We left here on Friday morning at 3:30 A.M. The kids did great in the car on the way down to Tennessee. Maybe about 5 minutes of crying from the twins, I couldn't ask for it to go any better.
Reed riding in the back of the car
Allison and Luke in a deep sleep
We made it there in twelve hours with a few stops along the way to eat and stretch our legs. We really didn't do much exploring when we got there. The kids were having fun being out of the car and playing with the air hockey table in the lower level of the cabin.
The name of our cabin was Hidden Romance. Yep,
the romance sure was hidden. We stayed in this
cabin because Ross knows the owner. (Reed in red,
Luke in blue)
It is a beautiful cabin. The main floor has a fully equipped kitchen, nice family room, small laundry room (my favorite thing there), half bath, and a large bedroom with a KING size bed (at one point we did end up have 3 kids in the bed and we were not squished!!!!!!). Our bedroom had a Jacuzzi tub in the actual room (the kids loved taking baths in there, I'm sure they were not thinking of it for that purpose when they built it that way). There is also a hot tub on the deck that the kids loved using. The loft had a Foosball table and a pullout twin sleeper sofa.
Leanne and Allison slept together on the twin
sleeper sofa.
The cabin also had a lower level. The lower level had an air hockey table, video games (if they still call them that), and a pool table. This is also where the boys slept on a large pull out sofa bed.
Luke on left, Clay, and Reed on right
On Saturday we went exploring. We took the kids to throw rocks in the river. They could do this for hours.
Luke in white, Reed in green
When they were finished doing that, we went to go check out abandoned houses in the Smokey Mountains. Ross loves that sort of thing and Leanne is exactly like her daddy in that respect.
Ross and the kids sitting on the steps that used to go to
a house.
Enjoying ice cream at the cabin
Sunday we listened to a sermon online in the cabin and then went for a nature drive in Cades Cove.
small, adult, male, black bear (that's what the park
ranger told us)
Horses they use for trail rides. One of the horses
came right up to our car and stuck his head in.
Family picture
Our trip wouldn't be complete without a fun
self picture
Family picture at Cades Cove
Can't help but laugh at Clay. What a goof!
We would always do a big breakfast in the morning
and a light snack in the afternoon.
On Monday we went to the aquarium. This aquarium is well worth the money. My camera died, as in broke, right before the awesome walk through tunnel where the sharks swim over. I was pretty bummed not to take pictures of that, but it is what it is.
"Not another picture, mom!" Luke would not
leave Ross' side, so he missed out on a photo opportunity.
I have a secret. I really love to look at huge ugly odd
fish. The odder the better. If I'm looking at the Yahoo
stories, and there is a picture of an odd fish,
I have to look at it and read the article. When
we had cable, I used to always watch River Monsters.
Look at this fish!!! My favorite in this tank because
it's so odd and HUGE!!!
See that catfish behind me? I'm one happy girl. I
want to try noodling. For those that don't know
what this is, it's where you go down south to a river
that has huge catfish. Instead of using a fishing pole,
you either stick your hand or foot in the catfish's mouth
and pull it up that way. Ross said if I ever get to do that,
he'd watch from shore.
I didn't deserve the mother of the year award right then.
I got so caught up with these odd fish, I forgot about Reed.
He was sitting there crying for a few minutes before I
even noticed. My face was red with embarrassment.
This is a selfie of Reed and I and he still hasn't forgiven me
quite yet.
The last picture I took before my camera quit.
It took us 4-5 hours to go through the aquarium and then we headed back to the cabin for a little rest. We went to Pizza Hut and took that to the river for a picnic. We went swimming after we finished eating.
Tuesday we went to Clingmans Dome (after we bought a new camera). It is a paved walkway to a top of a mountain with a lookout. It is pretty much a upward winding paved hike.
View of the mountains from the top of Clingmans Dome
Reed and mommy
Luke and Daddy
The older three. If you look in the background of
the picture, you can see a little bit of tan. The little
bit of tan is the parking lot.
Sometimes it's just easier to pull them down
the mountain, instead of pushing them down. Ross
and I each took turns pushing the boys up the path.
People couldn't believe we were. I even had a man
shake my hand at the top because he said he could
barely make it up there himself and I was pushing
a stroller. It really wasn't that bad.
After we did Clingmans Dome, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Chimney Tops. Chimney Tops is a park with picnic tables. It is a must if you go to Tennessee.
Allison, checking out the rocks. Clay is down there
in the yellow shirt.
picture of the picnic area
I stayed with the little ones while Clay and Leanne
were rock hopping.
Allison is doing a happy dance because she rock
hopped all the way over to this rock.
Clay could have cared less about his socks
and shoes being soaking wet.
The twins found a good rock to lie down on and
take a rest. (Reed in gray, Luke in blue)
We also took the kids swimming in the river again that night. We all collapsed into bed after that. Wednesday we didn't do as much. After a bit of a lazy morning, we took the kids fishing down by the pond near our cabin.
Clay, with his first catch.
Alli, with her first catch.
The twins didn't fish, but they liked touching it.
Unconventional bait. We didn't have worms, so
we fished with hot dogs, pretzels, and cookies.
The fish liked the cookie bait she used.
The pond was located at the end of a curvy, steep, downward road. Alli
and I decided to run back up it. We were hot and
tired after doing that.
Clay, Alli, and Leanne playing Titanic.
Thursday was our last full day in Tennessee. We had a large breakfast, packed up the cabin, and did a little bit of shopping at the local country stores. Then we took the kids to the Titanic Museum. Leanne is obsessed with the Titanic and has read a lot about it.
The twins are showing their souvenir pennies here.
Luke in blue, Reed in red.
The museum does not allow people to take pictures inside of it, so this is all I got of it. Leanne was one happy girl. We went out to eat, and then after that, Ross came up with a surprise for the kids for their last night in Tennessee.
Ross noticed that this open grassy area became full of fireflies at night. We took some clear plastic cups and let the kids catch them. The kids liked dad's surprise.
The following morning we left. It took us 13 hours to get home because of bad traffic and rain. Ross got to drive home with this lovely mirror.
The story behind the mirror is, before we left I may have accidentally backed up out of the garage, and hit the mirror on the side of the garage door. Well, at that time, it only had two cracks. Ross, one evening in Tennessee, went out to the store and then went for a drive by himself. I guess he was checking out a house and got too close to a mailbox, as he was going around a curve. He only nicked the mail box, the mirror fell off and the glass was smashed. At least it was the mirror that was already cracked.
We had a great family vacation. I couldn't have asked for more. I'm so happy we were able to go this year. Although, I may need a vacation from vacation.
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