Gatlinburg 2012

Since I will be in the car for about 6 more hours - and both babies are sound asleep in the back - I see this as a great opportunity to go ahead and post about our trip to Gatlinburg, TN.

My dad took all of us this year for his birthday celebration. It was so fun! We drove up on Thursday and it was freezing cold and snowing. What an awesome way to start the trip! I threw all inhibitions to the wind and didn't worry too much about schedules and bedtimes, which is a streeeeeetch for me, and everything went great for the most part. Knox got to sleep on bunk beds with his cousins which was like a little slice of heaven on Earth for him (and so cute and fun to watch), stay up late playing all sorts of games in the game room - air hockey, bowling, basketball, PAC man, pool, etc. He even got to hang out in the hot tub. He loved it all so much, and unfortunately now he has to go back home with boring mommy. Who knows how I am going to entertain this kiddo now.


Stopping at Jason's Deli on the way up, and realizing that it just started snowing while we ate. We don't see snow often, so it was magical!



Brrr!




Pajamas and snow gear :)




The bowling game that I MIGHT have beat all the boys on. But who's keeping score?...









Hot tub party




Holding his own in air hockey




Greer snuggling with Papa




Is Greer in there?? Sweet little snow bunny.





Sledding at the cabin before all the snow melted




We drove up to Cade's Cove one day and saw deer and turkeys and horses and old cabins and old churches. It was really beautiful. You could walk straight up to the deer. Very neat. Loved the beautiful scenic, snowy view on the way up.








Buggy and Knox sampling some fudge in downtown Gatlinburg.



Once the real snow all melted, we packed it up and went to Oberg Gatlinburg for some snow tubing. Oh. My. Soul. I have never done it before, and I had the time of my life! My dad and Karen kept Greer so we could take Knox and have some fun. I think it was a major highlight for both the adults and the kids. When we got there and saw the hill that we were tubing down, we couldn't believe how big it looked. I won't lie...I might have questioned myself a little when Knox and I were next in line waiting to go. What a rush. He laughed and screamed all the way down each and every time. Such a fun memory for us! After you get to the bottom you just walk to the side and a little conveyer belt just rides you back to the top. We must have done it 50 times. Wish I were tubing now instead of sitting in this car!

View from the top




Knox and Lee as well as Dane and Carley are in there somewhere.




Riding the conveyer belt up and taking in the beautiful view









He had it made- never got out of the tube. Just let us pull him around to the conveyer belt and ride it back up to the top. The life of a 2 year old.





My snowmen :)












Buggy and Robyn waiting in line. As I took this picture my tube went flying down that hill you see behind them. Whoops.



Adrenaline rush!



We also partook in a little ice skating and carousel riding. Knox tried his legs in ice skating and he lasted about 1 lap. It freaked him out that he couldn't stand up by himself.






Sweet cousins!!









All this fun wore someone out and he slept through almost an entire lunch- in public! He never does this so I know he was exhausted.




Hopefully this sweet baby will tube with us next year! Thanks, Papa and Nana, for keeping her for us!




We had a blast cooking dinners together, watching movies, playing games, laughing a lot, and making some awesome memories. Happy birthday, Papa! We are so thankful for our fun trip with you. We're already looking forward to next year!

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