Going Dutch

I've posted many times about my times in Tennessee, but I also spent time in the Catskill Mountains of New York with my mom's parents.

My grandpa was a construction worker who drove big Caterpillar trucks to help build the highways of upstate New York. He also built their house in the mountains. My grandma was a homemaker that never worked outside the home.

The Catskills were the setting of Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle," a story I have always loved. As in the story, the area is full of Dutch who settled there when they came to America. It was easy to picture good old Rip hunting in the woods around my grandparents home.

Gradma's cast iron stove

Since there were no other children to play with we had to be more creative. One of my favorite activies was to go into their root celler and see all the treasures they had stored from their life together. My grandmother had a cast iron stove that was just the right size to play with my Barbie dolls They became Pilgrim Barbies for the week or so that we visited. They also had an old stereoscope with cards from the Catskill area. My grandfather was a coin and stamp collector so we often poured over his collection.

We always made a visit to my grandmother's younger sister and her husband. We always had fun at Dot and Ed's and they were like another set of grandparents. Dot always had fresh goodies baked and over the years she gave me special little necklaces. Dot and Ed's one daughter never had any children so in some ways we did become her grandchildren. A few years ago their daughter died following a car accident. I still send them a Christmas card every year.

My grandparents celebrate their 72^nd weding anniversary this year. They live in an assisted living home together where my grandmother still looks after my grandfather, who has alzheimer's. Grandma's cast iron stove sits proudly in my kitchen. The picture that has hung over my kitchen table since my marriage is the one that use to hang over their table during my childhood.

Mom's Homework

Today was the first day of school and David was excited. I had worked hard to get all the supports in place so there would a smooth beginning to the school year. About an hour after school began I got a phone call with the news that there was a mix-up and David's one-on-one was not able to go to school today. Aargh!!

Now the worries began. David was expecting to have his one-on-one to meet him at the bus. David doesn't do well with change and I was worried this might derail the day. But, we didn't get a call from the school, just the agency that provides the one-on-one.

David, dressed and
ready for school

David arrived home and reported that he had a great day. I even got a note from his new case manager saying what a great day he had. This teacher is the one who will take over David's IEP and accommodations. When I met her last week I got a very good impression of her.

This was not the case last year. I felt last year's teacher and I were working against each other instead of together. When I would disagree with anything she said, her face would turn red and she would stiffen up. It came very close to us formally asking that she be removed from his case since I often felt she wasn't looking out for David's best interest. Once she even stated in a meeting that "all the teachers feel they can't teach with David in the room." When I gathered all his teachers together and asked them point blank, I only had one teacher who felt that way. I even had one teacher say she felt that David was a good contributor to her class. So I promptly had this corrected with the other members who had been in the meeting.

Anyone who has ever sent a child off to school knows that the kids are not the only ones who must complete homework. Last week I completed and returned all the paperwork the school required. However, today David brought home the rules and expectations due in each class. Each student must sign the contract, then the contract is to be signed by the parents.

We have survived the first day of school and are eager to see what is in store for the rest of the year.

A Visit From Relatives

Rich's sister and her family live overseas as missionaries so we didn't have much of an opportunity to see them. When they do return to the States for furlows and visits their homebase is in New Jersey. This has always made it hard for visits since it means long traffic jams through DC, Baltimore and New York.

This week they are taking our oldest nephew to college for his freshman year, with their younger son to follow next year. Where does the time go? Next will be David's turn—aargh! Since we are about an hour off their route they came early and spent the night.

David has always loved his big cousins and enjoys spending time with them and this time was no different. Unfortunately the younger of his two cousins had to return to school before the visit, but David still roped the older one into lots of bike rides.
Since it was just an overnight visit I decided to not spend my time in the kitchen and instead we ordered Papa John's Pizza. We ate on disposible plates and drank from cans and bottles, no fuss dinner. This decision was a big hit with all of us.

Our nephew will be about seven hours away so we may get to see him more often. They had planned on him returning to the mission field over the Christmas break but unless the price of gas breaks and reduces air fare that doesn't seem as likely. We are praying for this, but if he can't go home, he is more then welcome to stay with us.

Rich's sister and brother in law have been really good about guiding their kids and lending advice on these major life isues. They talked their kids through about not only the subjects they wanted to learn, but also the school environment. Big campus with lots of activities going on or a more intimate campus with less activities to choose from. So often this is not thought of when making the decision.

I have a relative that has taken all choices out of their child's hands. They have stated not only what college she will attend but also the parents have decided to move to the same town to watch over the child. The child has voiced her opposition to attending this college, but it is falling on deaf ears. There is still a couple more years before she leaves home, so we will see if the parents will take into consideration the child's wishes or if this will cause a breach in their relationship.

Preparing For 8th Grade

This week I have been very busy with school prep for David. We have now gotten David's new one-on-one in place. She has never worked with David, but we know her from her previous job. I think this will be a better fit then some of the people who have worked with David in the past. It is very difficult to find the right person. The person needs to be young enough to keep up with David and his hyper activity while still having enough sense to make good judgement calls on the fly. I have also learned from past experience that I need to be more pro-active in my communication and goals with the one-on-one.

While David is enrolled in school, they also require you to attend registration day. I was very thankful that Rich was home with David so I could meet the teachers and pass along pertinent information without his little ears being present. Since there are several "stations" you must stop at to complete everything that needs to be done before school on Monday, it took a very long time. There was a very long line to get the "home" school books. This is a wonderful service for the families in the district since it allows the children to keep one set of text books at home so they don't have to lug home all the books each time they have homework. This also prevents the "I can't do my homework, I left my book in my locker" excuse.

I was able to get his schedule, locker with combination, bus info, and meet his teachers.

I have high hopes for this school year. His homeroom teacher also teaches him for another class. After talking for a while about both our goals for David she said "I can see we are going to get along real well this year."

Her goals for David mesh well with our goals for him. She is the adoptive mom of two little girls. There was only one other new teacher for David. The other teachers he has had previous contact with and luckily these were not the ones he had problems with last year. The only teacher we will truly miss is Mrs. Anderson. She is a wonderful and caring teacher that has moved to another school.

Our Internet access went out yesterday and it took a while to get the problem corrected. But, we are glad to be back online.

Death Wish David

While we were at Dollywood David rode "Thunder Head." It has won an award for the best wooden roller coaster in the world so you know David had to try it. He and Dylan waited for their turn and got the front of the car (always the best seats.) After riding David came running out and told us he loved the ride. But, as you can see from this picture he wasn't quite feeling that on the ride. Make sure you take notice of the white knuckles gripping the bar. I had to purchase this picture!

Home Again, Home Again

David and me on the swings

Friday morning we returned for another fun filled day at Dollywood. We got in lots of rides that David wanted to return to. We also hit up some of the food stands that we had not tried yet. The food at Dollywood is so wonderful!

On the way out of Pigeon Forge we stopped at the candy store and bought some taffy. I bought normal taffy for our friends while Rich bought jalapeño taffy for the guys. Yes, I said jalapeño. We arrived at the right time to watch the taffy machine in action.

The Capitol movie theater

With candy in hand we headed to my home town, Greeneville. As we entered Main Street I admit I got very teary eyed. It has been too long since I have been home. The old movie theater still stood there, but is in desperate need of an overhaul. I was glad to see that there is a sign that is requesting funds to restore it to it's former glory. I spent many a hot summer day in the plush velvet seats, sometimes in the balcony. The red velvet curtains with the gold fringe would open as the film began. On the next block where the Depot grill once stood, the building was restored but I couldn't tell what new business was residing in that old familiar friend. We headed to my Aunt Carol's house where another aunt and uncle and several cousins joined us.

As David swam and tried his hardest to get his cousin Haley to join him. We all caught up on the years that have passed.

My cousin Wendy had offered for us to spend the night at her house, but since her daughter was having a birthday party the next day we decided to head out. Haley, like David, became a teenager this year.

We arrived home in the wee hours of Saturday morning. After sleeping for four hours in the car David was wide awake at 3am. However, Rich and I were dead tired. Finally, David fell asleep at 5 in the morning.

I have unpacked our clothes and stowed the luggage. Now I have to wrap and store the many gifts we purchased for our loved ones.

My Choice For President

I don't usually talk about politics on my blog. But today I have made an exception. My candidate for president is Dolly Parton. Just think about it—she took a limping theme park and made it a thriving business. Each year the park expands and the entire area that surrounds the park is booming economically. As you can see in the picture, I am not the only one who feels this way.

A Friend From Home

Yesterday it was back at Splash Country. Boy, are we making use of our season passes. We found it was cheaper to buy the season passes then if we paid on a day-to-day basis. We also found that upgrading my pass to a gold pass was well worth the price. It was $30.00 more then the regular season pass price, but it gives us free parking plus 20% off everything in the park.

David at the end of his Water Drop

They are also running a special in August, if you buy an adult meal with a season pass the kid's meal is free. Anytime you make a purchase at a store you are entered into a $500.00 spending spree at Dollywood. I'm keeping my fingers crossed since we hope to come back for a weekend in the fall.

After playing at the wavepool David wanted to go down the water drop again. I, on the other hand, declined the offer. At the bottom he began to talk to the boy that went down at the same time. You will never believe this. Nicholas is from our hometown and they knew each other from playing at the Y pool. He was there with his father and two older brothers who left home the same day we did and are leaving here today. The boy joined our group and he and David had a blast together. But, after several hours together, David began to get very quiet and wanted to cuddle with me. I think there were two reasons for this. First, Nicholas never shut up and I think this was wearing on David's nerves. Second, Nicholas talked about his mom but she wasn't with them. David is so used to the traditional family, with vacations together and all, that the thought of not being together was hard for him to think about.

David giving me water rides

After lunch David became a cuddle buddy with me. I got lots of kisses and he took me out to the wave pool in an inner tube and gave me rides. You would think a day at the water park would water log David, but no way. He was back in the pool at the hotel.

God has really given us a wonderful week. The weather forecasts said it would thunderstorm on Wednesday and yesterday it was to rain on and off all day with thunderstorms in the afternoon. Neither of those predictions came true.
It is hard to believe that it is already time to pack up and head home. But even in that we are very fortunate. We have lots of wonderful friends that we have missed and a wonderful home to return to. And we have all missed Roger and look forward to seeing him.

Mystery Mine

I thought I would share a little bit of the rides here at Dollywood. This is the ride that David says he will never ride again.

ENJOY!

A Day To Relax

When we were at Dollywood we saw a sign that made me laugh and nudge Rich. "Aunt Granny's Country Buffet" serves fried bologna! This has been an ongoing disagreement since we got married. Rich says he has never heard of anyone ever eating fried bologna while I on the other hand say everyone eats fried bologna. Every time I would cook this, he would just shake his head. I have explained it has to be cooked just right—at a slow temperature til it gets a bit crispy but not burnt. He has never appreciated the fine art of cooking bologna.

Aunt Granny's Restaurant

I made a little headway when the movie "Sweet Home Alabama" came out and the father asks the mom to pull out the bologna cake. But, this little restaurant has finally vindicated me after all these years.

So we got up early to get to the park before it opened and had breakfast at "Aunt Granny's." Since we were first in line at the gate we began to talk to the lady at the front and we explained our errand and disagreement. She was on my side and even told us that when they bring in the fried bologna sandwiches to the employee lounge the word spreads fast and there is a rush to get them. Yes, everyone loves fried bologna sandwiches. While we were entering the restaurant Rich asked the hostess out front if she were Aunt Granny, she explained that Dolly is Aunt Granny.

Part of the menu from Aunt Granny's

David has always shared my love for fried bologna and always asks why daddy doesn't like it. Well, it's a good thing they make lots of food because David really chowed down on the bologna and other food. Rich didn't have any bologna but there was lots of other good food for him to enjoy.

We hadn't planned on riding the rides yesterday since the previous day Rich's knees were bothering him. David even complained about how his legs hurt because they were so tired. I on the otherhand felt just fine thanks to my treadmill sessions. So we decided to take it a bit easy. That lasted until after breakfast and the rides kept calling David, please ride me. So we headed to the midway and rode a few rides several times before heading over to take some pictures and buy a few gift items we had spotted the day before. Our early day at the park lasted until after lunchtime.

One of the Lid'l Dolly's dressmakers

Then we headed to a leather shop to buy a gift for David for Christmas. Then we had to buy a Lid'l Dolly dress. These dresses are old fashioned ruffled dresses in pretty colors and lots of bows. We bought one many years ago before David was born for our little girl. It was eventually given away since she turned out to be a he baby. We also bought my neice one of these dresses. Now that our good friends the McKinley's are about to have a baby we wanted to pick one up and stash it away. If it is a boy then we will have to hold on to it until they have a baby girl.

Choosing just the right dress

The store is set up in the front with quilts, dresses, purses and pillows but in the back Monday through Friday you can watch them making these beautiful items. All the work is done by ladies sitting at sewing machines, no big mass production here. A had to buy a wonderfully intricate baby quilt and lap quilt. The prices are amazingly low and I had a 10% off coupon from an ad I picked up at the hotel.

We ate at Fuddruckers, which is a place I love. Then I found a scrapbook store that I could buy my Tennessee scrapbook items at.

Dollywood central fountain

When we got back to the hotel the guys headed to the pool and I headed for the laundry (yuck!) I hated having all these dirty clothes piling up and the thought of waiting until we got home sent me into action. I wasn't the only mom who had this bright idea. Just as I was taking my clothes out of the washer another mom was bringing hers in. There are only two washers and dryers and one of the dryers wasn't working. So I explained this to the lady. She told me "Well, I used to work in the hotel industry and I'm going to go to the desk and give them a piece of my mind." Since there were more clothes in the one dryer I told her it would take more then one cycle for ours to get done since I had washed two loads. As she was loading her clothes into the two washers another mom came in with her dirty clothes. She wasn't happy that someone beat her to the machines.

Dollywood's "Friendship Path"

As it came near to the time the second lady's clothes were due to finish washing, I sat outside of the laundry room. Sure enough she showed up just as her wash cycle was done (which was still 20 minutes before my dry cycle was done.) She said she thought she saw me take my clothes out already. I explained I had taken some of the dry ones out to allow the others to dry quicker but it would still be a while. She then told me the front desk hadn't heard the last of the situation since her husband was going to give it to them when they checked out the next morning.

The weather forecast is calling for thunderstorms this afternoon, but that's what they said for yesterday and we had wonderful weather. The plan at this point is to head to the water park and see if we can keep from burning today.