Anywhere but here. Our first family vacation.

There's an old Mindy McCready song called Heads, Carolina, Tails, California. That chorus rings through my head as we drive down the road, "Up in the mountains, down by the ocean, long as we're together...." We are in my old reliable two-door car driving for a much needed vacation we haven't had in two years. The last time we got away from our little area of Tennessee was when I was 15 weeks pregnant with Micah! So far Micah is doing ok, but we shall see. I am going to enjoy some family time, but yes. I did write this from my phone on the road! (The picture was also taken on the road.) In an effort to stay up to date with our blog, I'm going to do my best to post a few times this week with vacay updates. Although the big plan is to do NOTHING just in the mountains in our nice cabin.

Now for the cabin updated post since that short car post:

We (read: I) woke at five am to get the last little odds and ends ready for vacation. Isn't that what moms do? We take care of all those tiny, little things those men don't even notice. And I was even happy to do so!

Even though it would have been nice to be sleeping as soundly as Micah was when I took this precious picture.

We actually left Casa Confident at 6:30 in the morning. I do not know how I actually got Mr. C and Micah out of bed, the car loaded, and the car moving down the driveway at 6:30 AM. However, I did it! On our travels across our great state, we realized that our "six and a half" Google map drive was not going to happen with a wee one in tow.

Lots of fun out of the car breaks with Daddy!

I just absolutely love the fall colors in this picture. I love looking at my two handsome men!

I don't know why, but this picture just steals my heart.

Micah did extremely well for his first (ok, second...my uncle's funeral a few weeks ago was his first road trip) long trip. We did have to stop at every single major city in Tennessee as we crossed the state. Oh, my. The stops. I think we stopped at least four times for diaper changes, "freedom runs" so little man could just get out of his car seat, breakfast breaks, lunch breaks, and to fill up the car. We almost got to make a stop to see an old friend but circumstances just didn't quite work out. Maybe next time, Ellen! It was definitely not our norm "hop in the car" and arrive on time. In fact, traffic was so bad when we got up here, we actually arrived at the cabin rental place just after 3:30 EST.

We got our keys, and headed up the long, winding road to our awesome cabin in the woods. Mr. C even gave me major props for this vacation booking. "This is way nicer than I had anticipated!" he exclaimed when we walked in upon arrival.

After being in a carseat for almost eight hours, Micah was just into everything once we set foot in the cabin door! He wouldn't even let me put pants back on him. I could barely get a diaper onto the child. If you have a mobile child, you know what I mean. These days are extremely exciting, that's for sure! He's not walking yet, but I'm thinking any day. He gets braver by the second. Today's bravery included finding the pool balls, and taking them out of the pool table as his daddy was shooting some pool.

And here is what we came for, what the trip is all about. Family time with a view. Here's what greeted us when we showed up to our cabin. How's that for a wonderful way to fall asleep and wake up every morning?

It's not Clingman's Dome, but I can't say that we have any complaints!! I found an awesome one bedroom one bath loft style cabin for our family. We've got the full set up--kitchen, on site laundry, deck with hot tub overlooking this view, full size fridge, grill, and our pool table. It is like a little piece of paradise!!
After resting for just a little bit (by resting, I mean letting Micah run his wiggles out), we headed back to a local town grocery store to buy some supplies. We're pretty sure that we won't be eating out a bit. In fact, we might just stay holed up in this little cabin enjoying some much needed family down time. And that, my friends, is just fine with me! Of course, we did have to feed Micah some dinner (although his parents are still in recovery from our stomach bugs haven't quite had our appetites back yet). I couldn't resist taking a picture of Little Man looking so tiny in this HUGE dining room chair! At least, I thought it was pretty funny myself.

So I guess that is all for us tonight. Hope you have a great week!! I know we plan to! :)