Wednesday was filled with sleeping in, shopping in downtown Gatlinburg, TN, back to cabin, rest time, swimming, dinner and movie with ice cream. The kids loved it! This was our warmest day at 89*F, which really was not too hot!
Thursday, we went on a hike in the hills of the Smokies with the kids. The trail followed a river. The kids really enjoyed this; throwing rocks, sticks, petting dogs as they walked by, meeting new people! It was fun! Then we came back to the cabin for rest time and lunch. We met the parents, who went to pick up Natalie, who flew in, at Dollywood and rode rides/saw the park until close, which was 8pm! Early, I know! But we then were able to grill out dinner at the cabin and play until almost midnight with Brad's family before bedtime! Ethan and Alexis both were asking to go to bed that night they played so hard! It was wonderful to visit with everyone back at the cabin.
Friday, we went back to Dollywood and met up with Brad's family. Saw a really neat Eagle show, which kept the kids attention really well. Ethan rode his first roller-coaster! Of course he was screaming and loved every second of it! He got off saying, "That was fun...can we do it again!" His aunts Vicki and Natalie rode many rides with him. Alexis also was able to ride a few. She is not as tall as Ethan and therefore couldn't ride as many rides, but she really enjoyed getting wet on the tube ride!
Saturday we packed it up and came back to Harrisonburg. Brad's family came too....they left a little later than us! It was a nice ride home. Long, but nice. We listened to a book on CD in both vehicles which made the time go by faster and chatted in between stops! Hunter did better traveling home than going down- he sleeps most of the morning/afternoon! We arrived around 5:30ish. My parents had also come down from MD earlier in the day for the blessing tomorrow and we all ate dinner here at our house...Tacos...they were great! Thanks Natalie for all of your help!
Sunday was the blessing of Hunter Kade Jeppson! Big, cute Boy!!! Everything went really well and I especially love the pics afterward with everyone! They turned out great! Dinner was yummy...thank you, honey, for making wonderful rolls, ham, and cheesy potatoes! We also had fresh green beans and cucumbers from my daddy's garden and brownies and ice cream thanks to Vicki!!! I think everyone really enjoyed their time! My parents, luckily, missed the rain in the afternoon when they left to go home b/c they came down on the motorcycle! Brad's family took off in the early evening. The rest of us visited and had fireworks in the driveway here at dusk.
Monday, Chris had to work and so I took the kids up to the Cracker Barrel, in Woodstock, for some lunch with the family, to visit, before they continued on to the airport and flew home! I know it was a wonderful time had by all...Thank you everyone who made this trip possible! We love you all so much.
4 comments:
Ahh, you sound so busy! And you're amazing! All that fun stuff with a new little baby! Sounds like everyone had a great time. Maybe it's because I've always lived on the West Coast, but I've never heard of Dollywood before!
Looks like fun and a much needed break! If you can call a long drive with three kids a break?!:) Anyway, congrats on the baby blessing. It looks like you enjoyed your time. What a cutie!
I know...I wasn't going to go for the longest time b/c of the drive ....6 hours without any stops...but the family met me half way and then took Ethan and Alexis in their car...and Vicki drove most of the rest of the way. There were a couple of times I did feel emotional, but tried to relax and remember that it really didn't matter what we did. It was a little trip for family!
I love you family and have not even met most of them! They really do try to take care of you. I am glad you got a vacation. That cabin is my dream home, by the way. Can you post about the blessing? I am so sad I missed that and would love to know what was said!
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