Mammoth Cave

No we did not fall off the face of the Earth.  Little Spooner and I are still alive and kicking! :) Literally, and soon-to-be figuratively! Our summer has been quite full, and INCREDIBLY fun! We have done all sorts of stuff, kid-friendly G-rated fun! I been trying to make it a point to get in touch with my 41/2 year old self to really figure out how to help her enjoy her summer... So I have been thinking about stuff that would be fun to do when you are 4. Do you ever feel like you juts aren't connecting with your kids? I feel so awful sometimes because I am probably the WORST Barbie player, ever.  I was not even very good at it when I was little... I just liked to brush their hair and change their clothes. Usually someone else had a "plot" for playing, I just kind of went along with it...

Anyways so one of our first big adventures of the summer was a trip to visit our southern "kin-folk", the HERMONS! It was my favorite Little Mans 2nd Birthday!! Holy cow! I cannot even believe he is this big.. A lot sure has happened in 2 years! I remember the day he was born just like it was yesterday. Little Spooner, Nana, and I packed up the Jetta (I  never blogged about the new car, and probably should have since it is a dream come true) and hauled it down to Tennessee! We had a lot of fun visiting, and getting to see Auntie Coles big belly.  It always melts my heart to see their faces light up when Little Spooner and Little Man see each other for the first time! Just shows the true bond of family. Wish we could see them more!

If ya'll didn't know, that's my
nephew B.I. in there!

After a VERY brief visit, Little Spooner and I left Nana in TN and headed back north. Being the daughter of my father, I thought how fun it would be to take Little Spooner through Mammoth Cave National Park in Ken-ducky (if you ask Little Spooner).  This is something I remember doing on our way down to Oklahoma one year (not Mammoth Cave, but a different cavern), and she's at a pretty fun age where this stuff is pretty cool! So we made our way back into Mammoth Cave National Park... quite the hike form the highway I must say.  It went from pouring rain to 100% humidity in about 15 minutes on our drive to the cave.  After we bought our tickets, we waited for our tour to leave.  We had a really funny guide which was nice.  We then walked down to the cave opening.  Where it went from sticky, sweaty, humidity, to feeling like air conditioning was being pumped out of the ground. As I stared into the large hole in the ground all I kept thinking was "You're not claustrophobic, you are only several hundred feet below the ground, if anything happens you are only surround by 30 other people who will all be running like maniacs"... It was like the moment you realize that you are afraid of getting stuck in an elevator once the elevator door doesn't open at work. It took us a little while to adjust to the cold once we got into the cave... not to mention our eyes adjusting to the darkness.  There was no flash photography allowed, so I apologize for the quality of the photos... 

"pre-cave" entrance

I do not remember anyone giving warning about people being too tall or too "large" (if you will).  There were some parts that would have been a tight squeeze for some.  Not to mention the large staircase we had to ascend to get back up. All-in-all this took us 2 hours to walk through, and it was only a 2 mile tour! The lady at the ticket booth said this is the tour most school groups take... who let's their kids go into a cave without them!?!?! :-) I see a lot of school field trip "chaperoning" in my future!- and I'm looking forward to them!

Going through, Fat Mans Misery

Fat Mans Misery... super narrow passage way.

She said she was "feeling very tall"

Have you visited anywhere fun this summer that is kid and budget friendly? I feel like I have spent a lot of this summer introducing Little Spooner to new things, and I am okay with that.  Future posts to come in regards to many more things that we are trying! I hope everyone is having a fun, yet safe summer!- Mommy Spooner

After squeezing through Fat Mans Misery