Bliss at an end

Ugh, way too much time has pasted since my last post. Since I've started work I've been so busy. When ever I have free time it's usually spent running errands or just resting. It might take me a couple of posts to catch up on all that has happened but I will do my best.

Let's see. Gosh, it seems like such a long time ago, that Tuesday after we got here. I'm afraid I won't be able to remember all of the events in order so you'll have to do with bits and pieces:

One night when Mira, Breanna and I were on our way down to the overlook (its a separate mini sort of house [I forget what you call those things] that we stayed in near the main house) a big black bear meandered out on to the drive only a few yards from us! I wasn't able to really watch it because Penny was trying to go after it but Breanna said it just looked at us calmly before wandering into the nearby woods. We were pretty freaked all night but it was really cool to see one that close. But only because we escaped unscathed.

GP mowed down by the pond a week or so ago and because of all the rain it left a mud streak down by the bank which Mira and Breanna took immediate advantage of. My aunt has a sled they used to slid down the bank after wetting it with water they dragged from the pond. Almost everyday I came home to find very happy and muddy girls. Mum was not happy about the laundry.

Work has not really been that busy, even over the holiday. I mean, we had a steady stream of people all day Monday but it never really got crazy by my standards. Today was terrible. It was dead almost all day. The only relief we got was a group of older elementary kids that came in and enjoyed some ice cream. Tomorrow we get a wake up call bright and early with 20 or so kids + adults at 10am (when we open). So that will keep us busy for a while.

Yesterday GP, Lisa and I went to Dollywood. It's tradition to go to the bakery in Dollywood first thing and get a little smackeral. The three of us shared what I consider to be the definition of a monster cookie. It had to be the size of a dinner plate or bigger. A third of it filled me up nicely. Afterwards we went to a new show called Sha-kan-o-hay (I know I don't have the spelling right) and it was amazing! It was sort of like a musical about the different people who came to live in the smokey mountains. They all had great voices and did some amazing acrobat moves. One girl jumped straight out like she was going to do a belly-flop on the stone floor then at the last second ducked her head so she rolled and then ended up back on her feet. It was so cool to watch. There is a new ride called Sky Zip that Lisa wanted to look at (we couldn't ride it because it had an extra $40 fee) so she and GP did that while I rode the roller coaster Tennessee Tornado. It goes up to 70mph with loops but no big drops which I was thankful for. I missed some of the excitement because I was bemoaning the fact that I couldn't catch the snake I had spotted below me while going up the ramp. I got a turkey leg for lunch but the massive thing was too much for me. It started raining while we were eating but thankfully we brought ponchos. Still, it was pouring pretty hard so we ended up having to leave after a last stop at the bakery. It was still fun even if our day was cut in half.

Yikes is it late, I'm going to regret this tomorrow. Night all

-Phyllis+