Thank you Ziploc

Picture this.
Driving down the freeway on the Friday before the 4th of July. Three kids- 2 1/2 hours into the trip and suddenly, traffic stops. A two lane road winding up the Smoky Mountains-- and a brainless DOT crew decides it's a good idea to narrow traffic down to one lane for construction on a holiday weekend. It has been a while since we left home. Our not quite two year old has had diarrhea for the past two days. Suddenly, she begins to cry, "I want potty, I want potty."  Then the crying becomes more intense, and I know certain disaster is imminent. I glance around-- there is nowhere to stop. There is no shoulder on the road-- we are winding up the mountain. There are no exits for at least 20 miles and we are barely crawling at 3-5mph. I could panic, but it won't stop the inevitable. So I see a stack of trusty Ziploc bags I haphazardly stuffed in my purse at the last minute-- and there it is....the answer. Surely her little butt can fit in the opening of that bag? I grab the squawking child out of her seat and do the unthinkable....not once, not twice, but three times (we were sitting in traffic for over 2 hours). And while the smell was nigh unbearable when we had to reopen it, I was ever grateful for my ziploc bag!

I think I'll write a letter and tell Ziploc they can publish my story.....Me thinks they won't want to!

Sorry I grossed you out---and yes, I am a red-neck...evidenced by the fact that later in the weekend I also bathed myself and three children in a mountain stream that at best, was 40 degrees. I like to think I'm just resourceful.

So to reward you for reading that disgusting story I'll show you a few pictures of the less exciting parts of our weekend.

Our beautiful 8 mile hike to Ramsey Cascades.

We didn't think we could top that, but I think we did the next day when we hiked to Mount LeConte Lodge. An11 mile hike not for the faint of heart. (many times it leaves you standing on the edge of a cliff) At the top there is beautiful, peaceful, albeit primitive, lodge where you can stay--or just spend a lot of money on t-shirts! They (the t-shirts and hats) were worth every penny- especially for the 4 and 6 year old hikers. They more than deserved one after 19 miles of trail.