Summer Vacation

It's been awhile since I've really posted anything, I haven't even gotten a chance to post about our vacation to the Smoky Mountains and North Carolina. So brace yourself for a looong post. :)On our last night in Tennessee (and the night before we went to NC) I came down with a terrible cold. I had chills and a fever and I honestly felt like I might not wake up in the morning. It was that bad. So needless to say I felt terrible while in NC and had to literally drag myself every step of every day.I came home and thought I was feeling better but it was sort of lingering and I still had a pretty nasty cough, so I went to the doctor, only to find out I had walking pneumonia. So he put me on antibiotics and some other medications and I've been on them ever since. Thank God, the past couple of days have been much better though. I have finally almost finished the laundry from not only our trip but most of last week as well since I had absolutely no energy, or desire, to even look at it all. :)Not to mention that while we were gone our dog got loose and when a local man tried tying him up he bit him. So we searched everywhere for him, posted flyers all over the neighborhood and when we finally found him at a local shelter he was in quarantine and they were trying to determine whether or not he would be classified as an aggressive animal with the state.If he was and he ever got loose again we could face misdemeanor criminal charges. Which basically meant we couldn't bring him home and they would put him to sleep because it is almost impossible for a farm dog never to get loose. So the kids were devastated, as were we, especially because we know he is such a gentle animal and must have been really provoked or scared to have bitten the man.We kept praying to St. Fanourios to find him, St. Modestos the protector of animals and to Panagia. Thank God our prayers were answered and the officer said he showed absolutely no signs of aggressive behavior in the 10 days they had to monitor him and the man he bit did admit to using "excessive force" when trying to constrain him, which was when Bruno bit him. THANK GOD!! So our doggy came home safe and sound....and was gone in 5 minutes again. Luckily we saw where he was sneaking out from and fixed it. He's been home ever since. :)All things considered, we did have a terrific vacation. The boys had the time of their lives hiking through the mountains, wading in the creeks and picnicking in the parks. DH and I also immensely enjoyed watching them play and discover and re-acquainting ourselves with each other. It was so nice just being able to enjoy our family without anyone else around. I enjoy spending time with our families very much but we definitely needed some "us" time, away from our everyday concerns, and we both relished every minute of it!Here are some snapshots:

The boys first look at the Smokies

One of the many picturesque places nestled away in the mountainside

As Lucky hid as many pebbles as possible in his overall pocket, Ace waded in one of the creeks,The four of us getting our feet wetClimbing TreesWe celebrated Lucky's nameday and his 2nd Birthday!Rode the trolley all over downtown Gatlinburg and enjoyed lots of "Mommy" hugs and kisses and played miniature golf...went hiking with my adoring niece in NCWe even visited the museum and pretended to be turtles.  :)We had a wonderful summer vacation!