Creepy!

Here is another critter we caught...or should I say I caught CRAWLING ON MY NECK!!! I was sitting in bed watching tv and felt my hair tickling my neck so I flicked it back and this thing flew off onto my leg. It is a centipede and yes they are venomous!!! I screamed and all three cowardly boys in my house came running and told me to catch it and throw it outside. Once they saw it was a centipede Kyler said ,"they're poisonous" and little freaked out Susan was left to catch it. At least my kids asked if it bit me, Terry just said, "oh you're fine...get rid of it", as he walked (I'd say ran, but he'd deny it) out of the room. We think it came in with Caden's "forest bag" that he had outside for a few days. This bag has everything from hand shovels, to paintbrushes, to rope and Ziploc bags. And for any of you who know Caden...lots of bandaids! And he's not even a boyscout! Anyway, he had brought the bag into my room to get something out of it, and I'm sure this thing crawled out of it.

The Smoky Mountains

We took a little trip to the Smokies this past weekend for Fall Break! The boys were out of school and Darryl and Anita came for a visit, so we rented a cabin for 3 nights just outside of Gatlinburg. We were just in time to see the leaves changing...along with the other 20 million or so people! We found out that this weekend is the busiest weekend of the year in this particular area. It was extremely crowded, but worth all the traffic.

We hiked about 4 miles one day into the woods along a creek, and then went for a drive to an area called Cade's Cove. We saw around 65 deer, maybe 10 fish, some crawdads, and about 50 stupid people who jumped out of their cars to chase the two bears that we DID NOT get to see. Caden was threatening to call 911 on all of them if they did it again!

The next day, we drove to the top of a mountain on the North Carolina side of the park, where we froze our little behinds off. But, if you could stand the cold (which Anita, Terry and myself could not) the view was spectacular.

Oh, yes! And, we saw many ladybugs...red, orange, yellow, dead. A few years ago the forest service brought thousands of ladybugs into the Smokies to help control an insect that was killing all of the pines. Well, the ladybugs were not aware that they were supposed to stay within the boundaries of the park, so they have worked their way into the surrounding woods, AND cabins. There were dead and alive ladybugs in every room of the cabin. There were also signs in the cabin saying that they are a harmless creature just wanting to come in for warmth and shelter and the best thing to do is use the broom and vacuum on them. Well, they were harmless, but you definitely watched your step!

Our visit with Darryl and Anita was very nice, but also very short. One week is just not long enough. The boys tried their best to tire poor Grandpa by dragging him to the creek, walking up steep hills, running on the hiking trails, playing pool, and just talking his ear off. Anita and I were able to get creative in a "not so well" stocked kitchen in the woods. And, Terry held down the couch while nursing a sore throat and cold.

Yesterday we went to The Hermitage, which is the home of Andrew Jackson. It was a great tour of the house and grounds.

So, today Darryl and Anita left, the boys went back to school, Terry went back to work, and I thought about cleaning and doing laundry, but never really got to it. Maybe tomorrow!

The Leaves Are Changing!

I know this might not look like much, but all of the ivy growing up the trees has turned a crimson red. It is so beautiful. I'm sure it is just the beginning of a very colorful Fall!

So, Nashville has been quite the hot spot lately...Saturday, ESPN Gameday was broadcast from Vanderbilt University, and tonight we have the Presidential Debate from Belmont University. Also, on this past Saturday, Cricket (Terry's company) sponsored a viewing of the original Declaration of Independence at a museum here in Nashville. It is part of a traveling exhibit. And, we opted to stay home for all of these things...not so sure they would let OUR kids past security for any of them!

For those of you who have met our neighbors (Ernie, Elizabeth and Lauren) and keep asking...no, Ernie has not heard back from Jeopardy yet. They told him it could be months before he does hear anything. But, there is so much useless knowledge in that man's head, how could they not invite him? (Ernie, I mean that in a good way!) Plus, once he told them about his mustard collection...need I say more?! He's exactly what they are looking for. His family is exactly what we were hoping for in neighbors, also. We couldn't be happier with them.

I almost forgot, Kyler has a new pet...an African Dwarf Frog. It's about 1 1/2 inches long and just swims around the tank. It was a science project from school that we adopted. I'm taking bets on how long it will live...any takers?