Journey to Pridemore Pastures : October 2011

Yesterday morning I completed my second half marathon. I ran my first one in April, and really enjoyed the experience, so Toni, Ashley and I decided to sign up for the Big Hit 1/2 Marathon and Beth signed up for the 1/4 marathon.
It was coooooold. The race began at 7:45 a.m....and the high at 8 a.m. was 34 degrees. Once you get warmed up it's not so bad, but it certainly makes for a chilly start! None of us trained as much for this race as we have races in the past. That became very evident for me at mile 10, when my legs literally felt like lead. By mile 12, usually when I would speed up and run as fast as I can to finish that last mile strong, I was barely able to move them. It wasn't until we entered Slugger Field, and I saw the finish line at home plate, that I was finally able to speed up and finish strong!
My time ended up being 1:50:44...exactly 20 seconds faster than my time in April. I was very happy with that, and hadn't expected to beat or really even be close to my previous time since I hadn't trained nearly as hard for this one. But it is really nice and really motivating when you are running with friends. Thanks, girls!

Here we are before the race: Beth, Ashley, Toni and me

So a couple of days ago we returned to our first Pridemore family vacation. We went to Gatlinburg, TN for five days and four nights and had an absolute blast!
This trip originated when we were in Bass Pro Shop last year helping Jamie buy a few outdoorsy things before she left for Tonga. BPS is associated with Bluegreen Resorts, and they were offering really cheap two-night packages in Gatlinburg if you sat through their timeshare presentation. We also got $125 in BPS gift cards added in...sah-weet! We thought this fall would be a good time for a trip like that so we did it. Mom and dad also bought the two-night package, but they took their trip last year and decided to go on and come back this year while mom was on fall break. So we had two nights in the hotel they put us in, but I just checked in, put a "do not disturb" sign on the door, then we stayed with mom and dad in their bigger, nicer room that was kind of made like a duplex...we had half and they had half. Much better than the hotel with two beds and a TV.
Ella has been anxiously awaiting this trip, especially after I told her that we were going to the aquarium. Before we left she told everyone that we were going to the mountains to see the sharks. She got some interesting looks, ha ha! We had a lot of fun walking around Gatlinburg, eating good food (but Mom...we never got ice cream!!!!), and enjoying the beauty of God's creation.
The aquarium was amazing. If you know my husband, you know of his recent money-burning obsession with his salt water fish tank...I mean the THREE salt water fish tanks that are currently in our house. So as you can imagine, he was like a kid in a candy store. They have a big tunnel that you walk through and sharks swim all around. We happened to be there during feeding time, so we got to see the sharks attacking the dead half-fish they threw into the water. (Thankfully Ella didn't seem to really notice what they were eating...that could have gotten interesting!) She was so excited when we first saw the sharks, then became pretty quiet. It definitely made her nervous! She kept saying, "I don't want to get in the water!" We kept telling her over and over that she would NOT be getting in the water! What I thought was the coolest part was the "penguin playground." They had a tunnel that kids could crawl through, then they could pop their head up in this chamber thing and it was like they were in there with the penguins. Ella loved this!
One day we were trying to find something fun and active for Ella to do, and a man told us about a place in Pigeon Forge with lots of rides and activities for smaller children. I wish I could go back and give him a big tip, because the place was awesome! I think it was called The Track...or Kids Country...I saw signs that said both. Anyway, they had a big go-kart track, and tons of fun rides for little kids! The girls had a blast on the merry-go-round, ferris wheel, swings and Ella even rode a ride similar to the spinning teacups...except spinning boats! She seems to take after Ronnie and can ride things like that...the guy operating the spinning boats kept giving her extra spins and it made me queasy just watching! Though she did not enjoy the go-karts...poor Ronnie was driving as slow as he could, even allowing himself to be passed by teenage girls, but Ella slumped lower and lower into the seat until all you could see was the top of her blonde head! But after that we rode some more rides and she was great again!
We had such a great time. Ronnie and I were talking about our favorite parts and both realized that we've reached the point that more than anything we enjoy watching the girls have fun...that's the most fun to us! We plan to hit up a beach next summer (and maybe some slopes this winter?!), so we are excited about all the fun new vacations to come! Here are a few other highlights from our trip:

- Kendall now pronounces Grandpa "Poppy"...it's really cute.
- We had a family photo session with my camera and mom's camerawork. It was slightly painful, with Kendall constantly pointing at things and Ella making all her crazy new facial expressions. But we survived!
- The girls enjoyed riding the trolley....also called the "charlie" by Ella.
- Flapjacks has a great breakfast.
- The treadmill at Mountainloft SUCKS.
- Visit the Nike Clearance Store rather than the Nike Outlet at Tanger. (Thanks for the tip, Ashley!) We got some great deals!
- Ella slept on a pull out bed and Kendall slept next to her in the pack n play. They both slept GREAT the whole trip. I was surprised, since Kendall can barely move in that pack n play! By next summer they can share a pull out bed!
- Ella got to watch salt water taffy being made. The man gave her a piece. She chewed about 3 times and said in a serious voice..."I like it."
- If you say, "Ready...Set..." Kendall says, "Go!!!!" pronounced "Doe!!!!" Grandpa taught her this at the resort's playground.
- Ella proves on a daily basis to be the adrenaline junkie her father is.
- When I checked out of the hotel we DIDN'T stay in, the lady said, "Did you enjoy your stay?" Maybe I was being paranoid, but I think she knew I spent a total of 30 seconds in their hotel.
- We bought the timeshare. Well, it doesn't really work like a "timeshare" anymore...we can go whenever, wherever, provided availability. This is something we wanted to do when Ronnie was done with residency. We have lots of travel plans and it's a great long-term investment. We're excited!

Here are some pictures!

We're here!