarking to him that he'd probably grow a foot by morning. He stared at his feet in puzzlement. I modified my remark, telling him that he'd grow 12 inches, not a third foot!

freshwater shark

When Dennis outgrew his infant life jacket, we found him a super cute one in the next size. It features big eyes on the front and a dorsal fin on the back. Today he realized the merits of that particular feature. He began swimming face down toward us, and pretty soon he was instructing us all to sing the Jaws theme and insisting that someone hold up his dorsal fin. He would delightedly attack us (thankfully without teeth) and much giggling would ensue. He was the terror of Lake Mitchell today (well him and those nasty little fish that attack our freckles and moles). He and Chloe found much mischief to share, much arguing to accomplish, much trouble to get into. They had a fun day for sure!

When he wasn't sharking around, he was a aqua superhero. He swam up to Allison and Gran a couple of times and asked "excuse me, ma'am, are you having some trouble?" or "do you need some assistance?" and once asked "are you having an argue?" (argument?) to Chloe and Dave! He's such a little character these days.

the happiest kid

Dennis is a study in the extreme capacity of joy. I don't know if this is something common among 4 year olds, but Dennis seems to savor every bit of fun and adventure and magic that can possibly be experienced in his young life. Small things make him happy, ecstatic even, and a day of exploration and imaginative play fills him to overflowing. I love that about him. Tonight he went with his dad to his Grandma's house, and GrandBob played and played with him. He told us "Bob plays better than you or Daddy!". Tonight he's too happy to sleep, and he is lying there in bed, practically vibrating with delight over his day, humming a cheerful little nonsense tune. He is the happiest person I know, the sunniest disposition I have yet to experience. I went for a bedtime cuddle and he pounced on me, saying "let's sing 'I love you' to each other." So we did. And I asked him if he was happy. If he'd smiled any bigger, we'd have needed to realign his jaw. He said "yes, because Daddy read me a Jesus story." I asked him which one and he said "the one about clean feet!".

time rolls on

His new bike is a good bit bigger than his old one! He's grown over an inch in the past month. He's shooting toward adolescence at an alarming rate!

We watched E.T. this morning. This movie turned me into a complete emotional wreck nearly 30 years ago and I haven't watched it since. But this morning David and Dennis were watching it, so I joined them. I held myself together until the very end. That's when Dennis asked "Is Elliot going to miss his new alien friend?". I told him he was, and Dennis burst into tears, crying "and I'm really going to miss Sarah!". I couldn't hold it together any longer. I was sad from the movie, sad from PMS, and sad, too, that Sarah and her family moved away today. Sarah has been a classmate of Dennis' at preschool and in every church class, and her family is so special--we have really bonded with them in the last year. Her brother was going to be in my first preschool class and has been calling me "Mrs. Christi" and giving me hugs for months now. Oh how we'll miss them, and oh how I hurt for Dennis. It's never easy to say goodbye to a good friend.

the galaxy in his room

Tonight's lesson at God's World was all about stars. We got out the telescope and talked about its use. We discussed red dwarfs and giant stars and supernovas. Dennis made a lovely starfield picture with red glitter and stickers. Tonight he said a prayer asking God to help the space shuttle land safely in the morning.

The art project for my class involved taking a toilet paper tube, painting it, and covering one end with black paper that had a design punched into it. If you look through the uncovered end, you'd see a night sky type effect. My example was that of a spiral galaxy, but the kids chose all different designs for their own 'telescopes'. Tonight, Dennis shone his flashlight into mine to create a galaxy on the ceiling of his dark bedroom. He loved it! He also loves the telescope and wants to look at Saturn. One night soon, we'll try to do just that!

bitten by the space bug

A visit to the planetarium this morning resulted in two things. First, he developed a new fascination with space, the stars, and the planets. Second, he scored a space playset with a lunar module, an astronaut, a satellite, a rocket, and a prototype shuttle of the future. All day he talked about things space related, so for our movie tonight, we watched Apollo 13. Now he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. Since the last shuttle flight will be on the ground in less than 36 hours, I don't know what the future holds for the space program. I'd like to believe he can be anything he wants to be, and I told him this. He said, "Well, I'd really like to be Spiderman, but I'd love to be a spaceman too." We've got to watch that "anything you want to be" stuff, though I told him he might could play Spiderman in a show one day!

Now we need to hightail it to the Space and Rocket Center while it's still around (not that I am predicting its demise or anything, but these are uncertain times).

yeah, that's why

At Steak 'n Shake for dinner, he was presented with the customary kid packet--activity placemat, crayons, cardboard car to assemble and decals to apply to car, all tucked in to a paper hat. These folks know kids. He had enough to keep him occupied until the food came. He was delighted and said "they thought I was the cutest kid in the world and they gave me all this stuff!".

talking circles around me

Tonight we discussed where we were going to stop for supper. I wanted Chinese, but Dennis wanted to discuss all his options. First Wendy's, then Burger King, then Whataburger, and then he announced "Mommy, you made up my day" (which he says instead of 'you made my day'). "You made up my mind--I want Mexican, so let's go to the Chinese place!". Sounded logical to me. Once there, he announced to the waitress "my Mommy is a chicken nugget; would you like to eat her?". She left our table promptly (and I don't blame her). Just before we arrived home, we fielded this question from the backseat: "Mommy, is there a baby in your tummy?". Umm, no, and it is apparently a good time to start a new course of Zumba. He asked why I didn't want another kid and I told him he was everything we ever wanted. He said "aww, I love you, Mom. You're the best Mom I've ever had." He gave David the same compliment, and we all had a warm fuzzy family moment.

lite Dennis day

Gran took Dennis to the lake this morning while I went to a teacher training course, and I hear that he spent hours swimming in the lake with his cousins. I even heard they took the paddle (pedal?) boat out for a run and that Dennis learned to pedal but had to lie down to reach the pedals! He certainly was worn out when we were reunited at lunchtime. It wasn't hard to convince him to take a nap. I left him with David this evening and had some much-treasured alone time shopping out of town. I did bring him a new toothbrush (a Captain America spinbrush since I haven't been able to find a Transformers one), which thrilled him. He and David had a movie party while I was gone, watching Transformers 2 together. Dennis said "oh, Mommy, you missed it! Can we start the movie over, Dad, so Mommy can see it?". He gave me big hugs and kisses as I tucked him in, and he asked "What do you plan to do with me, Mommy?". I told him I planned to love him for many many many years. He told me "I love you so much, even when you're mad, even when I'm crying." What a sweetie! Even though I love all of our time together, it's nice to get a break every once in a while!

powered by Dennis

We scored a used pull-behind bike today for a great deal, and David had worked on his bike before we arrived home with it. Dennis was delighted to get to go on an immediate ride, and David learned that you can really tell when Dennis is pedaling!

Dennis told us that we should have a family night tonight with pizza, and when we agreed, he yelled "family night--hooray! I love family night--it's my favorite!". We treasure this response, knowing the days when he will feel this way will not last forever. He sang a happy little family night song all the way home. We ate pizza and watched the rest of Transformers (the movie). He was thrilled!

spontaneous maturity

We listened to Dennis happily singing to himself and his toys for two hours this morning, sweet wordless tunes expressing his delight at being reunited with his playthings. Many Lego creations were spawned. Daddy and I slept late. Bliss!

Dennis and Gran and I visited Gigi's place at the lake to admire the progress and enjoy a visit with her and her cats. Dennis developed a relationship with his new toybox there, and we all had a great visit. The DirecTV installer came to get her all hooked up, and Dennis dubbed him a superhero! We stayed very late, and once home, Dennis told us he was going to go and get ready for bed. He reappeared in (matching!) pajamas and told us "I know how to brush my teeth, so I'm going to go do that now." A few minutes later he was back with the bag of flossers, asking for help opening it. He stood there in the kitchen with us and flossed his teeth all by himself. His Daddy thanked him for being so responsible, and Dennis picked up a stick of beef jerky from the leftover hiker food and brought it over to present to David. He said "in honor of you thanking me nicely, I'd like to present you with this special gift!". Then he headed to bed, requesting a bible story and some tucking in, which we were happy to do.

On our vacation, Dennis chose a dreamcatcher for himself, something he'd decided to get before we ever left to go on our trip. He had heard that Indians believe they will catch bad dreams before they get to you and he wanted one. He chose a simple, small one at Ely's Mill in Gatlinburg, and we hung it over his bed last night. He told us that it worked, that he could pray for Jesus to keep away bad dreams AND have a dreamcatcher in case some tried to sneak through, and that he had only good dreams last night.

wild ponies!

And we're home. So glad to be here! And I'm so exhausted from our long day of driving that I'll keep it brief. We left Ruby's Rest this morning and had breakfast in Damascus before driving to Grayson Highlands State Park. There we hiked up the Rhododendron Trail to the point where it crossed the Appalachian Trail. David and Brother Larry stopped well short of the AT--they could look and see it, but they were not anxious to set foot on it again today. We looked all around the meadow and saw evidence of recent visits from wild ponies, but we saw no ponies. We turned back. We saw one running in the distance and stopped to admire it only to see it circle back and walk on the AT right in front of us. It stopped and looked at us, whinnied, and raced on down the trail. We were enchanted, glad we'd hiked the half mile incline to see it. We were halfway down the trail, stopping to take pictures of the mountain views, when the same pony poked her head out of the brush right beside us. She walked right into the group of us and we fed her the apples we'd picked from a tree by the Creeper Trail. Dennis LOVED this. We all did! After she'd eaten the apples, she gazed at us as if to confirm that was all we had, then turned, snorted (as Gran tried to pet her) and trotted back up the hill. We were almost all the way back down when two more ponies and a foal came trotting up to check us out, but they didn't stay too long (we were out of apples). Back in the meadow at the base of the trail, Dennis befriended a very young colt standing beside the gate, offering his hand for licking (and laughing delightedly when his offer was accepted). He asked me if we could come back and see his new pony friends someday--he said "I'm sure going to miss them--and I bet they'll miss me, too."

So, we hit the road after this for a very long drive south, stopping to eat at the same soda shoppe in Abingdon where we ate before (the hiker guys were very appreciative and our meals and Coke floats were again super-delicious). Aside from various bathroom stops and food stops (the last a run to Krystals for sackfuls of miniburgers), we drove straight home. What a wonderful trip, so adventure-filled, such breathtaking scenery... I don't think we're done with the Virginia Highlands--we might indeed go back one day in the not-so-distant future (especially if the weather in July is always that pleasant!).

trails day

I am delighted to discover just how adventurous Dennis actually is. Today we took him on the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 14 mile/2.5 hour bike ride. Instead of opting to cruise in a bike trailer for the ride, he chose to ride a half-wheeler, a kind of pull-behind bike that attached to mine. He rode and pedaled without complaint until just before we reentered Damascus, when he informed us "my bottom hurts and I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY hungry." He seemed fine when he realized that sore bottoms were the norm for Gran and me as well and that we were pedaling straight to In The Country to have a post-ride meal. We parked our bikes there, in fact, and ate before returning them to the rental place. I'm so proud that he could handle this without whining or complaining or crying--he's just amazing!

He fell asleep as we drove to the top of Whitetop Mountain to admire the views (and the cool mountain air), but he didn't nap too long. Pretty soon we were driving back to Elk Garden to pick up the AT hikers. First we hiked up a short summit through a cow pasture that was across the street from the parking lot (dodging cow patties on the Appalachian Trail). Then we had the idea that we'd hike to meet them on the trail (back across the road), but Dennis was too tired for this (understandable, given that his legs had already had a giant workout today). So we hiked in about 10 minutes and then hiked back out to let him sit in the car. And then I hiked in again, and about 15 minutes down the trail, just when I'd gotten my rhythm and was enjoying my first bit of solitude on the trip (and had just started to think about bears maybe liking all the berry bushes I was passing), I met up with David and Brother Larry. I was so happy to see them and was happy to accompany them on the short hike back to the van. Dennis crowed delightedly from the open van window when he spotted his Daddy. Tonight we find ourselves reunited, six of us sharing the tiny space at the guest house, all comfortable and cozy. Dennis told the hikers all about his adventure on the Creeper trail ("I rode a tow-behind bike all the way down the mountain! And it was AWESOME!"). What an incredible vacation this has been! Here's hoping we all get a good night's sleep tonight before doing a little sightseeing tomorrow and then heading home.

another perfect day of vacation

We are having the most incredible summer vacation! Today, we briefly toured the town of Abingdon, stopping in a few antique shops. Dennis didn't love this. In fact, he sat down in a chair and said "I'm nervous in here, Mommy--this kind of store isn't fun for me because you have to tell me 'no' so many times!". He was right! He wanted to touch EVERYTHING, and we couldn't let him. He liked the soda shoppe, though; we started our meal with chocolate Coke floats and enjoyed some yummy food afterward. We came back to Damascus then, and after his nap, Dennis played outside in the yard with Ruby in her kiddie pool and on her swing, and they spent lots of time shooting water guns at each other. Then, the Buckleys took us to a parking lot up the Virginia Creeper Trail, and we hiked a short walk to a great place to play in the river. We waded in a real mountain stream, playing in the cold water, looking for (and finding) crawfish, seeing a rare trout swimming by... This was SO much fun! Dennis and Ruby went exploring together through the stream, and we all played around. Dennis shot us with his water gun pretty much constantly. What a great thing to do on a hot afternoon!

Resting at Ruby's

Tonight we're in Damascus, Virginia, at a delightful little guest house called Ruby's Rest. We met Ruby today--she's just 6 months younger than Dennis, and he immediately walked up to her and announced "we can be playmates!". She took a bit longer to warm to him, but they had some great adventures running around in the truly awesome yard this afternoon.

We enjoyed sitting outside until dark, sharing some apple peach wine from Gatlinburg and watching the chickens running around. There are just hundreds of fireflies here, and the birdhouse right on the front wall of the cottage has a family of baby birds in it. We watched the mother bringing them some worms.

It was so nice to meet up with the hikers today and hear their stories. We all did a bit of sightseeing together and then shared a delicious supper. They are spending tonight in a hostel and will head out again in the morning for 2 more days of hiking.

Tonight, Dennis ran around outside, frolicking in the cool evening breeze and pretending to be a superhero. He told us "we are on a mission to save the world." And then he said "I have a new weapon--guess what it shoots!". We couldn't guess correctly. He told us "it shoots CHIPMUNKS at bad guys!". Hard to beat that!

tourism at its best

Today we took Dennis to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in the national park (which has always been a favorite of ours). He LOVED touring the old farm homesteads and seeing the mill, but I think his favorite thing was standing in between the front seats of the van with his head out the sunroof, looking at the scenery through his binoculars. He would periodically shout things like "MILL HO!" or "WATERFALL HO!" as if he were a ship lookout. He once warned "CAR HO! We need to pull over to the side!". We let lots of other cars pass us on the one-way route. We hiked a bit at the Ogle place at the start of the tour, spending a good hour on a short walk because we took time to observe the wildlife (lots of different mushrooms, tulip trees, hemlocks, ferns, mossy logs and rocks, a really neat snail, spiders, inchworms), something I had never taken much time to do before I had Dennis in tow. We saw a deer on the road, watching her as she watched us pass. We are leaving tomorrow and I still have never seen a bear in the park. That's probably a good thing--it's one thing Dennis did NOT want to see today (because he paid attention during the ranger lecture).

Tonight we went swimming at one of the pools near the cabin, also something we've never done before on a trip here. There's a gorgeous two-level pool, surrounded by rocks, and for 45 minutes, we had the entire huge thing to ourselves. We stayed in the lower pool because it's uniformly 4 feet deep (and larger than the upper one). Dennis asked if he could take off his floaties, and I let him. He surprised us big time with his amazing swimming ability! He jumped in and swam to the ladder, then swam to the side, then swam to me and then to Gran. He did this for 45 minutes, increasing the distance he could go. He swims with his head down basically under the water, face down (unnerving to watch, but it's what he learned in class and it's the correct way to do it), and he was learning to roll onto his side or onto his back and take a breath just before we decided to get out. He swam without his floaties for 45 minutes, and we were SO proud of him! He practiced his back float some, but mostly he wanted to swim back and forth to us and to the ladders or the pool walls. He would occasionally swim to the side with the boulder wall and climb up and rest on one for a second before resuming his training. He was so proud of himself for being able to do "real swimming" as he called it.

What a wonderful day we had! Got 2 text messages from David, one that they were rained on all day yesterday and were just soaked, and one that they stopped for lunch today at a shelter not too far away from Damascus where they would lunch and dry out some gear, and they planned to hike a couple more miles and then camp. They are planning to be in Damascus at noon tomorrow and we hope to be there not too long after that.

It has been so wonderful to have a Smokies vacation that was concentrated on the national park rather than the touristy towns and shopping. It makes me want to come back soon and explore more and more (though we never come here without spending at least a day in the park, I'd like to spend some time there every day of the next trip!). Though Dennis wanted to shop and shop (he said) for toys, he loved playing outside on the trails more than anything. I hope we have more of the same coming up in Virginia.

call me Ranger

Dennis earned his second Junior Ranger badge today, this time at Great Smoky Mountains National Park (my favorite park). He completed some activities in his workbook, hiked a short trail, and had to do two other tasks to earn his badge. He picked up a bag of litter from the trail to Cataract Falls and then we attended a ranger program called "Whose Poop?". We saw examples (actual poop examples) of scat from bear, elk, fox, otter, and deer, learned how to identify their tracks (by footprints and footprint patterns), and saw several animal pelts. We even sang two "poop" songs. Dennis had a good time and didn't want to leave!

Tonight, we had a Pajama Party at the cabin, playing card games (tonight was Memory Match), and baking cookies. Dennis loved every minute of it! He was a bit wound up before we took the time to play with him, telling me that if I didn't do what he said, he was going to "whack me with my broom!". Earlier today, we pointed out one of the Gatlinburg Trolleys to him and he said "you mean it's a trolley BUS, right?". He wasn't fooled by its fancy appearance--he knew that was a bus under there.

He really did some rangering this morning, leading us to the falls, greeting the other hikers we passed, welcoming people to the Smokies. Every time someone commented on what a cutie he was or called him "precious" (because he was super cute in his uniform), he got frustrated and said "call me RANGER!". He got out a map and directed us, pointing out where we were on the map (map was upside down), and telling us to stay out of the mud. I think he feels like he did some good work today, and when we got in the van to come back up to the cabin, he asked "so when can we go to another ranger program, Mommy?". We will see!

hikers off!

We dropped off David and Brother Larry this morning for the start of their Appalachian Trail adventure. Dennis posed with them, and a few minutes after they disappeared into the woods, he wanted to go after them. He and I hiked a tiny portion of the AT as well, long enough for him to realize that we couldn't catch up with them. He says he wants to really hike the trail when he's "just a little bit bigger."

We toured Boone and Blowing Rock before hitting the Blue Ridge Parkway and heading for Gatlinburg. We had the best day! We started out at a super cool general store (Mast) where we loaded up on candy for our journey, lots of old-fashioned candy, and a real highlight was getting Nehi Grapes from a Coca-cola cooler identical to the one that was in my Papa's grocery store. Oh, what a good memory, and what fun it was teaching Dennis how to open our glass bottles with the opener on the edge of the cooler! The Parkway was spectacular, of course, with eye-poppingly gorgeous vistas around every bend (and there were lots of bends!). We stopped at Cove Memorial Park and walked the manor property, basically frolicking in a big grassy orchard with an incredible view. When we stepped out of the van, I was delighted to find myself shivering just a bit in the cool breeze! Yes, we got a little chilly playing outside on a July afternoon--how wonderful is that? We also spent a good deal of time at the North Carolina Mineral Museum, where Dennis earned his Blue Ridge Junior Ranger badge. This badge requires some work! So much work, in fact, that the ranger on duty awarded ME a Junior Ranger badge and certificate and swore me in alongside Dennis. He is very proud of his badge, and I'm hoping to use mine as a Christmas ornament (unless it's pulled into emergency service as a back-up for him).

Tonight at the cabin in Gatlinburg, he learned to play a couple of card games with Gran. They played Snap and Go Fish, and it turns out that he's quite the card player! He told me he only cheated once, but he won a bunch of times. In his mind, he's the winner EVERY time. We don't have his permission to beat him!

Great vacation so far! Am hoping the guys on the trail are also having a wonderful time.

commentary

The only silence we've heard today happened while Dennis napped. He chattered constantly for nearly all the 10 hours we were in the car today. My ears are tired!

At lunch, I heard a kid yelling in the bathroom about a crack attack, so I asked Dennis if that was him I heard after he got out of the bathroom. He said "no, I was the one yelling LAND HO!".

He told David, "I'm going to take the heck out of you--I have tweezers to get it out!". He asked all the rest of us in the car if we had any heck in us and offered to tweeze it out as well. I asked him what the heck was doing in us and he said "the heck makes you do bad things and that's why we need to get it out!".

I'm too sleepy to write more. We're enjoying beautiful Boone, NC, and tomorrow we'll drop David and Brother Larry off at a spectacularly gorgeous lake that we passed, and that's where they'll start their hike.

librarian in training

Today was a frenzy of vacation preparation. We took some library books back and while we were there, Dennis picked out a stack of books and sat at a table in the children's section to read. I went to get a couple for myself, and when I returned, Dennis brought his stack to the counter to check out. The librarian told me that an older lady had come in with her grandchild and they sat down at another table, and then Dennis told them that they were disturbing him while he was trying to read! He told them also that you are supposed to be quiet in a library! She told me that he was so serious when he said it, and that it was so much the opposite of what is usually expected from small children in the library.

happiest 4th

Dennis was a real character today. He got plenty of sleep last night and his 'funny' genes were full on today. This morning we lost him for a minute at the lake house, always scary, and we fanned out to search. Allison found him leaving the screened porch, and he told her "you have ruined my escape plan!". He had decided to visit the neighbors without telling anyone, so he signed himself up for a nice long safety lecture.

He pooped in the lake today. I never would have believed it--something he never even did as a baby in a swim diaper! He told me he'd done it as he was finishing, and I was horrified at the idea of cleaning out his swimsuit. That wasn't a problem--he informed me that he pulled it down to poop. Swimming was a little less fun after that (since we were keeping our eyes peeled for floating you-know-what). I guess he's a real wilderness kind of guy now. I guess we never told him NOT to poop in the lake... Shortly after that, he told me that rain was what happened when the sun peed in the sky.

Tonight at Walmart (yes, another bathroom story), he and I went to the restroom while Daddy shopped for more gear for his trip (I think he grossly underestimated his cost for a hiking vacation, but we do want to make sure he has everything he needs). Dennis was in the bathroom stall next to mine. I heard him go to the sink and wash his hands, and then I heard him say "ahhh...that was refreshing!!".

The picture shows him making a hand puppet out of our Whataburger table number. We got home tonight to discover that our air conditioner was broken and deemed it too hot to cook. We ate out and then went to see the fireworks, a great conclusion to a really fun weekend.

big bangs and booms

Today was made up of the best things of summer. We grilled burgers and hot dogs, we spent hours swimming in the lake, and we roasted marshmallows over a campfire. We laughed, we talked, we ate too much... We took the boat out 50 yards from the dock to feel the breeze while we watched fireworks, lots of fireworks! And Dennis gave us some dancing shows, one on the boat while wearing glow-in-the-dark bracelets on his wrists and ankles, and one indoors after which he fell backward and whacked his head on a chair. As Monte came in from the porch, he said "oh no! She's going to sit in that mean old chair!". He warned her to be careful.

We played a few rounds of Cootie today. Dennis admitted "I cheated and rolled a two! I like cheating!". The last game he won fairly (unless he's better at cheating than I think he is).

One more day of lake fun before I have to start getting ready to leave for the big vacation on Wednesday!

big Harley adventure

Yes, that is Dennis on the back of a real Harley, wearing the cool helmet with the pink flames (and flashing two thumbs up). He had a breakfast date with Miss Julie (a friend from church)--she took him for a cruise and a visit to McDonalds. He LOVED it. He was all smiles when he arrived back and gave Julie a big hug and thanked her. When she cranked up the bike to drive away, Dennis said "I love that noise!". Another grand experience in his young life (even I've never ridden a motorcycle!), something I thought that would scare him but totally didn't.

Noisy motorcycles don't scare him, but splinters do. Big drama over a sliver in his finger, HUGE ordeal, and it took his grandmothers to take care of it. Allison and I made an attempt, and he cried so hard he nearly threw up (before we were able to touch his finger) then rubbed his freshly applied sunscreen into his eyes. Much rinsing and crying later, he happily jumped in the lake with us for a swim. Fireworks tomorrow night! Wonder how he'll like that...

holiday weekend!

I'm wondering if afternoon naps have gone the way of the dinosaurs. Dennis tried to take one today, tried for an hour, and told me his brain just wouldn't let him nap anymore. Naturally he fell asleep in the car on the way home from the lake tonight.

He called us "fools" tonight at comically appropriate times (if it's ever appropriate for a 4 year old to call an adult a fool), as in when I forgot to fix his water "you fool! I wanted water!". It was as funny as it was rude. I think he was stuck in Pirate Mode (he also threatened to shoot us with his pirate pistol if we didn't do what he told us to). I hope he's a nicer character tomorrow.