Mini Mountain Vacation (Thursday and Friday)

We left on Thursday afternoon to go up to the mountains in Tennessee for a little getaway. We had such a relaxing evening on Thursday. We grilled out and just enjoyed the rocking chairs and swings on the back deck of our cabin.

On Friday, I went and did a little shopping with my sister while Tom and Scott stayed at the cabin with the boys. Fortunately the cabin was roomy with lots to do, so entertaining three little ones wasn't so bad. The cabin had a movie theater, pool table, and hot tub.

Scott and I were laughing about the last time we had come up to this area. We stayed in a little dive of a hotel. I remember pulling up to the hotel and saying to Scott, "This is not what we saw online." The cabin we stayed in definitely lived up to the online pictures we had seen. It was a great place to stay and we would love to go back. This was exactly what we needed, a little time away to rest and relax. Now...it's back to reality!




This is where we stayed a couple years ago when we came for a long weekend.







This was our cabin for the weekend. So nice!

Dollywood (Saturday)

On Saturday we spent the afternoon at Dollywood. Marshall loved all the activity. He had his first carousel ride. He liked it so much that we took him on a couple of times. The first time around he was very serious and just checked it all out. The second go around, he was smiling and waving and squealing. The boy LOVED it.

We had a great day watching him experience so many new things, including a train ride through the mountains (sorry, no pictures of that).

Side Note: Scott decided to play one of those basketball games. You know the one, pay two dollars for three basketballs and one shot in and you win a cheesy prize. Well, he played twice and won Sam and Jack a basketball and Marshall a giant teddy bear. He wanted to try and win a second ball so each of the boys could have their own but they had a prize maximum and he had already met it. They told him he couldn't win anymore prizes that day. He was pretty proud of himself and his two nephews were pretty proud too!

Scott with his prizes. You can see the basketball game behind him!

Pics at Dollywood

Just a few more pictures from our day at Dollywood.

Gatlinburg (Sunday)

On Sunday morning we went into Gatlinburg to eat at the Pancake Pantry and walk around the shops. I found Marshall the plaid pants he is wearing while shopping with my sister on Friday morning. I think he looks so cute in them. The best part, they were on clearance for $2. He won't be able to wear them much longer but for $2 who cares.

He loved that we got him out of the stroller and let him crawl around the cobblestone walkways. He is always trying to keep up with his big cousins so he loved being out and about with them.

Just checkin' the score.

Marshall rarely watches TV. He really only gets to watch it when Scott quickly checks the score of a game.

Seriously Cute

Tom was out of town and Scott offered to keep ALL the boys so that Staci and I could go shopping (that was seriously nice huh?). I was shocked when I got home and he showed me the pictures he took that evening. He asked Sam and Jack to sit and look at some books while he cleaned up the dinner dishes. Marshall saw his favorite book in Jack's hands and decided to join them. Not only was I surprised that he had them engaged in such an activity, but also that he thought to take pictures of it. Big thanks to Scott for an evening of fun with my sis! I love my boys.






All 3 looking at the camera, that is a major accomplishment.




That must be a REALLY good book.

It wouldn't make me sad...

if he wasn't so messy! We went from a couple loads of laundry a week to a load a day. Unbelievable how much more one little person can add. I wouldn't trade it for anything.