after buying the new ‘yaks home friday at lunch, we left one (mine) in the car so that we could take it on a quick trial run after work (before returning the other kayak and paddle). the surf was up (for this part of the world) that afternoon and we were tremendously pleased with how the new ‘yak surfs.

we actually managed to sell the kayak that i won yesterday for the amount that we were asking. so, we are taking the other one back tonight and we got these beauties to replace them. since i’m such a girl, we got a red one to match hubby’s red life vest and a blue one to match my blue life vest. we’ll be well accessorized kayakers! the biggest reason that we made the switch is that these are 1.5 feet shorter. doesn’t seem like much but when you live in a condo, it’s a huge difference. they went into the elevator with no struggle, i can carry one by myself much easier (about the same weight but more compact and better handholds), and, perhaps most importantly, we’ll be able to keep them in our outside storage instead of having to carry them through the house to store them on the balcony. that’ll really save our carpet, furniture, and walls. my cousin, in her wonderful selflessness, went way out of her way last night to purchase paddles for us and drop them off at my sissy’s so that they can be delivered to us tonight. yay for new (nicer) kayaks again!!!

are you one of them?

driving through centre, al there was a stretch of about three miles or so that was lined with flags and crosses with soldiers names and their war. it was beautiful.

our cabin was designed just for me

there were so many gorgeous ducks

unfortunately, there were also a few that i didn’t like at all

i wonder why they call them the smokies?

hungry bird babies

old mill in cades cove

are you looking at me?

chicks dig it when i flex

just so that you know, i felt tremendously guilty seeing these miserable bears but the family wanted to do it, so i was obligated to participate. they were so sad looking.

just look at that tear – heartbreaking

just for my cousin

i woke up just before 0400 because i had to pee. after that, i could not get back to sleep. i woke hubby up for a few minutes but he was able to go right back to sleepi (i hate that about him). i got up and went out to the balcony to watch the moon over the water for a bit. i rummaged in the dark through our closet to find batteries for my camera (both sets of batteries are dead; anyone know where my charger is???) and tried to take pictures of the moon but, as much as i heart my camera, it sucks in low light. it was beautiful though. it was a full, orange moon. it was behind a light cloud so the cloud was glowing orange with just the tip of the moon peeking out over top and then there was a trail of the orange moonlight all the way across the water into the shore. it was wonderous. shame about the lack of good photo. this doesn’t do it justice at all. and it was after the clouds moved away.

about 0500 i laid back down and tried to go back to sleep. no such luck. at 0530 i decided to get up and go jogging on the beach. while i am not a morning person or jogger at all, it was very nice and peaceful out. there are no waves so the water just lapped at the shore and my feet a little. it was cool and quiet and relaxing (in a i-am-so-not-a-jogger/morning-person kind of way). my goal was to go to a building that would have made it about three miles round trip. i’d say i was about a quarter-mile from that buildng when i got an unexpected jogging companion. i kid you not, five feet away from me a shark was swimming the shoreline. it was only a baby, three feet from nose to tail, but it was soooo cool! i was very excited and ticked off that i didn’t have my camera. it stayed five to eight feet away for probably thirty yards before it finally decided to swim back out to sea. i could have reached out and touched it, it was so close. i’m no shark expert, but i’m pretty sure it was a black tip based on body style. clearly, i need a super tiny, high-tech, spy camera. something tiny that i could carry on me at all times no matter what i’m doing but takes great pix. yes, i did vent to the shark about him having the audacity to show up when i was completely cameraless. maybe he’ll come back around while we’re kayaking this weekend so that i can get his closeup. we’ve also had a six foot or so eagle ray passing by the last couple of days. i had no batteries in my camera yesterday. i did get a couple pictures today but he was much farther out and you can’t hardly make it out as an eagle ray.

after finally getting to sleep in this morning (really, all this getting up at 06:00 is just not my idea of vacation) we met up with the cousins for some ice skating fun at ober gatlinburg. hubby, nephew, and i were actually the only ones to get out on the ice but we had a great time. i think we’re going to relax a bit this afternoon and then maybe get the group together again when it cools off this evening to play some putt-putt or something. i’d like to get back in the very nice hot tub again but it’s much warmer today than it was yesterday so i’m not sure that will be wise. we’ll see. oh, i almost forgot about the amazing storm that came through last night. I couldn’t tell you what time it was since there is not a clock in our room but it was bigger rain, thunder, and lightening than i’ve heard in a long time. it woke us up but that was okay because it was so pleasant to listen to. it really was truly impressive.

this is my kayak that i paid for in blood:

ironically enough, it is one of the ones that was in our final cuts from this weekend’s shopping. i’m thinking of calling the store (same store we had seen it, skew is still on the kayak) to see whether they will do returns without a “gift receipt”. don’t get me wrong, i am thrilled to pieces with it. but on the unlikely chance that they will do a return, we can take the money and go get the super nice kayaks that we really want but they’re more expensive and we hated to spend so much since we’d need two of them. with what this kayak cost, it would cover most of the better one and we won’t feel so bad buying them. but, i’m also a realist and am very doubtful that the store will give us money for it. i figure, if they’ll do a return at all, they’ll want to give us store credit and there’s nothing else in that store we would buy. either way, i’ve got a kayak and i’m pleased as punch!

and sleep in all day long! oh, to be fifteen again, without a care in the world! (wait, no, i had a job at fifteen and had to work when i wasn’t at school)

in one weekend wii have already unlocked 45 of the 63 songs. clearly, wii are going to need more songs.

it’s been a great way to pass the time.

lazy teenagers who sleep till noon. those two are the only ones left and we haven’t heard a peep out of them yet. hopefully they’re still breathing. apart from some moments of frustration, i honestly enjoyed having the family here this weekend. i’m not sure if we’ll try having the entire family at one time again as it was just too many people to agree on stuff but i’m hoping that individual family units will feel welcome to come back and visit again. it was particularly nice to spend time with bro-n-law’s family since we don’t see them often. unfortunately, yesterday turned into a hellacious day. no guest behavior issues – just a truly unfortunate circumstance that couldn’t be helped but wreaked havoc in our home. it was 02:00 before i got to bed and i was not able to rest well after all of the commotion. fortunately, i can thank my sissy for cheering me up with her fun sunday ordeal:

puppy found out the hard way that the tasty looking blue liquid in the pen isn’t as yummy as it appears. she said the sofa came clean for the most part. you know, considering she’s got three kids, two cats, and a puppy anyhow.

i guess there really are advantages to this real blog thing. since these rooms may never be the same after this weekend, i figured i’d go ahead and commemorate their current state of completion and tidiness.

full on top, full futon on bottom
tv, vcr (what’s that?), locker containing stereo, vhs tapes (huh?), and games
this is the guest bath – isn’t that stripe perfect?
this is the queen guest room, it’s the only traditional styled room we have

so that’s the three rooms we’ve actually completed, aside from wall decor which probably won’t much happen until the whole place is painted and ready for it. i’m pretty pleased with things so far.

since i haven’t got much a way to post pix, i figured i’d at least try to post my videos. i’ve never youtubed before but it seemed like the simplest way to post. the compression really ruins the video quality but oh well. the greatest thing about the first video is the very cute “oh crap” moment kenny has when he forgets where he’s at and can’t think of the words. in the second video, if you’re paying attention, you can hear my hubby excitedly singing along in the first chorus. i sing this song to him a lot when we’re in al because he has a tendency to go john deereing up there.

heck, i’ll even throw in a link to the pix.