Pigeon Forge

Last week, we had a fun road trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We drove down on Tuesday, July 9th and came home on Sunday, July 14th.We met up with Ricky's parents and sister's family to carpool down. We ended up with these crazies in our car! It was a ton of fun! My kids travel very well and we only had to stop 2 times!

Wednesday, we headed over to The Smokey Mountain State Park to explore. We hiked to Cataract Falls and then went to the highest point, Clingman's Dome. Fun fact: The top of the Dome is the highest point of the Smokey Mountains at about 6,600 ft. Crystalin (Ricky's sister) and family live in Mexico City, Mexico where the elevation is about 8,000 ft. I thought that was very interesting. The kids did great and we had a wonderful day, minus the heat. It was very hot!
Lauren had a special bond with Grandpa this trip. It was really cute. 

The best shot of our family in front of the Cataract Falls.

Dylan had a blast hiking around.

Looking out at the mountains from the base of Clingman's Dome. It almost looks like a photo-shopped picture, but we were really there! Ethan didn't want to get too close to the edge. He was a little timid (and I'm glad he was. It was a long way down!)

At the top of Clingman's Dome.

Ethan resting on daddy for the long walk back down the mountain.

After a long day, we enjoyed ice cream sundaes on the deck overlooking the mountains. The kids loved to eat outside.

Thursday, the older kids and the brothers went White Water Rafting. Our brakes were squeaking really bad after driving through the mountains, so we had to take it in to get the brake pads replaced. Fun times! I hung out at the cabin with the kids under 8, Ruth, Spencer, and Crystalin. We thought it would be fun to take the kids to the park down the street. It was really fun, but we were sweating so bad we couldn't stay long. The kids didn't seem to mind! Ethan is such a big boy! He walked across this rope bridge all by himself!

After dinner, we all headed over to a go-carting place. It was so fun to race all of the family! The little kids even likes these rides.

On Friday, all of the big boys went ATVing up the mountain. They had a blast! Here is Ricky looking out over the mountain at the top of the hill.

Ruth, Lenell, Crystalin and I took the younger kids to the pool. They loved it and it felt soo good to be in the cool water. It was so hot outside that we were instantly sweating when we walked outside.

Keegan and Ethan loving the little pool.

Dylan decided to grow up on me and jumped off the diving board. I just looked up from the shallow end of the pool and saw him standing on the edge of the board. He loved it and jumped off about 10 more times! Way to go Dylan!

The kids had to stop for a snack break!

After a long day at the pool, we came back to the cabin for dinner and games or a movie. We had a great time hanging out with everyone! 
 
 Saturday morning, we all (minus the 2 prego ladies) headed over to a stable where we got to ride horses in the woods. Dylan loved it! The single riders got to go on a different trail and left about 15 minutes before the double riders. It worked out great as they got back a little after us, too.

The little ones waiting to get on the horse.

Lauren petting her horse, Cinnamon.

Ethan and I rode Mr. Gray. He loved it and had a great time!

Such a great time horseback riding!

 

After we got home from the stables, we celebrated Lauren's birthday. (Her birthday was Sunday, but we were driving home all day. I thought it would be more fun to celebrate with everyone!)

She got her ballerina barbie and movie (the only thing she asked for), along with another barbie and some clothes. She had a great day!

 

This is what the kids enjoyed doing around the cabin! What did we do before technology?

After lunch, we went back to the pool for the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day! After dinner, we headed out to go mini-golfing, but the big boys got distracted by the go-karts. We got bored, so we went to a couple of little shops in town and got some ice cream. Much more fun!

 

The little kids watching the big boys on the go-karts.

We had a wonderful week at the cabin in the mountains! This view from our balcony was hard to leave! This was one of those vacations that you don't want to end. My kids even asked if we could move to a cabin in the mountains, they had so much fun! We will have to go back again soon!