The Nielsons

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!

Love Every Moment

On Friday, we hit up Dollywood. We had a great time! My kids adore their cousins and their cousins were very kind to include and let my kids tag-a-long with them. John said that there were more crowds than usual, but we still found it very enjoyable. It only felt like one or two lines took more than 15 minutes, but the younger kids had a mini-playground to play at while the older kids (including parents) went on the more adventurous rides. The park closed at 6 PM. I kinda loved that. No expectations to stay until waaaay past kids' bedtime with everyone screaming and melting down. We went back to the cabin where we continued the party with hot tubbing, food, movie and games.

Fire Chaser was a big hit.

Speaking of big hits, these two cuties had lots of fun building this tower...until it toppled over and one brick caught Zac on the head. Luckily, his brother, Matthew, knew what to say to help him... "What would Daniel the tiger do?" Matthew is such a great kid, for lots of reasons!

Classic Log Ride.

Emma pounded the turkey leg for lunch.

The girls had their face painted. Emma wanted to look just like Libby.

These two kiddos deserve a round of applause and some candy for their excellent behavior that day.

Nearing the end...can ya tell???

Packing it out, and busting out the phones.

We grabbed this pic at the end of the day and most everyone was still smiling! :)

There were a few "real" moments, but we did love most (99%) moments at Dollywood.

Kentucky Cousins

We flew out for Tennessee on a Wednesday to visit my brother, John, and his family. They are living in Kentucky and we met at a cabin in the Smoky Mountains. We scored a free seat for Myles and that made the flight exponentially easier. We drove straight from the airport to Dollywood where the cousins met up and had a great couple of hours together, minus the Lightening Rod ride. :) We continued the fun at the cabin. The cabin was perfect: hot tub, video games, theater room, corn hole, great deck, enough seating in the kitchen for everyone,...I wasn't sure if we would need to leave the cabin! John and Jess planned meals, activities, games, brought 99% of the baby gear for us...they were wonderful hosts.