Tennessee Adventures :: Part 2

On Wednesday, we headed to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a hike. We kept it pretty easy with the Cataract Falls Trail. The trail was almost completely tree-covered, which made for a cool hike.

Throwing rocks into the river

We made it!

We found a Paw-Paw plant!

Even though it wasn't a very difficult hike, and Cataract Falls is only 25 feet tall, I'm still going to count this for my 40 Before 40 list. I'll try for a hike that requires more effort before I'm 40, but just in case I don't make it, I'm saying this counts ;)

After our hike, we met back up with Michael's crew for a round of mini golf at Hillbilly Golf. This was a really cool course up on the top/side of the mountain. It was also the first time the kids have done mini golf! Let's just say they like to play by their own rules, but everyone had fun, so that's what matters. Eli even had a couple of hole-in-ones!

Heading up, up, up to the top!

After a long day of outdoor fun, we headed back to the cabin for some rest, a movie, and grilling. 

Papa, the Master Griller with a killer view

Grandma in her happy place; kids in their happy place with her

Thursday we headed to English Mountain Trout Farm. They have a trout pond, where you can fish, and then they grill it on the spot for you. Honestly, it's the perfect set-up for kids; it's super simple to catch a trout {so there's no waiting}, and it was delicious! 

Michael and his crew headed back to Texas on Friday, but since we only had one day of travel, we got to stay an extra day. It was National Donut Day, so we couldn't pass up the chance to celebrate! Papa wasn't complaining :)

Grandma and Papa offered to babysit so Mike and I could sneak in a date! Some rain rolled in, but we still decided to brave the wet weather and head into downtown Gatlinburg. We walked around in the light rain, grabbed a quick lunch, then waited in line at The Crazy Mason. We actually didn't even know that it was a "thing," we really were just enjoying sitting and talking, catching up on life {kid-free} while we waited for it to open. But then people started lining up outside the door, so then we were committed haha.

Love him :)

We had such a great, full week. Lots of family time, lots of fun adventures, lots of laughter. Thank you, Grandma and Papa for an amazing week! We miss you already and look forward to seeing you soon :)

Tennessee Adventures :: Part 1

We got to spend the week in Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a fun family vacation! We met my parents and brother {and his new girlfriend} at a mountain cabin and had a a full week of family adventures :)

We had the shortest drive at just 8 hours, but it was still a long day of traveling in the car with little ones. The kids did pretty well overall; I had them open up a "surprise" each hour, which contained activities to keep them occupied through the trip. Once again, the Dollar Tree and the Dollar Spot were huge contributors to our road trip activities. It was good to have a rotation of activities, but we were so excited to make it to the Smoky Peak Lodge in the Smoky Mountains. The views were amazing, and it was so peaceful!

Nap Time...but they definitely were not napping.

Our view for the week!

The view from the deck off our bedroom...not a bad way to wake up in the morning :)

My brother recently started dating a girl named Vi, so we got to spend time with her and her daughters on this trip. It was a good opportunity for us to meet her in person {since we had only "met" via Zoom}, and we enjoyed getting to know them more. On Sunday, we had a relaxing day to recover from everyone's travel. We hung out at the cabin for a bit, then decided to pack a lunch and head to a local park. We mostly had the park to ourselves, and it was all shaded, so it was the perfect outing!

Races with Grandma and Daddy!

Silliness with Uncle Michael :)

Sunday was also the first day we saw a bear! He came right up onto the porch, searching for food. We actually saw him {and possibly another friend} several times over the first few days we were there. He seemed pretty comfortable coming up to the cabin, so it took a little bit to run him off.

For Memorial Day, we spent another day at the cabin to enjoy a yummy BBQ and avoid the holiday crowds. The kids enjoyed playing with fun new toys and reading books with Grandma and Papa. The cabin had a fun game room in the basement with foosball, pool, movie theatre seating, and an arcade cabinet. We also played fun card games the whole week.

Michael and Vi introduced us to Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza...definitely too much for my Mama brain haha!

We had a pretty intense game of Uno going...

Grandma doing {sewing} surgery on Aiden's black bear...it was touch and go for a bit, but thankfully it all turned out ok :)

Tuesday we headed to Dollywood! Michael's crew headed for the big roller coasters, and our crew headed for the kid rides. This was the kids' first time to an amusement park, so we weren't quite sure what to expect, but they LOVED it! Eli was a little hesitant to get on rides {especially if they went up high at all}, but Maddie and Aiden got on every ride they could. 

Not feeling the umbrella photo with Mommy haha

Flying Elephant ride with my girl

Aiden rode with Daddy

Both of them kept wanting to go up high!

Lemon Twist with Daddy and Papa

Eli finally felt brave enough to get on the Lucky Ducky ride...and he loved it!

Happy waves from the Piggy Parade

First carousel ride!

The Dollywood Express Train is what Eli held out for! He couldn't wait to get on, and he enjoyed every minute. He also really loved the Rockin' Roadway {where you can "drive" a classic Corvette}. He rode with Grandma, so I didn't get great pictures, but it was so fun that all 3 kids wanted to "drive."

Covering little ears to shield the loud train whistle

Eli getting ready to drive Grandma

Out for a nice drive with Maddie

Aiden driving Daddy

We ended our day with some ice cream and souvenir shopping {courtesy of Grandma and Papa, of course}. The kids did so well and had so much fun. They kept asking to go back all week :)

Tram ride back to the car...we had such a FUN day!

Part 2 coming tomorrow...