Erck: (noun) A long black mark left on a road surface from sliding or skidding tires of a motor vehicle. See also Skid Mark.
Finally, on our way.
Waiting in line for Daredevil Falls.
Anyway, after re-arriving at the park, my sister and I met up with her daughter-n-law and youngest grandson. By this point we were only a couple hours from closing time. Little Dylan had only been able to ride one ride (don’t even ask me how many times attractions had to be closed due to thunder/lightning and/or were closed for temporary repairs). The four of us decided to ride the River Rampage (I’m not certain but I think this may be the same one known as the Grizzly River Rampage from the old Opryland Theme Park, which was closed years ago to make room for the shopping mall Opry Mills, which is now itself still mostly closed due to the big Middle Tennessee flood of 2010).
I knew I would get wet on this ride. I always do. But I didn’t think I would get drenched from head to toe. It would have been an awesome ride had I not decided to wear those dang denim capris. Twice I was slapped in the face with bucketfuls of water, the same water that has probably been in the man-made river for 20 years. I know some got in my mouth. It’s a thousand wonders I have not yet come down with some waterborne illness. Can you get cholera in the United States? Anyway, I was done after that and said I would go wait near the exit until the 8 p.m. closing time. My pants were completely stuck to me. It was not a pretty sight. It felt even uglier.
Dylan is all smiles just after we strapped in on the River Rampage. The little stinker didn't get a drop on him.
Sometime around 8:30 my family makes their way to me. Luckily, I was all air-dried and feeling much better by this time. Before leaving the Emporium (the gift shop through which everyone must exit), we all stopped and bought fudge. Yum!
Finally, it was time to call it a day and board the open air tram which would take us to my sister’s van (we parked in the most remote lot). Again, due to the earlier car trouble, we would all be piling into the one vehicle.
Can you believe before we got to our parking area a thunderstorm developed and unloaded a torrential amount of rain and umpteen bolts of lightning on everyone dumb enough to have stuck around past closing time buying t-shirts, backscratchers, and fudge? Ours was one of a very few automobiles left in the lot - and in the very middle of it to boot. You should have seen everyone taking off, screaming, across the blacktop. My sweet nephew, after getting his youngest into the van, took pity on me and came back to escort me across the tempestouos battlefield.
Our view from the tram on the way back to our car - just before the skies broke loose.
He said it best when he remarked that you would have thought the Russians had turned on the United States and had picked Dollywood as their first attack target. Once again, I was soaked.Hap Sadly, our little trip came to an end the next day, but I’m glad to be home.
And dry.
My children's daddy, John.
A few more goodies await them inside their gift bags, made from lunch sacks and scrapbooking paper.
Working fast and secretively, I took some pictures of my children wearing some of their dad’s clothing, and later their Pa Gene’s clothing, and printed some 5x7 and 8x10 enlargements. A trip to T.J.Maxx produced some manly wood frames (or as close to wood as gets produced these days) in which the pics would be placed. I think they turned out pretty good. This idea is even sweeter when the children are all small and the shoes and clothes are over-sized in a more exaggerated way.
However, it now looks as if we're in the clear - at least for another 13 years.
This past Saturday we celebrated John-Heath's 6th birthday. Normally, we just celebrate his big day with family, but as he has begged for a while to have some friends come over (just like his big sis) we allowed him to invite a few. Of course, when making out the invites he wanted to invite everyone with whom he had been in kindergarten, including his teacher, but we told him for this party he just needed to start small. I knew he would be beside himself with excitement with only a few. Had a whole class of kids come, I would have probably ended up having to put him in a restraint jacket.
His invites were printed on construction paper which was glued to cardboard colored cardstock. I won't even tell you how long I worked on these trying to find the fonts I needed. It really is shameful, but I learned some valuable computer lessons in the process.
The first thing everyone got to do was have their picture taken in our homemade Wanted poster. I painted this in my kitchen the night before. The letters were cut from construction paper and Modpodged to the board and the bandana was added when everything was finally dry. 
For a cowboy-themed relay game we had stick horse races. The horses were made from a horse head template printed on the computer and construction paper, which I later laminated, and yardsticks that I painted white. 
They were told to gallop like a horse but I'm pretty sure John-Heath just ran.
And, of course, we had to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey. 
A homemade birthday banner, made from construction paper and letters cut from my Cricut, and hung using leather string and colored paper clips. 
The glue stick I used yellowed a bit on the paper- but that just gave it a more vintage look I thought.
Beginning to gather around the kiddie table to eat. We served bbq, hotdogs, chips, baked beans, slaw, watermelon, strawberries, and soft drinks iced down in a large galvanized tub which sat in a corner of my kitchen floor. 
Even though we weren't going for a Toy Story look, this was the only cake I found on such short notice that had a cowboy theme. It came from Walmart and I thought it turned out pretty cute.
The sign on the gift table so the kiddos would know to take a treat bag when they left.
We made treat bags out of red and blue bandanas, tied with twine and a thank you card, and filled them with...
...western goodies, including old fashioned caramels, a sheriff's badge,a cactus stir stick, Chinese yo-yo (okay, but it was in the colors I needed), and a bag of gold (bubble gum sold at Cracker Barrel). 
John-Heath saying goodbye to a couple friends.
The celebration finished up with an evening swim with the cousins... 
...and a "wardrobe malfunction".
Linking up to some of these.
P.S.
Dear John-Heath,
Just so you'll know, the little yellow outfit you're wearing in your baby picture was made for your grandfather, John, by his grandmother, Martha Magnolia B. At the time you wore it, it was 76 years old.
Meg, Ren, Sissy, John-Heath, and my momma.
