Tennessee Climbing

Last weekend we headed to Tennessee to get in a little warm weather climbing...and watching for Mommy. A winter storm hit the south the day before so it made for a beautiful drive. Kentucky is full of rolling hills and everything was frosted with snow. The roads luckily were clear and dry so it made for a "quick" 6 hours. The full moon was bright and reflected off the snow and frosted trees. It was amazing and really put us all in the Christmas spirit. We also felt like we were back in the Rocky Mts for a moment. We really should have stopped to take photos that evening!

Tennessee has wonderful climbing and it was T-shirt weather the first day out at the Tennessee Wall. We all needed a good dose of sunshine and warmth.

We met up with one of Mike's Colorado climbing partners, Rob Pizem, and stayed with friends of his who live right there in Chattanooga. Luke and Mel have a 2 1/2 year old named Layton so they know what it's like to climb with a toddler. It was so fun to have a friend for Lucas and they both got along really well. It was a full weekend of SHARING...so there were a few tough times for the boys but they worked everything out and got a little practice because each will be a BIG brother soon. :)

Here Layton and Lucas are getting to know each other over some hot chocolate.
Layton was a doll! He's all boy for sure and HE LOVES MUD!!! While his Daddy was climbing, it was a perfect chance to ditch the shoes and stomp, slide and play in the mud! This is the opposite of Lucas who watched with complete amazement.
Daddy was a good sport and cleaned up his boy. Layton has a smile that let's him get away with everything...a little charmer for sure!
Lucas was happy to be in the warm sun. His new toy...the tuna mayo! He'll eat the tuna plain and afterwards play with his new mayo pack lazer gun!
Luke caught some little lizards for Layton and Lucas to check out.
Lucas showed Layton how to hang the quick draws with the stick clip.
Don't forget snack time!
Lucas with his old buddy Piz.
We had a wonderful weekend although the weather went downhill and got rainy. It made for fun hiking and more mud for Layton. Luke and Mel were wonderful to open their home to us. Unfortunatly, we didn't get to meet Mel this trip. She was out on a fun ski trip with girlfriends...lucky lady!

We decided that Lucas was a little traumatized with all the SHARING. It became clear on our drive home. He woke up early from a nap and yelled out, "I DON'T WANT TO SHARE!" He was very upset and half asleep. We woke him up and told him he didn't have to share with anyone on the way home. We also told him how proud we were for sharing so much with new friend Layton. Boy, is he in for a shock when his little brother arrives. :)