We traveled down to Gatlinburg, TN for Spring Break a couple weeks ago. It was a surprise birthday present for Mom and Dad. Dad turned 60 in March and Mom will turn 60 next Jan. We surprised them with it at Thanksgiving. I think we all had a good time. I'm sure it wasn't as relaxing for them had they just gone the two of them, but I hope they enjoyed the time spent with their grandkids. Fortunately we were able to bring Ben along too! We stayed in a beautiful chalet that was right along the path of the tram lift for Ober Gatlinburg (I think close to tower #5 if I remember right.) We spent most of Saturday traveling down there (and through there... it took us nearly an hour and a half to get from Sevierville to Gatlinburg.) Sunday we spent most of the day at Cade's Cove. Jesse and the kids took their bikes along. Jake was amazing. He biked 9 out of the 11 miles around Cade's Cove. Kaylee and Ben were on and off their bikes and in and out of the vehicle the whole time. But Jake refused to get in. Finally at the very end, it took some major convincing, but he finally agreed to hop in. On Monday, we hiked Laurel Falls in the morning and then went up to Ober Gatlinburg that afternoon. That evening we took the kids to The Dixie Stampede. They all loved it. I wish they would have allowed cameras because I just would have liked to capture the look on their faces as they watched the horses, the trick riding, and the costumes. The evenings were spent back at the chalet with Jesse relaxing in the hot-tub with the kids (did I say relaxing... I meant refereeing!) We headed out then on Tuesday and got home mid-afternoon. Here are some pictures from our trip.
Pa, Nana, Ben, Jake, and Kaylee at Laurel Falls
Ben, Kaylee, and Jake found a perfect place to pose for a picture.
They're standing 5-6 feet off the ground
on a tree that had fallen down
and was laying across the raveen.
You will see at the bottom of the picture
the hand of a nervous Grandpa standing to the side.
Kaylee, Ben, and Jake at Cade's Cove in front of the old mill.
The little ducks in the hottub splish-splashing around.
This was a photo of the back of our chalet. This picture was taken as we were on the tram lift headed up to Ober Gatlinburg.
The day after we came home, Jake had an appointment with an allergist from Louisville. This was something that was recommended by our pediatrician because of Jake's frequent stomach aches. He's had trouble since he was born. As a baby he had reflux. We changed formulas from milk-based to soy-based. When he turned one, we started him on soy milk, then switched to rice milk around 15 months. Things never really got better. Around 3 we finally switched him back to regular cow's milk. All along, he's always complained of stomach aches, recently 2-3 times a day. He would even wake up in the middle of the night screaming because it hurt so bad. According to the skin prick test, Jake is allergic to beef, pork, soy, rice, tomatoes, and strawberries. Our plan is to eliminate all those foods for 6 weeks, then add them back one at a time and see what happens. If he has any sort of reaction to them when we add them back, then we're to eliminate that particular food for 1-2 years. The pork and the rice aren't too big of a deal. Fortunately since Jesse likes to hunt, we use venison in most recipes that call for beef. However, he ate tomato products (ketchup) on a daily basis. Everything that is meant to sit on a shelf for any length of time has soy in it. And he LOVES strawberries. Kaylee is the food label Nazi. The first evening we were home, she saw me going through cabinets looking at labels. It came time for them to brush their teeth and head to bed. She brought me the toothpaste so that I could check it out and make sure it was okay. He's been pretty good about it too. He really misses dipping things in ketchup. We've tried every alternative to ketchup under the sun, but he's not been a big fan of any of them. What makes it all worth it though is that since eliminating those foods, we have seen a HUGE decrease in the number of times he complains of a stomach aches. I am keeping a food diary though so that when we go back to the allergist in another month, we can have him tested for other foods that we think might also be causing him trouble. Currently at the top of the list is red grapes. He's had them twice in the last week and complained both times. If anyone has any good recipes they'd like to share that don't include any of those foods, feel free to share! I've had to do an Extreme Makeover to our menu choices. We're pretty limited at this point to what we can and cannot eat.
So that pretty well sums up what we've been up to lately. Hope everyone is doing well!
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