Gatlinburg and "stay-cation"

So last weekend we went to Gatlingburg to kick off our vacation/staycation. We rented and adorable little 2 bedroom cabin that literally sat on the side of the mountain. See...

We had a great time. Reg (Papa) and Cathy went with us. We left on Friday after work and got there late that evening. On Saturday we drove up into the mountains a bit then we went to Pigeon Forge to go to the flea market, go-carting and to Wonder Works. Adalyn got to ride her very first ride. Both kids (and the adults) were exhausted by the time we made it back to the cabin!!

On Sunday we hit Dollywood's Splash Country! Boy that was fun. About 3/4 of the way through the day some thunder storms rolled in and they gave us all rainchecks to come back anytime during the rest of the summer for free!! We took the opportunity to spend the rest of the evening in Gatlinburg walking around. We planned to go back to Splash Country on Monday but Eric got a little sun burned on Sunday so we decided to go ahead and head home after hitting the go-carts one more time! We will be returning at some point in the next month or so to hit Splash Country again!!

The rest of the week we were on vacation but we decided to stay home and enjoy a stay-cation. Eric and I went mountain biking on Wednesday and when we returned I wasn't feeling well so a trip to the doctor later I was diagnosed with strep throat. I'm glad I caught it in time though as it was Ethan's birthday and nothing was going to ruin that! We took him out to dinner and then to see Ice Age 3. It ended up being a good day and I was thankful for antibiotics.

Eric's brother Ryan and his wife Emily also came into town (they live in CA) to visit for a few days. They brought us a present that will be saved for another post!!

This week back to work and getting up early. Adalyn was good to us last week and slept in till at least 8:30 every day!! It was a good vacation :)

Surprise visit!!

This weekend we made a surprise trip up to Michigan to visit my family. It was a great time and fun to completely surprise everyone. Ethan and Adalyn just ate up all the time with Grandma and Adalyn just completely blossomed while we were there. Her little personality is really starting to shine and she is the funniest little thing! Case in point:

Adalyn had climbed on top of the picnic table and I told her she needed to get down because she was going to fall. Next thing I know she is giving me this big grin, puts her fingers to her cheeks, sticks out her tongue and starts going Na Na Na while waving her head side to side. It was the cutest thing ever and all I could do was laugh!!

She has also developed a love of animals... as long as said animal is not within 10 feet of her. It does not however keep her from chasing after them! She followed my brother's cat all around his field for the longest time. The cat just played with her- it would lay down till she got close then get up move a few feet away and lay down again only to move as she got closer. I did manage to get some beautiful pictures of her though while she played this game with the cat.

See...

Both kids also did really well on the 8 hour drive to and from. I was a little nervous about the trip home as it would all be during the day and I was worried they'd get bored. They did really well and this was what they looked like about and hour into the trip...

Ethan soon followed Adalyn into dreamland and both slept for almost half the trip! I was impressed and quite relieved :)

Here are some more pictures from our fun weekend- enjoy!

Big Brother sharing his ice cream :)

Whipped Cream fight!!

Hot dog anyone??

Adalyn's newest reaction to asking her to smile for the camera?? Why, stick your finger up your nose of course!!