Hanging Out with the Grands...

Brian is working nights the whole month of June, so Nathan and I decided to hit to road to visit family for a couple of days.  We packed up and headed for Knoxville first thing last Sunday morning.  Nathan did really well on the drive over.  He slept for the first 1:20 of the trip, and then he played in the backseat until we reached Ashville.  To keep him occupied while he was awake, I would hand him back new toys one at a time, so by the time we stopped, he had quite a pile in his lap.  Here's what he looked like after about 5 or 6 toys fell out of the car when I opened the door. 

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we safely arrived at Grandmother's and Granddaddy's around 2, with Gran getting there just a few minutes later.  That night we went to church with Gran and grandparents.  I had called Carroll and David to see if they were going to be there as well, but they were on their way back from Mississippi and weren't going to be back in time.  Nathan was so good during the small group service - he played on the floor most of the time and everyone just "ooed" and "awwed" over him.  Then as we were getting ready to leave, who should arrive but David and Carroll!  They just couldn't pass up the opportunity to see their sweet grandson, so they stopped by the church right as after we finished services for a short visit and, of course, a photo op.

Nathan slept well that night, only waking up once during the night, but then got up bright and early at 5:30am.  Gran generously got up and played with Nathan so that I could sleep in until 7.  We all went for a walk at the mall in the morning, and that afternoon, Gran, Nathan and I did a little shopping.

Monday night Nathan slept much worse, waking up maybe 5 times between 11 and 2, so that was a bummer, but Gran got up with him when he woke up at 5:30 and let me sleep in again.  We had planned on going to the mountains Tuesday morning, but couldn't leave until close to when the the maids were to arrive at 9:30, but fortunately we all were able to keep Nathan awake so that he would sleep in the car on the way to the Smokies.  We stopped at the Cade's Cove picnic area, where we planed on spending most of our time. 

Playing with the rocks - he REALLY wanted to taste them!

We sat down to a typical and tasty picnic lunch - PB and neutella sandwiches on homemade bread, carrots, cherries and a little chocolate for dessert!  Unfortunantly, as we were finishing eating, we heard the rumble of thunder and it started getting dark.  So we decided to pack up and take the short drive around Cade's Cove instead of reading/playing by the stream as originally planned.  However, I wanted to be sure to let Nathan experience the stream (and get pictures, of course!).

Our picnic lunch.

Nathan loves practicing drinking out of a big person cup.  He can drink really well when someone holds the cup for him!

Yummy, carrots!!

Nathan was excited to look and listen to the stream.

The stream was cold, but Nathan didn't seem to mind.

We look pretty cheerful, don't we!

We had a pretty nice drive around Cade's Cove.  Nathan did really well for about 3/4 of the trip, but then started getting really fussy because he was tired.  So I nursed him to sleep, and then he slept for the rest of the drive around the cove as well as the trip home. 

Here are a few scenery shots from Cade's Cove - it was beautiful!