A Day Off

My Hombre had Friday off last week, so we went to Chattanooga.  Yes, Friday.  The day that brought crazy storms and tornadoes to so many areas in the South.  For the record, we knew there was rain in the forecast, but we weren't aware of the threat of tornadoes, and since it was incredibly warm, we thought we'd take advantage of the weather and my husband's free time and get out of the house!  The clouds were dark and angry, but we didn't see so much as a drop of rain, and we had a lovely time.

Our family has lived in the Chattanooga area for almost 5 years now.  My husband and I both were living here when we met, and while we've lived farther South for several years, I consider this "home".  If you've never been, Chattanooga is a fantastic little city, especially if you have a family.  Our kids' favorite destinations are the Tennessee Aquarium, The Warner Park Zoo, and The Creative Discovery Museum, all of which we usually maintain yearly memberships to.  (With a family of SIX, one time admission is just a couple dollars short of a membership anyway!)  We also enjoy Coolidge Park, The Chattanooga Choo Choo, and just walking around downtown.

ANYWAY, we hung out at the Aquarium (which I've taken so many pictures of that I really won't bother sharing any more!  You can check out these from back when I was still preggo with Little Stinky...), and I tried to get a decent pic of the kids.  If you have kids, you know what I'm talking about.  Hombre was doing something behind me to try to get the kids to smile/laugh.  I don't even want to know...

There were probably a dozen of these.  You get the idea.  Wow.

Then we went to a play area on the river that is usually CRAWLING with kids.  It was completely empty, but I guess those clouds are a good indicator of why.  Our van was just a block or two down the street, so we didn't figure it was too big of gamble.

The kids played on the swings.

They got chased and snatched around the playground by a ferocious beast.

Here's the beast laying in wait...

Little Stinky's hair looked like one of those static electricity balls without the unnatural glow.

Fuzzy's hair is too think to stand up like that anymore.  *sigh*

Princess Fluffy on the swing.  Silly girl.

Fairy Fluffy on the swing.  Downright scary.

And it's not over until someone cries.  Oh boy.

***Pinterest Tip!***

White Vinegar has a lot of uses, but I use it as a rinse aid in my dishwasher.  I actually didn't get this idea from Pinterest, but since I've seen it on there, I figured it qualifies.  Instead of buying a little bottle of rinse aid, I just buy a huge jug of the generic brand of white vinegar and it's close to the same price.  My dishes come out of the dishwasher sparkeling, and no, they don't smell like vinegar.  :)