Wild Bill and the Boys

My boys had so much fun with Wild Bill this weekend that it warranted its own post. Bill took the boys to Opry Mills and to see a movie and then let them bungy jump. I'm always to cheap to pay for those things, but the boys had a blast. Ethan turned flip after flip and Tyler's face was pure joy the entire time. He did get a little frustrated because he was not heavy enough to pull himself all the way down.

One of the highlights of the trip was Bill's pet Lynx. Bill owns a siberian lynx and keeps it in his house. Fortunatly for me, it was shut in the back stairwell all weekend except when he took him out to play with the boys. The boys took turns petting 'kitty' and then Tyler wanted to hold him. He is fearless. Of course, Ethan had to hold him after that as well.

Both boys took a spin with Bill on his motorcycle. Bill took me for a ride and it was awesome and crazy! Bill builds bikes and rides seriously. He would spin and slide the tires out. I was scared but strangely felt very safe.

Wild Birthday WeekendBill's house and restaurant

We went to Nashville for the weekend to celebrate my birthday with my sister Jessica and her friend Bill. Bill was gracious enough to open up his house to us, kids included. Bill lives in the oldest building in Nashville. It is awesome. It was part of the underground railroad. Bill owns the restaurant downstairs called Wild Bills Binets and Bikes. It was great waking up every morning to fresh coffee and banana binets. The kids loved going downstairs to the restaurant and 'helping' which mainly involved eating french fries.

The view from our bedroom window

Bill took us out on the town on his rickshaw. It was a little chilly but so much fun! For my birthday, Jessica and Bill took me and the family to the Predator's hockey game. We had great seats and they had my birthday put on the jumbo tron. Bill took the kids down to the Zamboni entrance down by the ice during the game. After the game, we went to The Palm for dinner. It was delicious. It was an amazing evening and a great weekend.
The Caldwell's on the rickshaw

Ethan and Jessica at the game

A Sick, New Year

We spent New Years with Chris' family in South Carolina. The day after we arrived, New Year's Eve, Chris' dad, Leonard, came down with a stomach virus. He spent most of the day in bed. We entertained ourselves while Chris' mom, Janice, ran the shop. That night, Chris' sister, Valen, invited us over to ring in the New Year. Thank you Valen for getting us out of the house. I felt so bad that Chris' dad was sick. We left on Saturday morning to drive home. Saturday evening after all the bags were unloaded and laundry was done, Ethan threw up. He was up all night and thanks to my awesome husband, I did not have to clean up and vomit. I can't handle it! We stayed home from church on Sunday so Ethan could recoup.

I started school on Monday and the week progressed. I woke up Thursday morning with an ailing stomach. Fortunately, we were sent home early that afternoon for snow and I spent Thursday and all day Friday in bed with a stomach virus. I hate being sick! By Saturday I was much better and up cleaning the house.

I decided to invite my brother and his family over Saturday night since we hadn't seen them since before Christmas. We were enjoying fellowship and pizza when I heard the kids yell from downstairs, "Tyler threw up!" Needless to say, we were up all night with Tyler and he spent Sunday at home with a very high fever. My husband, the super hero, stayed home with him on Monday so he could recover fully. I think we are all well now and I am praying Chris does not get sick. We have plans to go to Nashville this weekend and it would be miserable if we had to cancel.

My New Year's Resolution is to be healthy this year. Yeah right...

Rock City Lights

We went with our friends, the Mann's, to Rock City to see the lights. We started the evening at one of our favorite restaurants, Tony's. It was delicious. We then drove up Lookout Mountain to Rock City. I had spent the afternoon laying out all of the winter clothes so we would be warm at the top of the mountain. I told the boys to grab their coats as we were leaving and I did not realize until we reached Rock City that they left their coats at home. I felt like the worst mom ever! Fortunatly, Janna had some extra scarves and it was a warm evening.



We had a great time! We stopped half way and the boys had the chance to decorate gingerbread men. The lights were beautiful. This may be the start of a new holiday tradition.

Winter Wonderland

Chris wanted to go to Ohio for the snow. He was lucky because the day after we arrived it snowed five inches at my parents house. My sister, Jessica, and Wild Bill went skiing all night. Chris and I chickened out. The boys spent the morning in the hot tub with my parents. We then bundled up and went for a walk in the woods. Ethan found a coyote den in the woods. The boys took turns trying to climb Papa's tree stand. Tyler would randomly fall on the ground and say, "I don't think I can make it!" It was beautiful!

Christmas Day

The boys woke up at 5:45 am on Christmas morning. They went downstairs and separated the presents into stacks for each person. I wonder where they get the need to organize... The boys got portable gifts (Didj, PSP) so we left right after presents and drove to Ohio to see my parents. It was raining when we got there. It was great to be able to spend time with my parents, my sister, and Wild Bill.
My dad showing the boys his recent deer. The heads had not been mounted yet so we could see all the disgusting insides...Gross!

My mom with the boys