Wet & Wild

There are so many reasons I love summer, but one of the biggest reasons is because you get play in the water. I love swimming, I don't even mind indulging in jumping through the sprinkler with the kids or going face first down a Slip N Slide. I love summer rains that you can dance in, and boats, fishing, snorkling (although I've never done it) all sound like the perfect way to spend a day. Then there is my first experience kayaking, which was yesterday on the Hiwassee w/Josh.

Around 4:45 a.m. I woke up at my parents house and got ready, met my hubby outside around 5:30 a.m. and we left to meet up with a guy he works with so we could all make our reservation time in Tennessee. We made good time and changed clothes, next thing you know (after signing a waiver) we're on the back of this truck driving about 55 down a narrow winding back road to our drop off spot. Everything went smoothly and we were on the water in about 5 mins. For the next 2 1/2 hrs we travelled down the Hiwassee at a relaxed speed. There were a few parts that were really fun, but nothing scary. From what I understand the parts that we were on are only Class I & II, great for beginners and families. Next time we'll take the kids because this was good for anyone. Of course, the temps may have risen to the 90's in the last month, but this river was COLD. Water temps were between 52 & 54. That's frosty! Anyway, it was a bunch of fun and I can't wait for whitewater rafting in August!

Our 2 person infatable kayak

Josh and I both love Chattanooga. I'm not sure exactly what it is about the city, but we love it. Unfortunately we always have terrible luck when we stop at restaurants in town there. This time we went to this great place called The Terminal. It was awesome. It's 4 stories, and the top level is a "green" balcony w/an ivy trellis and lights draping above your head. In wooden boxes that surround the outer areas of the balcony they grow their own tomatoes and peppers and such. It was a nice environment for an early dinner...UNTIL, at the table caddy-cornered to us was a group of about 6 yuppie types and one little boy about 3 yrs old (named Nicholas, we soon learned). At first it was cute how he ran from one side of the balcony to the other, obviously enthralled by every little thing that caught his attention. That abruptly ended when little Nicholas decided to throw down about 6 cars and trains right in front of me on our table. Now, obviously, Josh and I have children and we were very understanding of the fact that it's difficult to keep a 3 year old entertained and sitting still, but we could help being a tad irritated by parents that couldn't keep an eye on their child. Well, eventually little Nicholas was taken back to his table. This lasted all of about 20 seconds. Soon, he was running around the balcony again. Hanging off the railings and sitting down with random patrons, while it all went completely unchecked by his parents. Next thing we know a nice couple and their 2 young children are seated near us and Nicholas converges on their table for the next 30 mins or so. At one point I thought the mother was going to finally say something, but I don't think she ever did. During this time he almost sat in this ladies lap, crawled all over (and under) the table, drank from their daughter's drink and caused general chaos at every turn. His parents NEVER LEFT THEIR TABLE. They would gently call Nicholas to come back and he'd just ignore them. It was frustrating to the extreme. I'd already decided that if little Nick decided to stop at our table again I was going to HAVE to tell his parents to come get their child. At any rate I should have made a comment to them anyway. Right before these STELLAR parents left I heard the dad telling the boy that he should starting asking every person he saw if the had dollar bills and if they said yes to tell them to give them to him. Then he precedes to tell the little boy "here's a dollar, let's go get us another beer". WOW is all I can say. Last year we had a smart mouthed lady tell us how "mean" we were for popping Braden in a restaurant in Chattanooga, now this! Apparently there is a large portion of Chattanooga that doesn't believe in spanking, unfortunately it shows with their children's behavior.

Wow, that's just a soapbox waiting to happen...anyway, we're about to eat some ribs, pasta salad and green beans and go check out Thunder on the Mountain downtown. Happy 4th of July to everyone! Make sure you thank God & a veteran for your freedoms & liberties that you enjoy every day!!