Harriman on Thursday

Well, we made it. It was long, arduous and tiring, but we did it. It took us about 12 hours to get to Knoxville and about 9 1/2 hours to get home. Why the discrepency in times? We stopped for dinner on the way and didn't going home. We also didn't make as many potty stops as the girls were sleeping and we didn't want to disturb them. I'm very proud of Jessie, she managed to go for great stretches of time without needing to "rest". Having a teacher's bladder, well, I was fine.

A side note: If I eat at another Cracker Barrel any time in the next three years it will be too soon!! CB was the only place we stopped to dine as we knew they would have clean restrooms, and we could get out and stretch and feed the kiddos some decent food. I have always enjoyed their cooking as it is similar to my grandmother's (dad's side, not the one we visited), but really, how many times can you eat country cookin' in a four day sapn??

Hannah was a doll on the trip! I mean it. Not once did she complain, ask to stop, or ask "Are we there yet?" The return trip was a little harder for her. She was tired and did have a tiny meltdown once. She also woke up crying (still sleeping, really) and had to be consoled. But, to cry only twice in 22 hours is pretty good!

Lily slept when she could, and Ella was a trooper. She is such an energetic baby that I'm sure being confined to a carseat for hours on end was TORTURE for her.


We drove to Harriman to visit Grammy ("Toby" to the great-grands) and Grandfather Thursday. The purpose was to visit and to have Grammy and GF see Lily whom they had not seen before. Grammy is very ill and I have little hope her health will improve as she is 88 years old. So, this trip was truly a labor of love.

Grammy has been so ill she has been unable to attend to herself, let alone all the other duties she used to oversee, including cooking and cleaning. So, for the first time in all his 87 years, GF has had to cook and clean, and quite frankly, it's a struggle for him. Not that I have a difficult time seeing why. It must be terrible to have to learn to do something new after such a long time.


So, in an effort to save GF from KP yet again, we cooked spaghetti for lunch. (Doesn't Ella look like she really enjoyed it?) We had spaghetti, salad and Texas Toast. Yum yum!

Grammy tires very easily (low lung function=lack of oxygen, therefore difficulty completing minor tasks such as eating and chewing), so after lunch Jessie, Ella, Hannah and I set off to Rone County Park with GF (after he did the dishes!!). Lily stayed home to nap, so Lissie (my mom) stayed behind with her and Grammy. It was over 100 outside and very humid as well. I began to be concerned for Hannah as she turned a lovely shade of magenta!


She had a fantastic time playing on the equipment and chasing the ducks. =)

We returned to Grammy after only about 20 or 30 minutes because the weather was so unbearable. Hannah then proceeded to "dance" for Grammy for the next hour or so. I use the term "dance" loosely when referring to what Hannah does. It is more along the lines of interprative dance, but H calls it her "vallet". She was able to keep herself relatively well entertained.

The visit was particularly difficult for the babies, since their house was not baby proofed, nor did they have any baby toys lying about (wonder why...). Lily wound up with rug burn on her knees since their carpet is not plush and she "commando" crawls, dragging her body behind her as she pulls with her arms and pushes off with her feet. Ella was continually stymied in her efforts to electrocute herself by playing with the nightlights in the halls, which made her very grumpy. Overall, this was not a fun house for the tiny girls, but somehow they managed to stay relatively happy in spite of it all.

We made plans to return the next day after GF returned from his volunteer time at the Rone County Hospital.