Mini-Vacation

Last weekend we went to Gatlinburg for 5 days. We started out by leaving 3 1/2 hours late - welcome to my life! But, that was fine because this was our vacation and it was ok that we were not leaving as scheduled, I kept repeated this to myself as we spent an hour driving around Memphis so Brian could get his chik-fil-a and starbucks for breakfast. If things don't go exactly as planned I tend to go from zero to grumpy in a matter of seconds - this is what having kids has done to me. I have become a little bit of a freak when it comes to schedules and planning. I wasn't like this pre-kids, I promise! So we finally got on the road and started the long trek to Gatlinburg - Praise God for the invention of DVD players in the car! When we finally arrived, the mountains and trees were so beautiful and the traffic was soooo not! It would take us about 25 minutes to go 2 miles - scary when you have 2 babies in the car and you are completely out of diapers and formula! We learned quickly that you stay off of the main roads!

We spent our first day at the Ripley's Believe It or Not Aquarium - it was awesome! I highly recommend it to everyone.

Jack and Poppa looking at fish

Emi looking at sting rays

After the aquarium, we drove to Cademan's Cove. Cademan's Cove is an 11 mile driving tour that takes you through the mountains and you can stop at various spots to hike and look at the scenery. There are these old homesteads that you can actually walk through - I love that stuff! Emi's says that hiking was her favorite thing to do, on the trails she would stop and look at everything!

Ohhhh, look at the rock!

Ohhhh, look at the leaves!

Ohhh, look at the holly berries!
Ohhhh, look at the worm!

Ohhhh, look at the squirrel!

It took us an hour to hike half a mile, but she was enjoying nature so we let her look.

Notice, the sucker. Brian and I bought a bag of suckers and would bribe her to do everything. "If you smile at the camera, you can have a sucker!" She probably consumed 50 suckers on the trip, I am surprised that her teeth didn't fall out.

The things you'll do for a little peace, right?