Alayna's 1st Trip To The Smokey Mountains!

This was the beautiful view out of our cabin. It was truly majestic! And this is why they are called the Smokey Mountains.
Here is a picture of the cabin my entire family rented for the week. It was way on top of the mountain with a gorgeous view. Here is a view of the great room. The cabin was called the Pine Cone Lodge and was decorated just beautifully. This cabin can sleep 14 people, has 4 bedrooms, 4 and 1/2 bathrooms, fire pit, outdoor fire place and hot tub, and many other amenities. It was a great experience!

Dana enjoying some Alayna time at the "old family swimming hole."
Alayna sits with mommy in the mountain water. The temperature was so nice..not too cold like it normally is!
Alayna and Ava play together in the water. And Douglas nicely shared his trucks!
Alayna taking a nap while listening to the rushing, roar of the mountain water. It is so relaxing.

What a sweet face!
So tired!
A new milestone! Alayna can finally grab the middle toy and pull it down herself! Yeah Alayna!!
Douglas and Drake pose with the kitten that showed up at our house just yesterday! They want to keep her. We'll see!!

We have been busy, busy, busy around here. On July 11th, we left for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to spend a week in a cabin in the Smokey Mountains. While we were there got to visit the "swimming hole" as we call it, go to Splash Country and Dollywood, ride go-carts, shop at the outlet mall, make a fire in the firepit and fireplace and roast hot dogs and make smores, and visit with relatives. We had a great time and we thank Grandma and Grandpa Bush for taking us. We will have great memories to talk about for a very long time.

We arrived back home on Friday, July 18th and on Monday, July 21st at 5:30 am we had a big storm come through that knocked the power out until Thursday, July 24th at 10:00 pm. So, that is why I am now just getting around to a new post. Dana was out of town working in St. Louis and I am so thankful that I live next door to my in-law's. My father-in-law, Rich, had the generator hooked up Monday morning in no time and we had power. Unfortunately, we had his generator and we get our water by well and they have the pump. I did decide to haul all 4 kids over to a hotel in Muscatine Monday night so we could all take baths. It is amazing how much our lives evolve around water. But by Tuesday morning, he had got another generator and we had water! So it all worked out okay. It was a very rough week for many of our neighboring communities around here. Lots of damage due to high winds....some were clocked at 95 mph. And there is still tons of clean up to do. We pray for them.

Alayna continues to progess at her own pace. She did a new thing the other night! She can now grab the middle toy on her sounds-n-lights gym and pull it down on her own. It vibrates when it retracts back up and she smiles. Yeah Alayna! She is getting some muscles. I don't have too much to report therapy wise because she missed the week we were in TN and she missed last Monday due to the storm. Now this week she has therapy 3 times, so I'll let you know if any progress starts on the stander and braces.

This week Alayna has come down with a summer cold and has been feeling under the weather. She just isn't herself. So say a little prayer for her in hopes that this is all it is. I don't think it is anything major, but we may be visiting the pediatrician Monday just to make sure. I imagine that the vacation took a little toll on her routine in addition to the power outage and not having the AC running. I really notice a difference in all of my kids breathing when the windows are open versus the AC.

I will try to post again soon. We continue to enjoy our summer vacation. It is winding down and school begins for me August 19th. It is stressful sometimes to be home all day with my 4 kids, but I do enjoy it. I love teaching, but I'm not looking forward to the juggling act of doing both. But that is the reality of life isn't it?!