I'm EXHAUSTED!!

Thursday was a first for us.. Maggie was invited to go over to Anabella's for the day to go swimming, so Molly and I planned a trip to the mall and Sprout Studio. We had a good time hanging out together and we even ran into Papaw at Home Depot and she didn't want any part of going home with him because she wanted to go to the grocery store with me (truth be told, she wanted to push the tiny basket at Kroger that she spotted as we were leaving last time). She even told me that she didn't want to go to Target if that was the one with all of the toys. She knew they didn't have little carts!! While we were roaming aimlessly through the grocery store with the crazy basket driver, I got the call from Anabella's mom "can Maggie just spend the night?"...."sure"... Then I remembered we were going to Dollywood the next day. I called her back later and asked her if it was okay if I picked Maggie up at 9:00 so we could get an early start to Dollywood. I didn't realize that they all sleep in over there and apparently she had to set an alarm clock to wake her up (bet she won't get invited to sleep over again)..

Friday morning started off in typical Melony fashion -late!! I took a quick shower, got Molly ready, packed lunches, picked up Maggie at 9:00, picked up Cameron and made it to Erica's by 9:30. We were finally on the road at 9:45. It timed out perfect because Melissa ended up right behind us as we got into Sevierville. My brother met us up there with Meghan because I guess he realized that Meghan was going to miss out on all of the fun because I can't push two strollers. We played hard all day. Maggie's new ride for this visit was Daredevil Falls. She was petrified from start to finish and then once again cheered, "okay, I liked it". She admitted being a little scared. At one point I think she would have jumped out of the boat if it meant she didn't have to finish the ride. I will admit, it is very difficult for me to emotionally handle a child that is terrified of everything. While her friends are off riding Thunderhead and Tennessee Tornado, she is missing out on the fun because she is scared. It is safe to say that in this phase of her life, she is not a thrill seeker!! One day, I will turn around and she will be riding everything and I will wish she was 6 years old again, so for now I will just be thankful for the little timid girl that she is. What difference does it make if she learns to ride the "big rides" at age 6 or 12. Maybe she will never like them. The good thing is that one day she will be old enough to wait outside the ride alone :-). We got home from Dollywood at 7:30 and thankfully Erica let us ride up with her because I honestly do not know if I could have made that drive alone. I got the girls to bed at 9:00..

I do not sleep well when I am excited. I think I saw the clock almost every hour because I was afraid I would over sleep or forget something. I had my first booth for the Kids' Directory today at the Reading Festival and it was a hit. We gave out about 300 directories and I had three people inquire about advertising. If all three of them advertise, then that makes it a HUGE success!! I saw a few of my advertisers there as well and shared the booth with Sprout Studio. Ashley and I are planning on hooking our husbands up!! It's funny how us girls think we can pick our husband's friends for them!! Maybe we can at least get them together to cook out.. I left the house at 7:30 this morning and didn't get home until 3:30. I look like a raccoon and the back of my legs are sunburned!! Mike brought the girls and hung out with them for a long time. We actually got home at the same time since he took them by the Candy Factory!! They both enjoyed getting their faces painted (this was the first full face paint job for Molly). We hung out by the pool with Granny and watched Molly rediscover her swimming skills. She is an amazing little girl. I missed it, but apparently Maggie was acting silly around the pool and accidentally fell in fully dressed. She wasn't a very happy camper!! I have had my hot bath and I will soon be crawling into my warm bed for an undisturbed night's sleep (thanks Granny)!!