Home Sick

I have been in Charlotte, NC for the past three days. I have one more day to go before I make it home to Peyton and the kids. I think two nights might be my limit for travel. It seems like any more than that and the babies just seem to grow an inch.

They are at the age now where they can ask for Momma. It breaks my heart that Peyton has to tell them I am at work when I should be tucking them in. It will be easier when they are old enough to understand that I am coming home in one more day. I won't feel so guilty about leaving.

The training class has been good. It's intense and comes complete with a project that is due in two weeks. If I had known there were action plans and homework I might not signed up for this one. Of course if I want to keep my job....

Speaking of projects, Destiny gave her presentation in class today. She did a great job. She was very excited about it. I rarely see her happy about school, but we worked really hard on this project and she was prepared.

Peyt--If you are on tonight, I love you and miss you. Kiss the kids goodnight for me.

Sabrina and her Bunny Basket

Beanie ran down the hall with her basket. She couldn't wait to show it to Daddy. It was almost bigger than she is.

Destiny and her Bunny Basket

Destiny had a diary in her Easter basket. A place to write down all of her little girl secrets.

Sami and her Bunny Basket

Sami was too sleepy to really look at her Easter basket. She loves her "duck."

Easter Egg Hunt

Aunt Marissa and Maddie helped Sabrina hunt eggs. She was very serious about the hunt. She walked right over and picked up four eggs that the big kids kept running right past. They were hidden behind a cinder block. We hid 526 eggs total. I had so much fun helping Samantha hunt. About half way through, one of the plastic eggs opened. A mini Reese cup fell out and it was all over. From that moment on, she had to open EVERY egg and eat a piece of candy before moving onto the next. She picked up a hard boiled egg....struggled to open it, and then threw it down when she realized it did not have candy inside.

Chilly Easter

Grams, Bethany, Papa Don, Tammy, Codie, Tim, Paul, Jessica, Rosie and Dale gather around the fire. This is turning out to be the coldest April in Georgia in 113 years. Jessica and Paul are having a baby. It's a girl.

Rabun, Mary and the "kids"

Front Row: Adrienne, Mary, Rabun
Back Row : Galen, Peyton, Owen, Joel, and Neil

Campbell Family

Not too many members of the Campbell family actually have the Campbell last name, but here they are. That's what happens when you have more girls than boys. Frank Campbell, my grandfather, would be proud of his clan.

I was really hoping to see my little sister on Easter. There's a bit of a rift in our family right now, but I know that Rustie will eventually make her way home to us.

My sister, Kim, and her fiance, Chris, brought Matson and Anna over to meet the family for the first time. Anna is beautiful and very sweet. Although I didn't get a chance to hang out with Matson, I did learn that he is a coffee connoisseur like me.

Tingle Family

Easter on Callaway Road was a blast. We invited 89 people and 66 showed up for lunch and an easter egg hunt. It was so nice to have the whole family together. Peyton's brother Galen, his wife Marissa, and their children, Madeline and Dylan came down from Ohio to visit.

Dollywood and Pigeon Forge

DOLLYWOOD

Sabrina and Daddy on the Flying Elephants

Destiny, Samantha and Mommy on the flying elephants. Samantha loved this ride. She laughed whenever the elephants soared high into the air. Sabrina was a bit more concerned. She didn't mind the ride as long as her Daddy did not make the elephant fly.

Destiny was a little too short for this one. I had to pull her hair up into a pony tail on top of her head so she would meet the height requirement.

Destiny loved the Shooting Star. Brenda recommended this ride to her.
Michael and Destiny rode the
RAMPAGE together. Then Michael was off to the big kid side of the park, where he rode the brand new "Mystery Mine." It sounds like a really scary coaster.

In the end, it was too much excitement for the girls. They slept right through the next hour.

Sabrina...back in action after her nap. She stuck her face down over one of the holes, just in time to get a mouthfull.

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We've just come back from our first family vacation to the Smokies. The weather was beautiful for the whole trip. We spent Monday at Dollywood...compliments of Brenda Durkee. Then on Tuesday, we spent a few hours at the pool....floating around the "heated" lazy river at the hotel. Michael had a bit of a run in with the side of the pool...very close to stiches in his front lip. We cut our losses and went to the arcade for pizza and ski-ball. This was the closest I made it to a "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" game all week. I can't tell you how hard it was to drive past Harrah's in Cherokee and NOT stop. I haven't been inside in two years and here we were practically in the parking lot. Lucky for the kids, Peyton was around. I might have locked them in the trunk (if we had one) for a few hours of play time. They did get to see the Indians in full dress as we drove through the Cherokee nation. We really should have stopped for pictures, but if the babies are happy in the car, why ruin it? Samantha and Sabrina did really well on the whole trip. Peyton loaded up the portable DVD player and the "BARNEY" DVD's. We pulled them out for the last couple of hours each way. It worked like a charm.

The girls swinging at the Durkees. Technical problems..lens cap stuck.
Michael coming down from the mountain.

Tuesday evening we were off to Dandridge, Tennessee for a cookout at Bob and Brenda's. Michael and Destiny got to ride the 4 wheelers "up" the mountain. I can tell you that for someone who isn't used to riding ATVs, this can be scary. The minute you get used to handling the machine, it becomes really fun and you want to find higher and bigger areas to climb. If you really want a challenge, you can find it on the Durkee property. Michael even went fishing in their pond. It was so nice to sit and talk to Bob and Brenda again. Of course we started plenty of conversations that we didn't have a chance to finish. We really should have planned on a staying a couple of days in Dandridge just to catch up. Brenda really loved hearing the kids calling Peyton, "Daddy." Does that tell you how long it's been since we've all been together. TOO LONG. We won't wait so long next time.