Smokey Mountain Getaway

After a fun and relaxing fall break, I am ready to get back into the blogging buzz. We went to the Smokey mountains last week with my family. It was wonderful! Just what we needed. My parents were kind enough to rent a huge cabin in the middle of nowhere for a few days. It was complete with a stocked kitchen, pool table, Foosball table, plasma TV, hot tub, and... SCORPIONS! Luckily, we didn't see the later until our last night. I was the lucky one to find it in he bathroom when I was well... you know.... Needless to say, it kinda caught me off guard. My boys on the other hand thought it was the highlight of the trip. In fact they wanted to keep it as a pet! Go figure! Don't worry my husband saved the day and it is squished on a paper towel in a dumpster somewhere. One less scorpion. :)

Before I get to far ahead, I'll introduce the cast of Characters:

My Mom and Dad or AKA: Me maw and Papaw as they are known by my kids. They were the reason we were all able to go on this trip. THANK YOU Mom and Dad!

Valerie: Or Aunt Val. My sister the nurse. Fellow scrapbooker and confidante.

Ashlee: Oldest niece. She is 17, a senior and has a new boyfriend. She was seen texting most of the trip. I sure wish texting was invented when I was a teenager! Hmph!

Lacey: Niece #2- 12 and doesn't have a boyfriend..... yet... Fun and has a zest for life.

Ian: The nephew. Age 9. He is three months older than Jonas and they are pretty much partners in crime. In fact they were caught often having acorn wars and stirring up a nest of yellow jackets for fun. What were they thinking?

Our family: I think you pretty much know us already. If you don't then you probably stumbled upon this blog mistakenly. So read on if you think I am interesting enough.

Okay... So here goes.... We pulled into Pigeon Forge on Sunday afternoon. Found our way the cabin, settled in and went to our first show. It was at the Comedy Barn. If you're no familiar with this show, it is worthwhile watching a few clips on youtube. My favorite is the juggler. You can watch here . My family is always chosen for audience participation stuff and this was no exception! My husband was picked and was hilarious! Later in the show Jeremiah was called up on stage as well. We bought a DVD of the live show and eventually I will upload it to youtube. For now you can watch this and well... you'll get the idea. It was a fun night and a great way to start off the trip. After dinner at Shoney's it was back to the cabin for some competitive games of pool. We had a big day planned for tomorrow.

Monday was such a fun day, but we were exhausted by the end of it. First off in he morning we went to Parrot Mountain. Now this is off the beaten path and not as well advertised or touristy, but that is part of it's charm. We saw so many different types of birds. We got to feed them as well! The kids had a blast with them flying all around and landing on them. We got lots of great pictures. Next up was Reptile World where the boys got up close an personal with snakes, alligators and tarantulas. I even held a tarantula. Jonas is trying to convince me to get him one for Christmas.... I don't think so....Santa Claus is afraid of spiders. :)

We went back to the cabin for a couple hours and got ready for Dixie Stampede. If you have never been it is worth going! We were all entertained! We had a great meal too. My husband was funny.... During the Dixie Stampede they divide you on either the North or South side. My husband after a little while was like.. "why are all the servers dressed in blue?.... Wait a minute... they're in gray over there! We're on the wrong side!" HAAAA! :) Watch the finale... It is great.

Dollywood was on Tuesday. I have never seen so many old people in one place. They were all there attending a gospel music festival. Worked out great for us, as they were not there to ride rides, so there was no wait for anything. The weather was perfect too. Jonas is the thrill seeker in the family. He managed to get both me and Daddy on a roller coaster. It was FUN! Do you know what I found out I'm afraid of? FERRIS WHEELS! I swear.... that was the first and last time I'm ever getting on one. I thought I was going to have a full blown panic attack! One of the highlights fr my family of boys was sniper shooting with water cannons innocent passerbys in boats. Yes... this is an attraction. They spent a good hour in one spot. They showed no mercy. Old ladies, mothers, children, teens. They were all victims. It was the funniest thing ever. My husband said that alone was worth the price of admission. Hee Hee Hee.... :)

That night we went to The Black Bear Jamboree. It was another dinner/musical variety show. The dinner was delicious and we all liked the show. Dexter the nerd was pretty funny. Back at the cabin it was time to pack up, as it was our last night.

Wednesday morning was departure day, but not without one last stop. We went to the Aquarium of the Smokey's in Gatlinburg. It was so nice. The boys got to pet stingrays and see Sharks. What more could you ask for?

All in all, it was a great trip and so much fun to be with the whole family. We did miss Missy and her family in Utah. Maybe they'll join us for the next one. It's only a two and a half hour drive for us and surprisingly we had never been before. It was worth it and we'll definitely go back again soon. The kids are back in school this week. Boy was it hard to wake up Monday morning. Jonas was glad he has a lot of ideas for his "creative writing"assignment for Language Arts. So... now you heard what we did for our Fall break. What about everyone else?