Gatlinbug {Part 2}

If you missed the first part of our trip, you can click {here} to see.

 

 We made it to Gatlinburg by supper time.

Once we found a place to stay it was dark and way past supper.

We ate at Loco Burro in Gatlinburg.

Somehow we always end up eating Mexican.

If you ask Easton what he wants, he'll no doubt say 'rice'.

If you're heading to the smokies, eat there!  It was YUMMY! 

Lance's Chicken Fajita's looked much tastier than my quesidilla! 

 

We ended up in an arcade.

Big shocker.

I don't know if it's being a boy mom, or just my boys, but we always find an arcade.

I told Lance that I thought our vacations were doomed to arcades and putt-putt.

Which ways the nearest Joann or Hobby Lobby???

 

Even though arcades aren't my thing, it's fun to watch Lance and Easton play!

 They have a big time!

 

 

After the arcade we ended up in an Old Timey Photo Booth.

This picture makes me laugh!



Lance had JUST completed his Hand Gun Carry class and had been to the gun range before we left on Saturday morning.When he got home he stressed the importance to Easton of never, ever, ever, ever touching guns.  That they are not toys.  When we walked in this little store, Easton was all kinds of curious as to WHY all these folks in the pictures were holding guns.You can imagine his surprise when we got dressed up and the lady asked him if he wanted a shot gun or a hand gun!  This picture has really sparked some questions.  I hope we didn't teach a double standard here! 

 

 

Also, no trip to Gatlinburg is complete without stopping at the Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge.

The Apple Fritters...DELISH! 

And.  My little love fit right in with the scarecrows!

It's officially Fall Y'all!

And we LOVE it!

 

Happy Friday!

10,000 Reasons

 

This is rare. 

'Hold me' is not, but laying his head down on my shoulder, arm around my neck, these days its rare. 

 

 

We'd been to church, been to visit the new house and had a yummy lunch at home.

We'd all had a good nap.

I was putting away laundry, making no-bake cookies, putting together Ham & Rolls.

It was a good day.

 

Lance was out working on the 'jon boat' and the boy & I were in the kitchen.

I don't sing.  I sing in the car, but I don't sing too much out loud.  Without music.

It's a wee bit scary.

But Sunday, I was singing . 

I was singing 10,000 Reasons and he stopped.

Dead in his tracks.

He looked up at me and watched me sing.

Then.

He wanted me to hold him.

I picked him up, continued singing, and he laid his head right down for a good 2-3 minutes.

 

And just like that, he was off and running again.

 

Oh those moments.

 

May I always make the time to stop what I'm doing for moments like that!

 

May I always rememeber the 10,000 reasons I HAVE to give thanks!  

  **please pardon the mess of a kitchen in the background- I know you see it**

Gatlinburg {Part 1- Cherokee Lake Fishing Tourney}

 

Last weekend we took a quick trip east.

Matt (Lance's brother) was fishing in the WalMart Bass Fishing League Regional Tournament.

After 2 good days of fishing, there was a pretty good shot at a win.

And the winner, he wins a $40k Ranger Bass Boat!

That's not something we wanted to miss.

 

So, we packed our bags Saturday morning and headed to the Weigh-In.

 

But, the thing about fishing, you don't know how anyone else is doing... 

 

There's a 5 fish limit each day.

Saturday he finished with 3 fish. 

 

We waited while all of the boats drove in and nervously expected a win.

At least, I did. 

 

He was next to last co-angler to weigh in.

Matts fish for Saturday put him in first place in the co-angler part of the tournament.

{Each boat has a 'boater' aka professional and a 'co-angler')

 

If the guy behind him weighs in at less than 22lbs 7 ounces for his 3 day total, Matt wins!

 

No such luck today.

The guy after him weighs in for his 3 day total at 22 lbs, 10 ounces.

3 ounces folks.  That's 15 quarters.

 

Here's the kicker, each fish you weigh in must be alive.

On Friday, a fish in Matts live well...well...wasn't alive.

They penalize you half of a pound for that.  That's 8 ounces.

Had that fish been alive, Matt would have won that Ranger Bass Boat.

 

However, going in to this tournament, Matt wanted to finish top 6 so he would qualify for the All American tournament next summer.

 

Finishing 2nd not only qualifies him for that, but it's an all expense paid trip for him!

 

 

This man here, Mike Black, he was the Boater Matt fished with on Saturday.

He WON in the Boater division.

What did he win?

He won a Chevy Silvarado and a Ranger Bass Boat.

Not too shabby for 3 days {actually more like a lifetime} of fishing!

 

He was such a kind man.  In his speech he mentioned the guys he had fished with over the last 3 days had a willingness to learn and listen, and that's what he enjoyed more than fishing, was teaching.  Such a nice guy!

 

This was a neat experience for me.  I'd never been a part of anything like this!

It was fun to do something different and learn a little more about this sport. 

 

We left the fishing tourney, and headed to the Great Smokey Mountains for the rest of the weekend.

We'll see if I can get my hiney in gear and get that post together soon!  ;)

I'm not making any promises. 

WINNER of the #prinstagram Give-Away announced!!!

Thank you to those that entered!  That was fun!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If this is YOU, YOU or YOU, email me!

 

And obviously, that first YOU, I've already talked to...cause... you're my bestie...I swear to the rest of y'all this wasn't rigged!  She really was comment 8!  ;)

 

 

 

Email me!  I'll get you hooked up with Social Print Studio!!! 

 

And the rest of you, got check out Social Print Studio and print your Instagrams!

You know there's tons of priceless pictures on there that need to be printed!

 

Happy Wednesday!

Prinstagram Give-Away!!!!!

When I find something that I love, I like to let others know.

I'm a 'shout it from the roof tops' kind-a-gal.

 

Last week, I decided I was tired of not having any pictures printed so I set out to do something about it.  I googled, 'printing instagram pictures' and I found Prinstagram.

 

I browsed the website, which is clean and easy to navigate and decided on the Squares.  I chose the 4 X 4 size squares at 24 for $12.  They also have a mini square which is about 2 X 2, with 48 of those for $12.

 

$12!  Now, I'll buy $12 all day long.

 

I placed my order on Tuesday.  Thursday morning, a package was left on my desk.  2 days folks.  2 days! 

 

I tore into the package like Christmas morning!  The quality of these prints is amazing.  They are thick, maybe thicker than card stock.  The coloring is spot on.  The size?  Perfect.  They even sent me a mini square sample and I may order a handful of those on my next order.  

 

 

 

I couldn't wait to get home to put them on my chicken wire frame!  I had mini clothes pins from Hobby Lobby that were perfect for this!  And, the clothes pins didn't even dent the pictures!  That's excellent quality in my opinion!

This is a large frame, however it filled up quickly, so think of that when making your purchase.  24 squares will fill up a space quick. 

How cute would these be strung on some twine in your kitchen?  Down your hallway?  Over the mantle?  Monthly pictures for that One Year Old Birthday Party?  The options are endless! 

 

Not only does Prinstagram offer squares, they offer stickers, mini books, posters, tiny books & mini prints.

 

You're going to see a LOT more instagram pictures from me in the future!  I'm @annie_loo if you want to follow along! 

 

This is such an easy way to document our home building process.  Drop your photo into one of the many photo editing aps to add text, date, etc- upload to Instagram, add a filter {or not}  & print from Prinstagram! 

 

Easton LOVES looking at pictures, so I'm thinking about making him a few little mini books for our car rides!  The options really are endless!

 

The fine folks at Social Print Studio have offered 3 readers of The Farrar Four each a $20 credit towards their next purchase.

 

**to enter you must be a follower of my blog**

For additional entries do any or all of the following:

**LIKE Social Print Studio on Facebook**

**Tweet or re-tweet about this give-away**

(make sure to include @annie_loo and @socialPS and link back to the give-away) 

**Follow Social Print Studio on Twitter**

**PIN any of the pictures above and reference the give-away**

 

 

Leave a comment for each entry!

 

A ***WINNER*** will be drawn on Wednesday!!

GOOD LUCK!

 

Also linking up with AP again this week for Project Pinterest!

This one...

Charlie.  Ra-Ra.  Putting books up as asked.  Bed Time.

There's so many things I love about this picture. 

 

This one.

I really feel like I 'get him'.

I know what makes him tick.

And what doesn't.

He's my heart.

Mothers intuition I suppose.

 

Here lately we're having a listening issue and a 'NO!' issue.

These are 2 things that I will.not.tolerate.

 

He is a GOOD GREAT KID, but he's 2 and he likes to test his boundaries. 

 

We've tried time out.

We've tried spanking {a little- I really don't think it's the answer}.

Neither work.  They only make him mad.

 

I got an email on 9 disciplining secrets and I'd say we already knew them, but practicing is so different.

 

A few nights ago he would not get out of the tub and I'd asked him a zillion times to get out of the tub for.the.love.of.all.things.holy.get.out!

 

No go.  He wanted to 'schwim'.  He wouldn't pull the drain up.  He kept turning the water on.

I was TRYING to give him the opportunity to do the right thing and listen.

 

Normally, I might have raised my voice, spanked his leg (lightly, but enough to get his attention) and ended in a hissy fit- from us both.

 

But then that email clicked back in memory.

 

After several worthless attempts, I said 'that's ok, we're not reading any books tonight.'

He stood up. 

He got out. 

He asked for books.

I was firm.  I held my ground. 

We did lotion, jammas, kissed Daddy and said our prayers.

But no books.

 

But you know what, IT WORKED!

 

I didn't have to holler.  I didn't have to spank.  I didn't have to threaten time out.

Taking something he loves away, if only for a night, did the trick.

 

And speaking low, calm and direct was so much more effective in getting him to listen.

 

I felt very powerful.  Very proud of myself, and of him. 

Even though he hadn't listened, he accepted his consequences.

And he remembers exactly what he did and exactly what happened as a result.

 

This is  SO MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE!

And LESS STRESSFUL!

 

And now, if I ask him to do something, and he does it, he says 'I'm yistening mommy, I yistening!'

 

I'm sure there will be times that require a different discipline approach, but for right now, that's whats working. 

 

CLICK HERE for the article!

 

Project Pinterest: The Perfect Sweet Tea

There's no denying that I love me some sweet tea.  Besides Dr. Pepper, it's my absolute favorite.  However, I cannot ever seem to make 2 gallons the same, nor does it ever taste as good as Milo's, Sonic or Chick Fil A.  I am a sweet tea connoisseur. 

However, on Pinterest, I spotted a delicous looking mason jar filled to the brim with ice cold sweet tea.  I was drooling on the spot. 

This weekend, with the fridge bare, I decided to make the Pinterest tea in hopes that it would satisfy my craving.

I gathered my ingredients, and set out to brew the perfect batch of sweet tea. 

You'll need:
6-8 Family Size Tea Bags (I used 7)
1 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1/4 tsp of baking soda (they say this is the magic ingredient). 

Put 4 cups of water on the stove to boil.
Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of baking soda in the bottom of your tea pitcher. 
Place tea bags in pitcher and finagle a way to keep all the strings up out of the tea for easy removal.
Once the water is boiling, pour over your tea bags.
Cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
Remove tea bags.
Pour in sugar and stir until desolved.

I put my tea bags in my measuring cup and fill cold water on top of the tea bags.
I continue doing this until the tea bags run clear, making sure all the flavor is in my tea.

 

 

Once the tea bags run clear, I fill the rest of my pitcher with ice.  Because who can really wait for the tea to get cold in the fridge.  And no one wants a cup of melted ice warm tea either. 

So, just add the ice.  You'll thank me once you take a sip of this ice cold, perfect sweet tea! 

{{I wish I had a nice picture of the tea in a mason jar, with a cute red swirled paper straw sticking out with maybe a vase full of daisys beside me, while sitting on the deck reading a book and soaking up the sun...but...that's not real life folks.    I also tried to get my camera out, but something is going on with the kitchen light in the apartment, and it goes out at random.  Like when I'm trying to take pictures of my sweet tea making process.  So, this lovely iphone picture will have to do.}}

Hope this tea makes your Monday a tad bit sweeter! 

 

I'm linking up with AP, of ILYMTC, for Project Pinterest.