Second Place

The Pinewood Derby is an annual event in which all Boy Scouts participate, I believe. Grady's pack had their derby last Saturday night. You would not believe how official everything was!

Each boy had to register and weigh their car (it had to be under 5 ounces.) Each car had a "number" and ran a race on each of the four lanes. The officials then averaged out the times so that there wasn't a lane advantage.

The great thing with the race was that it was computerized! They placed the cars on the ramp and when they released them, it started the timer. When the cars crossed the finished line, it stopped the timer, giving a time for each car as well as calculating the winner in a spreadsheet. They also had displayed who was in each race as well as the names for the next race. It was very well organized and went quickly!

Grady came in second place in his first race, and then first in the other three - so he got 2nd place over all out of 10! He was so proud of his trophy! Incredibly, the top two racers get to go to "regionals" in two weeks with the winners of Pinewood Derbies from three counties! WOW! He is so excited!!

We'll keep you posted about the big race! We'll hopefully have pictures of it as well since we forgot to bring our camera to his first race. Stephen said it was adorable seeing him go up and get his trophy. He was running and smiling! I wish I had that on film.

Natural History Museum

Saturday afternoon, we sacrificed Pryor's afternoon nap and went to the Carnegie Natural History Museum. This is the one that has the dinosaurs and stuffed animals (for lack of a better phrase.)

They had children's activities in almost every area. They have teen docents who manage a push cart piled with items the children can touch. Most of the teens just sat and stared at us - but they were able to answer our questions.

The children got to touch all kinds of dinosaur bones, fur and even an elephant's ear! At one cart, they had all sorts of bugs, including a live Madagascar hissing beetle. I was proud of Grady - he petted it.

The Carnegie Art museum is attached to the Natural History museum, so we made a quick tour. When I say "quick", I mean "lightening fast" since by this point Pryor was finished with museums and tired to boot. I don't think screaming children are meant to stay in an art gallery for very long!

Two Tigers (And I'm not talking about Tony)

While we were in Nashville, my sister had a friend who was a former President of the Board for the Nashville Zoo. For his Christmas present, the zoo allowed him to have 2 baby white tigers to be at his house one day.

We got there, he answered the door and ushered us to a study at the back of his house. There were several families there - everyone trying to play with the cubs.

They were just precious! All of us got to pet them. They walked around even chewed on Pryor's coat for a little bit. One got stuck under the sofa!

In this video, one was playing by my legs and you can see him chewing on my coat. You can see Grady and Alice petting him.

While we were there, the time came to feed the cubs. The man picked them up - and boy did they howl!! He said, "They don't like to be picked up." That was an understatement! It was the only time I heard them make any noise. He put them both in a pack and play and gave them milk from an Avent bottle. This video shows all the flashes and people taking pictures with their phones. It was pretty funny.

What an incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity! I told the children that not many people ever get up close to a tiger - much less being able to pet two cubs!

Christmas in Review

This is sad in that this is the best picture of all of our children! I really didn't get out the camera much the entire 15 days we were gone! This is from Christmas Eve dinner at Cherokee Country Club.
We had a great time staying at Grandmother and Granddaddy's house for the weekend before Christmas, then we came to stay at GrandPatti and Papa's. We were able to see some friends but not as many as we would like! One interesting note: all five people in our family got their hair cut while we were in Knoxville!

This is the only picture of me (on our camera) from our trip!

Both of the Alice's enjoying a nice Christmas Eve dinner!

I thought I would have more time in Knoxville to sit and read a little or just hang out. I don't think we stopped moving the entire time we were there! The children had a great time and look forward to coming back this summer!

Our Grossest Parenting Moment Yet...

The toilets in this house are less than to be desired. I've heard from other neighbors who complain of the lack of drainage from the showers and pull in the toilets.

Evidently, Grady went poo-poo this morning in the offending, no-suction potty. He flushed, but it just didn't drag it down the drain. At some point, the door to the bathroom was closed.

Tonight, when we opened the door, Alice complained of it being stinky. I flushed it down, and went to talk to Grady about it. While he was telling me of his original flush, Alice screamed. She said Pryor put his pacifier in the toilet!! Which was still turning from my flush with bits still not flushed down!

When I came in the door, there was Pryor with the pacifier in his mouth!!! ARUGH!!! He seemed proud of himself. His PJ's didn't seem wet, but I changed them anyway after a thorough hand wash. I contemplated washing his mouth out with soap but didn't.

Alice, while we were looking at Pryor having just discovered what he had done, asked if she could swallow what was in her mouth. I felt like telling her - I feel the same way!

Pryor's Goal

I will post Christmas pictures at some point - I just haven't downloaded them yet.

In the mean time, here's a quick bit: Pryor was riding on his little sit and push fire engine. I asked him, "Are you Lightning McQueen?" (The good guy from the animated Disney movie "Cars.")

He said, "No, I'm the bad car." (Meaning the bad guy in the movie.) Yikes!!

A Crazy Way to Start the Year

We got back from our 15 day tour of Tennessee and Ohio this past Sunday. Monday morning, we were all up and getting ready for school and work (although not all of us willingly.)

Surprisingly, we did manage to get ready in time for Grady and Alice to catch the bus. Since it was cold and rainy, I drove to the stop. When Pryor and I got back, I had about 15 minutes before I would need to leave to take him to school. Sometimes I'll let him play in the car, but I decided to get him out.

He was super cranky and crying about everything. I told him I would help him once I got the laundry swapped. Our laundry room is just off of our garage, and down the steps from the kitchen. I was tired of hearing him scream at me, so I walked up the steps, put him in the kitchen, closed the door and finished swapping out the laundry.

When I came back up, I realized the door to the kitchen was locked!!! I thought, no big deal, I have my keys and cell phone with me since I still had my coat on. I tried the key - it fit!! But - it didn't turn or unlock the door! The only other door into the house, the front door, has a chain on it. Pryor was crying (still) and said, "I need you." I told him I needed him too! I suggested he go get his uh-oh (pacifier) and lovies (blankets) which were up in his room. That stopped his crying!
Trying not to freak out, I called Stephen who informed me he was getting ready to go into a meeting. Thanks for the support! He did suggest I call 911 - which I did. While I'm dialing, I hear the familiar beeping of my cell phone - "low battery." GOOD GRIEF!! Fortunately, I was quickly connected through to the police station, who was able to get my address.

A little more than 5 minutes later, an officer came. I asked if he could pick a lock - he said he couldn't and that a lock smith might take more than 30 minutes! He tried unsuccessfully to kick down the door. After three or four shoves with his shoulder - SUCCESS!! Besides the scuff marks from his shoe, the door is apparently just fine.

I had told Pryor to go play in the play room - he was having a ball with his uh-oh and lovies. None the worse for wear! He was completely unfazed by the incident. I wished I could have said the same!