It takes a certain skill-set to be a Quick. For instance, a tough skin is mandatory. One must also be skilled in the fine art of sarcasm and not be a puss when you are the topic of said-sarcasm. An iron gut is helpful while not exactly mandatory at this time.
While the Quick Clan is far from ordinary, I personally, wouldn't have it any other way. We are fiercely protective over each other no matter how much in-fighting happens between the two younger Quicks. You cross one of us and the rest are likely to take out your knees and make it look like an accident.
Some might associate our resilience with the 13 years of ups and downs we've endured. Whatever the reason, our family is ironclad. And I pity the fool who thinks even for a moment that we are any less.
In our 13 years as a family this would be the third family vacation we've taken. The first was a trip out to Tucson, Arizona to see my dad. This marked the very first time Jody, Hunter and Hailey had ever been on a plane. Hunter took it in stride, holding Jody's hand while Jody had a full blown panic attack. Hailey was oblivious to the entire ordeal and was only concerned with her next bottle and a dry diaper. Granted, she was only six months old at that time and is just a wee bit more high strung these days.
Our second family vacation was a cruise a few years back. I can't say much about it other than in the event we ever DO cruise again, it won't be with Carnival and we WILL plan our excursions ahead of time.
And now we come to the part where I recap our 2014 Thanksgiving vacation. It started with a Thanksgiving meal prepared almost solely by our nephew, Justin. We ate until we were ready to burst and spent some much needed time with Jody's mom, Ann.
Ann is by far one of the strongest women I've ever encountered. She not only raised her three children by herself but to this day, continues to raise three of her grandchildren. Ann has always done for others before herself. She has a beautiful heart and if my children don't learn anything else from their Nanny, I hope they learn her selflessness.
After spending time at Jody's mom's house, we hit the road once again heading north. The weather was just right for snow giving the kids the opportunity to not only see it snow but also play in it in the hotel parking lot. We woke up Friday morning and made the remaining bit of the drive up to Gatlinburg, TN. The kids and I rode the space needle all the way to the top giving us an incredible view of the city and mountains in the distance. In case y'all didn't know, Jody doesn't do heights. At all. The space needle left Hunter a little green so it was just Hailey and I for the sky lift. This thing was just like a snow lift but without the whole skiing back down the mountain part. We swung our feet, took a crap-ton of selfies and otherwise just enjoyed the ride. We bought Jody a bear hat because he is, in fact, Papa Bear for those of you who didn't know. Hailey picked a wolf hat because she knows all about rockin' the wolf on her noggin. Hunter went with some black contacts that he later damn near put his eyes out trying to get them in...
Once our sightseeing was over, we had to find lodging for the evening. And a hotel wouldn't do. It's been on not only mine but also Jody's bucket list to stay in a mountain cabin. As luck would have it, a lady canceled the last day of her reservation leaving the cabin all ours. Now, when I say we stayed in a cabin, this is an understatement. It had a fireplace, pool table, hot tub and some of the most beautiful hardwood floors of all time. And did I mention it was for sale? And that Jody can retire in four years?
On our way home (no, not home quite yet hence any typos you might come across) we drove through The Great Smokey Mountains State Park. Please keep in mind that whole Jody scared of heights part. The road was incredibly narrow, the beginning was crazy steep bringing us close to 5,000 feet above sea level. The roads were also icy and a LOT of snow. While the kids and I enjoyed the views, Jody was white knuckled and for lack of a better term puckered to the max. The kids were in shorts but didn't waste the opportunity to pelt each other with snowballs and Hailey even made her very first snow angel.
The bottom line, this family trip has beat out all of the others. Oh and we will definitely be back to stay in one of those cabins again. Believe that. Papa Bear promised the kids snow and per usual, he delivered!
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