Nashville

We packed up and headed towards Nashville for our flight that evening. We intended to catch church with John's family, but between traffic and realizing it was Stake Conference ---it didn't happen.

Handsome Sam.

Mr. Myles loved his Uncle John. Maybe because John was the quickest one to help Myles out with his constant runny nose..not quick enough in this pic! :)


Huge thanks to this crew for running the show and putting up with us for a few days! We had a wonderful time!!

We were slightly over dressed for our lunch location. Good thing Emma was in a CREME dress with all of that delicious BBQ...oy vey. Insert my plug for OxyClean and the miracles it can work. Back to the food---the sides were okay, but the meat was incredible. Best ribs I've ever eaten.

The drive to Nashville was beautiful. We were a little early for most of the colors. However, some of the trees were peaking and on fire! We stopped at the Grand Ole Opry and the Parthenon. I wished we had more time to visit more places, but glad we squeezed in the few stops we could.

We weren't as fortunate on the flight home; the flight was packed and no extra seat this time for Myles. Bryan and I passed him back and forth at least 20-30 times. Given the late flight and long day, all of the kids did exceptionally well. Myles was so close to falling asleep several times, but just couldn't find that comfortable position.

A Birthday Girl and Greenbriar Hike

We woke up to the cabin decked out in Happy Birthday decor for sweet Libby's 6th birthday! She is a true beauty, inside and out. She was such a good sport to roll with whatever on her special day. We had a nice morning at the cabin playing games. In the afternoon, John and Jess took us on one of the less traveled hikes. This hike did not disappoint! At our feet, the trail was covered with golden leaves and above our head was a canopy of trees. It smelled and felt like Autumn. The kids did well and we enjoyed visiting along the way.  There was one crossing that made me nervous, but it was worth it.

These two dudes thought they were pretty funny sneaking in a tea party of their own.

Happiest of Birthdays to Libby!

The crossing doesn't look too bad, until you see the raging river below!

Smoky Mountains

We went into Smoky Mountain National Park. We had gorgeous weather in the morning. We attempted to find an old fishing hole that Bryan stumbled across years ago, but struck out. We drove around in the park and I really enjoyed the winding roads completely surrounded by trees. Right as we were making our way to Clingman's Dome for a view of the changing leaves and mountain peaks, a storm rolled in and the fog covered everything! Such a bummer! The kids still got out and played around for a bit. I opted to stay in the car with a sleeping Myles. Our car ended up taking a slightly unplanned detour on the way home to the cabin. We saw some of the "finer folks" of the south (yikes!). We made sure to keep our speed at least 10 mph and doors locked.  By some miracle, we made it back to the cabin and enjoyed a movie night.

I went to check on Myles while we were watching a movie and he was practicing his gymnastic skills! Haha! He sure surprised me!