Fri. 2nd--We were trying to get Calvin's driving permit before leaving for Gatlinburg, TN on Saturday. Except he failed his written test on Thursday and had to wait 24 hours to take it again. Except that would put him *just* beyond his appointment time at the DMV. There wasn't anything we could do, but wait the 24 hours and have him retest. So we did. Except the program we were using wouldn't send his certificate confirmation to us. It stated we had to wait two weeks for it. What?? In this digital era, that should process within 10-15 minutes, tops! Consequently, Jared spent a good hour or so on the phone with the company trying to get that straightened out and we finally got his confirmation email. We hedged our bets and I took him to the DMV anyway. The nice lady said that she would take care of us when she had a free moment. Well, she was pretty busy. An hour went by before she was finally able to fit us in and we were SOOO grateful. Poor Karcyn was still exhibiting major daytime sleepiness. As we waited at the counter, some other agent came up behind the lady working with us and whispered some things back and forth. Eventually, I caught wind of what they were discussing. They were wondering if Karcyn was waiting in line for something. They didn't know who she was and didn't remember seeing her. I said, "She's with us. She has been waiting and struggles with sleep issues." They were like, "Ohhh, no problem. We just didn't know where she came from." Even though it took the better part of the day, we were able to finally leave with Calvin's permit.
*Later that night, as we were packing up the car, or trying to, there was a big storm with thunder, lightning, and strong winds. And then the power went out. Which meant, even though we had most things packed up, we couldn't pack the car because it was in the garage and the door was down. We ate dinner by flashlight and tried to do as much as we could. We were all tired and needed to get to bed as soon as possible. Fortunately, the power came back on about an hour later.
After eating and watching a little TV, Calvin was the first one out. Funny how sitting and doing nothing all day can wipe you out!
Sun. 4th--Since we didn't have time to attend church, we surprised the kids by taking them to the Memphis Tennessee temple grounds before leaving the area and heading to Gatlinburg on the far eastern side of the state. It's beautiful. I love the black finishes. It looks somewhat colonial to me. And these photos don't even look real.
*The best way to travel. Sleep as long as you can!
*The traffic, about an hour or so outside of Gatlinburg, was atrocious. It's a good thing we left when we did. We were even diverted off the highway at one point for construction. But we finally made it to beautiful Gatlinburg in the Smoky Mountains!
Calvin taking pictures of the flowers with his very new and fancy camera.
We reserved a free-standing chalet with a 2 bedroom condo on one side and a 1 bedroom condo on the other side and had the whole place to ourselves because my sister, Kelly, was going to join us and stay on the 1 bedroom side.
The main bath inside the front door.
Standing in the foyer with my back to the bathroom looking down the hall with the laundry on the left, and 1 bedroom with 2 beds on the right. Down the hall will take you to the kitchen, dining, and living area.
Karcyn and JJ slept in here.
The living room. Calvin slept on the couch.
The dining area.
Upstairs is the master bedroom and bathroom.
Love, love, love!!
I love the mountains!
This was at the front door of my sister's side of the chalet.
Her bathroom.
Bedroom.
Kitchen.
Porch.
Mon. 5th--Saw this gem before heading to the grocery store...which was right next door to our condo property. It couldn't have been any closer and was super convenient.
The early morning sky and a view of the chalets.
Another picturesque view on the property on my way to the store. Just gorgeous. Especially for those of us who live in the land of brown dirt, wind, turbines, the acrid smell of petroleum, and more wind and dust.
*Because we were driving up through the national park at speeds of 25 mph and two way traffic, it took us an hour to get to the parking lot for Clingman's Dome. It was crowded, but we were fortunate enough to find a spot. It was also a much higher elevation and the temperatures were a bit on the cool side. There also seemed to be a mist in the air. Humidity, I guess. We were not very prepared for the temperature change and mountain climate. Consequently, we felt pretty foolish. No one brought their jackets with them, except JJ, because it's June and we were fine at the chalet. Totally forgot about the temperature drop at higher elevations.
*It was only about a 3 hour drive for Kelly from the Atlanta, GA area. And most of it she spent driving through the park, she said. She got there about 40 minutes after we did. We were so happy to have her there with us. I made dinner and we played some games and came up with a plan for the next day. I needed to go shopping, then we'd go hike Clingman's Dome. At 6,643 feet, it is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi.
As luck would have it, there was a visitor's center/gift shop right before you start on the trailhead to the summit. Kelly was not happy about the cold temperatures and popped inside the gift shop to see if they had anything to help with that. She actually found a jacket. Calvin and Karcyn were feeling chilly, too, so their very generous aunt bought each of them a jacket, too.
The hike up to the observation tower was only half a mile. But in that short distance, you gain 332 feet, which made the path feel like it was going straight up! The climb gradient was almost 13%. Fortunately, there were a couple of benches and rocks along the way and we stopped once in a while. They've actually banned wheelchairs and bikes from the path for fear that gravity will grab hold of them and sweep people right down the path and over the side of the mountain!
We made it!! On a clear day you can see as far as 100 miles away with 360 degrees of unobstructed views! 20 miles away if the pollution is bad. Or, as was our case, 0% thanks to the Canadian wildfires! We came to see the Smoky Mountains and we definitely saw "smokey mountains!" We didn't let that stop us from smiling though!
The "smokey mountains."
Sisters!
I didn't realize it but Clingman's Dome is in both Tennessee and North Carolina. This wooden post on the path marks the way for the Appalachian Trail!
As we made our descent, we stopped at the scenic pull outs so we could get pictures. Even with the smoke and haze, it was still just breathtaking!
And here we are...one kid in North Carolina and one in Tennessee and a mom taking the picture on the state line in neither or both, not sure which?! :)
Once we made it back to the world below, it was lunch time. Kelly treated us to a meal at Freddy's in the Pigeon Forge area which was right up the road from Gatlinburg. Calvin and his big burger.
After lunch, we headed back into Gatlinburg to find Hillbilly Golf. I'd been waiting for this experience...mini golf on the side of a mountain! There was a bit of a line and it was really warm. Fortunately, we weren't waiting in the sun for too long before we got under some cover.
Hillbilly Golf is on top of a mountain sporting old time outhouses and moonshine operations. And you play downward. So it's easy to lose your ball. :) To get to hole 1, you ride a tram that takes you about 300 feet straight up the mountainside.
JJ waiting his turn for the incline lift.
As we got closer to the front of the line, it was hard to miss this sign on the wall. Things definitely got interesting! There are two different courses you can play. A side or B side. Since the bear was last seen on A side, we chose that one. Maybe he'd moved on to B side. ;)
Finally it was our turn! And yay that we all fit on one tram.
Going up!
Up, up, up the mountainside!
It was nice to be in the shade of the trees. We had a blast! Don't even know who won. We only lost one ball prematurely and didn't see the live bear, so I'd chalk it up to a success!
Tues. 6th--This was our last full day with Kelly, so we decided to spend it on Ober Mountain--a scenic and four season mountain adventure park and ski area. Obviously, we wouldn't be doing any of the winter activities. We weren't entirely sure what all was in store for us, but it seemed like the best way to fill our day together.
Some light reading while waiting in line. We wouldn't know anything about the subject, but it was fun to read anyway.
We bought our wristbands which gave us access to 99% of the activities on the mountain plus the tram ride. I guess you could drive up, but where's the fun in that?
I got some great pictures from the tram as we headed to the top of the mountain.
We all measured our "wingspans." We sometimes call Calvin "albatross" because his arms are so long.
Haha! Someone poked fun at Jared and his was his reaction.
Calvin's arms are about the same length as Jared's.
See?? Keep telling people I have tiny T-Rex arms. Look how short they are!
We were able to see the workers feed the otters which was really cool. We continued on looking at a few more animals and then headed back inside where Karcyn and JJ did the carousel. The next stop: the ice bumper cars in the basement.
Waiting for our turn with the bumper cars. It was cold down on the ice.
These are a lot harder than they look! I was trying to take pictures, too, but I finally got the hang of it.
Then we ventured upstairs and outside. There was a rock climbing wall. We haven't been able to do that since our cruise at the end of 2017, so we stopped and spent some time there. JJ and Calvin are spider monkeys and went up multiple times.
The tram ride was mostly exhilarating and a wee bit scary. :)
At the top, it was like you walked into an indoor mall with restaurants, shops, and some activities like ice skating and ice bumper cars. We decided, since it was early enough in the day, to go outside and check out the wildlife first. It was a mini zoo.
Calvin forgetting to choose his words carefully around Jared.
Karcyn and Jared had no interest whatsoever as they're both afraid of heights. I, on the other hand, wanted to see if I could do it.
And I could! Yay!
This was definitely the longest wait. It was about 45 minutes in line. But at least it was covered!
Getting closer!
Buckle up, Buttercup!
Have fun, JJ!!
Oh man!! That coaster was a good 5 minutes from start to finish. It was SUCH a rush!!! You could actually control how fast or slow you went. Here are some Ski Mountain Coaster Stats--the highest mountain coaster east of the Mississippi:
--Uphill Track: 1,000 ft.
--Total Descent: 2,750 ft.
--Total Track: 3,750 ft.
--Top Speed: 25 mph
--Total Ride Time: 5-7 minutes
And here is a model of the track on the right side of the picture below.
It was definitely worth the wait! An experience we've never had before. We all loved it. The candid camera captured some FANTASTIC pictures of the kids so I couldn't resist getting them as momentoes.
Calvin--My heck. He looks like he could be the cover model for the mountain coaster. (Eyes rolling!)
JJ--Haha! With his luscious locks flying behind him.
Karcyn--Oh my...we could hear her screaming before we saw her!
Aunt Kelly--such a trooper!!
We needed to figure out what to do about lunch. We thought we'd take the tram down and find some place to eat. Kelly wanted to treat us, but with Karcyn's diet, we couldn't go just anywhere and we were in unfamiliar surroundings. We saw a place inside Ober Mountain that served sandwiches and happened to notice they actually had GF bread. What a blessing!! We wouldn't need to waste time going back down and up the tram or losing our parking spot downtown. So we stayed on the mountain to have some sandwiches. For some unknown reason, when Kelly went to order our food, the cash register kept crashing. Not once, not twice, but three times before they finally got it to stick on the fourth try. While those were being ordered, I took JJ to another food place to get him a piece of pizza and we enjoyed a bit of a break inside, out of the sun, sitting down, while we refueled our bodies.
Next stop: the summer tubing. Thank goodness for the moving sidewalk to take us up the hill. Otherwise, that would have been a trudge for sure.
Karcyn and Jared went up together.
JJ and I went up together. And Calvin and Kelly (our May Day babies) went up together.
It was a good 15-20 minute ride up the mountain. It provides a 779 foot rise in elevation above the mountaintop park and at 3019 feet in length, is the longest chairlift of its kind in the United States. This ride takes you to the peak of Mt. Harrison at 3455 above sea level...more than 1650 feet higher than any other chairlift in Gatlinburg or the entire state of Tennessee.
As we rode above the Alpine Slide we watched a couple go down and saw some guy lose his hat on the track!
Up, up, up.
There's Kelly and Calvin.
Still going up.
On a clear day, there'd be some impressive views. It was still cool to be at the top. But there wasn't anything up there except a little look out.
After getting our family picture at the top, we headed back down.
That is a steep way down!!
JJ and Calvin playing shuffleboard.
I love these mountains at dusk and dawn.
The miniature golf course on the property.
We had a reservation to go white water rafting later in the day. If you take the last float trip of the day, you get a discount. ;) In the meantime, we took the kids to play miniature golf.
We had the whole place to ourselves.
Calvin's new "technique." Haha.
At the bottom, we did the Alpine Slide. You have to ride the lift half way up and when you get off, there are sled-like carts that have a push/pull lever for you to control your speed as you wind down the tracks. It was pretty cool.
After that, we realized we had done pretty much everything. We didn't do the swings, but everyone was okay with that. We grabbed a couple drinks, went to a few gift shops, and then took the tram back down the mountain. It was a very full day!
We had previously purchased a "s'mores kit" for each of the kids at the front lobby the day before so we decided to use them at the firepit that evening.
Wed. 7th--Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Aunt Kelly. But what a treasured treat that we got some time with her at all! She is one busy lady. Even though we were really disappointed Steve couldn't join us, we felt so blessed to spend a couple days with Kelly during our trip.
*After lunch, we got ready to head to our white water rafting outpost in Hartford, TN. It was raining a little bit 🌧️ when we left the condo. But if it was going to rain, this was the day to do it. We were rafting regardless of the weather. 💦 The rain stopped once we got to the outdoor center.
The before!
After we got our gear on and met our guides, Chester and Noah, we boarded the bus that took us about 10 miles away—right up to the North Carolina state line. There was a very large family group that filled 6 or 7 rafts. But for some reason, we got to be the lead raft, which was kind of fun because it felt like it was just us out there on the river.
We learned our paddle commands that Chester would be calling out to us and when he got the “all clear” signal, we launched out into the Upper Pigeon River. Sitting on the left side, it was Calvin, JJ, and Noah. On the right side, it was Jared, Karcyn, and me. Chester was in the back. He was our main guide responsible for all of us and this was his first week. 😅
We encountered some exciting class 3 and 4 rapids and even some impressive class 2. We got mostly drenched within the first 5 minutes. 😂 It was overcast and 63 degrees outside. That water was definitely cold and a bit of a shock, but it wasn’t freezing. After awhile, you didn’t notice the cold.
The during!
We paddled through two class 4 rapids back to back, and then we tried “surfing.” It’s where the raft gets stuck in a hole without flipping. In the hole, water circulates and surges continuously beneath the raft. Our job was to get low in the raft while surfing. The guides said that if some water came into the boat, it was okay. That was supposed to happen. Except that it didn’t take long before there was a lot of water pouring into our raft. Like, the water was up to my neck. And our raft was suddenly under water! Then, it pitched to the right. It was going roll and we were going in!!😳 For some crazy, miraculous reason, the raft didn’t flip and we all managed to stay in the boat. Except Chester. He fell in. Poor guy. But I think he might have done that to help stabilize us. It was a little dicey there for a second. I have no doubt my face mirrored my growing concern, but I’m happy to report Chester was a pro at getting back in the raft and we finished the trip down the river until we reached our destination.
We brought dry clothes and shoes to change into, but because of the large group taking up all the changing rooms in the bathroom, we decided to just wrap our towels around us, crank up the heat in our car, and go back to the condo to shower and change there. We had an awesome time and our guides were surprised to learn 4/5 of us haven’t been rafting before. (I went white water rafting in Denali National Park, Alaska when I was 19). They said we did a fantastic job. Yay Houghs!! 🙌💪🏻 I'm very proud of my kidlets. They rocked it! They were strong, they followed orders, and had a blast!
Fri. 9th--Calvin and JJ were schedule to bowl in the State bowling tournament on Saturday. We actually planned our trip to Gatlinburg so that instead of getting home and turning around a few days later to go back to the Tyler/Longview area outside Dallas/Ft. Worth, we would push through and arrive in the area Friday night on our way back home. It definitely made for a SUPER long day (12-13 hours), but it was worth it to save on gas and time. I'm always up for an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
*The "famous" glass pyramid Bass Pro Shop in Tennessee is a landmark for us now when we are east of the Mississippi. We stopped at it on our way back from Pennsylvania the summer of 2017.
Sat. 10th--JJ's bowling team: Gavin, Andrew, Jered, and JJ. Jered was JJ's doubles partner, too. We signed up to bowl in the 9am squad for teams because we weren't bowling on Sunday. That meant doubles and singles would be later in the day.
*A beautiful sunset after some storms before heading back to our hotel Saturday night.
Say bye-bye to JJ's mop!
*Haha!! They're not wrong! I'd probably put HEB above Buc-ee's, though. :)
*First day back on Keto for me and Jared. Karole took me out to a Mexican restaurant in Canyon. It smelled so good. And I had to get a salad. Haha. But this was actually really tasty!
Sun. 11th--While in the area, we drove to my cousin, Lisa's, house. Trina's dad, Brady, knows a thing or two about repairing guitars. Jake and Trina gave Brady my Grandpa Cooper's guitar before they got married to see if he could fix it up. Due to unforeseen events, we weren't able to get it back before moving to Snyder, so my mom had Lisa get the guitar from Brady a few months prior and hold onto it for us. I was finally able to pick it up from her on our way back home. Brady did a great job.
Wed. 14th--While atop Ober Mountain in Gatlinburg, JJ bought Korbin a cool dragon puzzle for his birthday that we had missed while out of town. JJ and Korbin worked on it together.
Thurs. 15th--Haircut time for Karcyn! Super cute length on her.
Fri. 16th--It was a banner day for us...When Jared went to PA school, the government loans weren't enough to cover his tuition, so we had to take out a private loan to cover the difference. We are grateful for the financial support that go us through school, but it's finally time to part ways. We PAID OFF our $57,057.87 Citibank loan at a variable interest rate (currently sitting at 7.25%) 13.5 years ahead of schedule! One loan down, one to go.
Sat. 17th--2 Samuel 12:20, "Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped."
It was another beautiful and special day at the temple with our family. Jared and the kids did baptisms for our deceased ancestors while I was able to participate in the initiatory ordinances of washings and anointings. I had a very sweet experience--one that cannot be found or felt anywhere else except in the Lord's holy house. Being at the temple only deepens my immense gratitude for our loving Savior who lived and died, and lives today for each and every one of us We are trying to get our kids to the temple to perform the life saving ordinances for our kindred dead as often as we can. It is definitely a sacrifice of time and money, but it is never a waste!
Sun. 18th--I had the kids write their own favorite facts about my dad for Father's Day. I loved their responses. The things they recorded were so fun to read as they were based on their special relationship with their Grandpa Lee.
Mon. 19th--Karole came with me north to Canyon, Texas (West Texas A&M campus) where I left the teenager piece of my heart for the week. I dropped off Karcyn and Calvin at FSY (For the Strength of Youth) so they could learn more about themselves and what their purpose really is by having fun and learning to apply the gospel in all aspects of their lives.
Karcyn didn't know her roommate. She doesn't really know anyone in our stake. Except her two cousins, but they were out of town and were attending FSY in another state. She wasn't worried though.
I was really excited for Calvin. It would be his first time away from home for a week. He was a little nervous, though. He doesn't know many other young men in the stake either.
What a blessing for Calvin to find out he was rooming with one of the few boys he knows...Joseph McCombs--the stake president's son! They were both stoked!
Fri. 23rd--Jared and I spent the whole week with just JJ at home...a preview of what's to come in about 3-4 years. That's going to be crazy weird. Poor JJ stuck at home with the old people.
I reached out to Calvin just in case he might be slightly homesick. Didn't want him thinking I had forgotten about him. With it being the last day, I knew they would have already been through their testimony meeting. I was floored when I got his response. I seriously thought maybe his phone had been hijacked!! He's never said anything like this to me before.
Calvin with his FSY directors: Brother and Sister Sell.
*That night, the adults from the branch met up at the Lubbock Temple for an endowment session. Jared and I did not travel up with Karole, Kevin, and Christina because Jared and I were spending the night in Lubbock. We had to pick up our kids from FSY in Canyon, an hour and a half north of Lubbock at 7:30AM, so we decided to stay in Lubbock instead of going all the way home and sleeping for 5-6 hours only to leave at 5AM and retrace our steps north. But we weren't too far behind them. As we got closer to Lubbock however, an emergency broadcast came on...something about large hail in the South Plains area. I asked Jared where we were. He said, "South Plains." Yikes!! As if on cue, we started getting pelted with marble-sized hail that began falling sporadically from the sky. You couldn't help but cringe and cry a little inside every time your car was hit because you just didn't know what kind of damage the hail was doing. It started raining hard with the occasional hail hitting our vehicle. The rain was coming down so hard though that visibility was very limited. Jared thought it would be best to get off the highway and try to find cover. We found a big tree in a bank parking lot that we drove under. I took this picture of other cars across the lot doing the same. We hoped that Karole's van was faring better.
Once the storm eased up, we continued on our way to the temple which was only about five minutes away. There were a couple cars in the temple parking lot that were pretty smashed up. The car we parked next to had a bowling ball sized hole in the back window. Was the hail really that big?! I felt really bad for the owner and kind of wish I had thought to get a picture. Karole's van and our car seemed to make it out fairly unscathed...with a few random dents that are not noticeable.
Sat. 24th--We got our kids and took them to IHOP for breakfast. We loved hearing all about their classes and what they learned and how they felt during this spiritual explosion of a week at FSY. Best drive home ever!
*We spoke with a CPA that evening to find out how to avoid paying $1200 extra in federal taxes from 2022. We need to have more withheld. But unfortunately, we can't really afford that. We'd been playing around with Jared's W4 and his paychecks since March and there were several pay periods where we didn't have enough money to pay all our bills, let alone have money for food and gas. That doesn't work either! This whole federal tax and new W4 is nothing but a headache. We have never tried to get out of paying taxes, but with the cost of everything rising, it's hard for us to make ends meet. It's no wonder the young adults in our country are struggling to find their way. We decided that we'll just have to have more money taken out of my teacher paychecks because those are supposed to be more supplemental to our income. So we'll see how that goes. $1200 didn't break us, but it took money that we could have had in savings. The only way we managed to get through the periods where we experimented with the different amounts being withheld from Jared's checks are because of tithing and fast offerings. No doubt about it!
Mon. 26th--It was the beginning of a crazy week with tennis camp (Calvin assisting, JJ participating), doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, orthodontic and counseling appointments. Lots of driving back and forth and me numbering my daily schedules with a 1, 2, 3, etc. so I could remember what I needed to do and in which order. :)
*Calvin helping out at Tennis Camp.
Wed. 28th--Calvin made dinner: sheet pan curried drumsticks with roasted carrots and green beans and rice. Yummy!
*JJ working on the kitchen. Photographic proof for his own children one day that he had to do family contributions like cleaning the kitchen, loading the dishwasher, and handwashing the big items. 
Thurs. 29th--Last day of tennis camp. 
Calvin reading and reviewing the pool rules. Not sure how I feel about this. Is it so he can find a loophole? Because Calvin is really good at that!
Verdict: it was so they could play chicken. It makes me nervous. I'm always worried someone is going to fall back and hit their head on the wall. But the lifeguards didn't stop them. Calvin/Korbin vs. John/JJ.
*We tried our hand at homemade sushi. The only reason Karcyn can't have sushi from the store is because of the soy sauce...it typically has gluten in it. (Why?!? *sigh*) She decided she really liked the homemade stuff, so yay for that!! It wasn't hard to make.
We have a yummy spicy mayo recipe we use with our spicy tuna bowl dinner.
Fri. 30th--My mom's cousin, Carolyn, moved from Tulsa to Florida. She left one thing behind though. An army green trunk. It belonged to my great-grandma Cooper and since she had long auburn hair, Carolyn thought I might like to have it. I haven't seen this cousin in about 40 years, but she remembered me enough to want to gift the trunk to me. I was really touched. I just needed to find a time to go get it. I decided I could squeeze it in at the end of June. It's about 6 hours to Tulsa from Snyder, so I would need to spend the night before driving back if I could. I reached out to Karole's sister, Aunt Stacy, and asked if I could stay with her for the night and she was thrilled to have me. So I invited Karole along to keep me company and to visit with her sister, as well. She accepted and we were off on the morning of the 30th.
We found the storage facility and unit no problem. And other than a small white bookshelf and large Christmas centerpiece (which I also took), the trunk was the only thing behind the metal door. It's hard to believe that, at one point, this trunk sat in my great-grandmother's home. I wondered about all purposes it had and all of the places it had been. When did she get it? Where did she get it? What did she do with it? And even though I won't meet this grandmother until the next life, I felt a great connection to her.
Calvin and JJ playing a doubles game on the last day.
*We decided to go enjoy the city pool after a hot (and the last) day at tennis camp. Calvin and his buddy, John Gregory, posing in the water. Silly boys!
The trunk itself was very light. I loaded it in Karole's van and we headed for her sister's house in Stillwater about an hour away.
Uncle Mike made a delicious dinner for us--he's diabetic so it was very keto-friendly for me, which was a bonus. Then we girls played a very entertaining game of Phase 10. LOTS of laughing.
Aunt Stacy lives in Grandma Nina's house. After the game, we walked around the large property and visited with their daughter's family who built a home next door. Aunt Stacy and Uncle Mike used to live in the house on the other side of Grandma's, but Mike's brother lives in their old house now. Grandma's house sits on a beautiful corner lot. Very peaceful. Uncle Mike helped Grandma build it. He also has an impressive garden and greenhouse.
