Our Trip

About a week ago, my friend Jill and her husband Andy went out on a limb and asked us to join them on a Smoky Mountain adventure for New Years. (We had never met them or their family- our only communication has been through FB and Twitter) They rented a condo that sleeps 16 and had plenty of room for our family to join them.


So, we packed up the kids.

Grabbed the GPS (equipped with a Chipotle Burrito avatar)

And we headed to the great Smoky Mountains.

When we arrived we met our new friends for the first time- although it felt like they were old friends we had known for years.

Meet Jill

Meet Andy. He likes Zippo liiiighters.

Jill and Andy have a rather large family. And with that rather large family comes a rather large van. We found ourselves piling into the turdmobile to go on our adventures.

We went to the Knife Store. (Jill and I refer to it as hell on earth.)

Shane and Andy discovered a new and modern way to start a family.



And Andy got himself a brand spankin' new Zippo Liiiighter that he just had to show off!

Sometimes, when we had to get back in the van we felt like this.

You see, we had discovered that Asher has a really great and powerful set of lungs.

But that's ok. We love him anyway! :o)

Then Andy decided that it would be fun to take a nature walk. It was, afterall, only 6/10 of a mile. And not that snowy! HA! Jill and Jennifer especially loved being surrounded by nature.

After some of our adventures were over, we spent some time with Edward Cullen and his family. We decided that I am the better fit for Edward because Jill is too old.

There were many tears shed as we shared our family's stories with each other. There was comfort in the bond between two mothers who have loved and lost so fully. There was joy and sadness as we rang in the new year with our new and now life long friends.

There was great food, loud good company, and lots of laughs about pop rocks, sugar, and candied yams. (don't ask!)

There was Sister Wives to be watched, dishes to be broken, children to be put in time out, and Zippo lighters to be bought.

But the best thing of all was the new found, and now long term (sorry Jill- you are stuck with us now!) friendships that were formed.

Thank you Andy and Jill for your southern hospitality, for sharing your children and your lives with us, and for all of the laughter and tears that were shed. Your family now has a special place in my heart- and now there is no getting rid of us!