In January my assistant principal (now principal) and I had discussed the possibility of going to see the Florida Gators play the Tennessee Volunteers in college football in the fall. We have had a friendly rivalry for years and felt it would be fun to cheer on our teams as they played each other in the Tennessee stadium. We booked our condo for the weekend and waited for tickets to go on sale for this game. Covid happened and everything shut down for the 2020 year/season. About a month ago there was talk of college football returning and we were optimistic we would still get to see our teams play, even if we were going to have to watch the game on television while near the stadium! The SEC decided to change the schedule to only conference games which meant our teams would be playing this past Saturday, but not each other like originally planned. Ironically, they will play in the beginning of December?! We decided to take advantage of the weekend away anyways and watch two football games instead of one while out of town! Thanks to Grammy and Grandpa, Zack and I were able to enjoy a weekend away with Angie and Keith! Zack and I got to eat breakfast by ourselves one morning and enjoyed the four hour drive there and back to catch up on all the things that are hard to have a conversation about when two cute boys interrupt every other sentence! haha I absolutely love the mountains... they are my happy place so this weekend away was just what I needed to take a brief timeout from all the responsibilities of home and work!
We were able to explore Cades Cove.... it was a little rainy but we were still able to see some of the local wildlife and beautiful terrain.
We made a stop at the Apple Barn Restaurant. This was a family favorite growing up... which means any time I'm close to this restaurant we must stop!! The smells and scenery always take me back to my childhood and all of the fun trips we had in our camper! We even saw a bald eagle while we were there!
I had to document some of the yummy food and drinks we had while away.... these uninterrupted meals were pretty nice! ;)
We checked out the University of Tennessee stadium. Even though the Volunteers weren't playing at home as originally planned, it was nice to see the college campus. I had to wear my Florida jersey even if I did stick out like a sore thumb! ;)
Seeing these mountain views and going through the tunnels as we weaved up and through the mountains will always be something I look forward to on a drive west!
The boys were in good hands... enjoying some spoiling and quality time with my mom and dad! Maddox did throw up all over our bathroom (including the bath mat and shower curtain) the last night we were gone so I think Grammy was ready for us to return and have an uninterrupted night of sleep! I will have to say September 2020 has not been Maddox's month! We are already counting down to his birthday month... one more day to go!
We had pajama day at school today! I will have to admit, the remote learning experience is incredibly challenging to ensure Zander gets all of his work done and I am able to devote enough time and attention to my daily tasks which include schoolwide support and preparations during this pandemic. The friendships that are developing between the teacher kids and the support network we have among the adults in the building are helping make it more manageable! We keep saying we are all in this together!
I continue to be impressed with what Zander and I are doing right now! We are working and learning together in one room all day long. I pray he looks back on this experience and only remembers the extra time he had with mommy rather than all the times I had to remind him to get his work done! ;)
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