Date Night

Since Ron is somewhere between Bangkok and Chicago and Danielle is up north visiting Grandma and Grandpa, Tyler and I have been enjoying a little mother-son time. We went out for breakfast before school this morning. That's always a special treat. The zoo had their members only preview for their Christmas lights tonight, so Tyler and I enjoyed a date at the zoo. We had a really nice evening together. I'm sure Danielle had a nice evening tonight, too. I'm pretty sure Ron did not...if he can even figure out when evening is/was!

 

 

 

Enjoying the Fall Weather

While Ron is slowly making his way to Bangkok, Thailand, the kids and I met Grandma & Grandpa C for lunch and then enjoyed the beautiful weather at the state park. As you can tell from the pics, the day started off sunny and nice but got a little more overcast as the day progressed. It was still a wonderful day to be outside.

The dam at the park was open, so the water was much, much lower than usual. The kids (and Grandpa) had fun walking along the dried up lakebed, exploring all the trash and treasures that were recently uncovered. We found a camera partially buried in the mud at one location. We dug it out and managed to pry the SD card out. We're hoping we'll be able to recover a few of the pictures from the card. There were lots of clams and other little mussels, too. It was suprisingly interesting. 

Before leaving, Danielle rolled down the giant hill at the top of the dam (or the "dam hill", as the kids called it, while giggling hysterically) a few times and then the kids finished off our day at the playground. We had a very nice day.

The Last of the Vacation Pics

Our cabin. It was good enough for a few days, but we probably wouldn't stay there again.
Ron and I were entertained every night by something(s) scurrying across the roof. It was a little unnerving the first night but by the last night it was kind of funny. It moved quickly, so we assume it was a squirrel(s). Raccoons managed to pry the door off the covered trash can bin one night but we didn't get to see them either. 



Although the cabin wasn't perfect, the rental company was awesome. In addition to getting a really good deal on the cabin, they were very attentive. We had to go back to sign paperwork and Ron mentioned offhandedly that the grill was rusty. That night someone showed up with a brand new grill.

The kids enjoyed the cabin. After all, it had the two necessities: a hot tub and a pool table.

We enjoyed walking the streets in Gatlinburg one evening. The kids enjoyed all the sights and attractions.

Tyler asked several times about riding the skylift and was really disappointed when we walked past it without stopping. No one else wanted to ride it. I really, really hate things like this, but I took one for the team and took him on it.

I still hate these types of rides, but Tyler and I had a really good time doing this together and I'm glad I took him.  

This experience with Tyler was probably one of the highlights of the trip for me.

We had a really nice vacation together. The kids were so pleasant and well behaved, the weather cooperated, and the mountains were so beautiful. It was truly a blessing to be able to get away for a few days and just enjoy being together. 

More Pictures from Vacation

This was our view for lunch one day.

The mountains were in their fall finest while we were there. On Saturday a cold front moved through and created a lot of fog. Even though visibility was poor, the woods and streams were still beautiful. We drove up to Clingman's Dome and above the fog. The fog rolling into the lower parts of the mountains looked like a smoky sea. It really was beautiful. It's wild to think that just a couple days later, parts of this area were covered with 4' snow drifts and the road to Clingman's Dome was closed! It might have been nice to see the mountains covered in snow, but I think we enjoyed ourselves more this way.

All those leaves were actually laying on top of the stream, so the kids had to be very careful about where they stepped!

Gatlinburg

Vacation Pictures

Both kids agreed there were two things we needed to do while on our mini-vacation - visit Cades Cove and ride go-karts.

The last time we went to the Smoky Mountains we were fortunate enough to see two black bears. Since the bears have been pretty active because they're preparing for winter, we had high hopes, but this time was like the other 10 times we've been there. No bears. Cades Cove was beautiful anyway. The only wildlife we saw were turkeys and deer, but the scenery was beautiful. We got there early, hoping to avoid the rush. Our timing was perfect. By the time we were leaving, there was a very long line of cars waiting to enter the area.

Somehow riding go-karts has become a vacation tradition. We usually find The Track and buy Tyler a couple rides on the Track course. He's been eyeing the Wild Woody for years, but he wasn't tall enough to drive by himself...until this year. And he's plenty tall enough! When did that happen?! He was thrilled. He rode that course by himself a few times and then he, Ron, and Danielle rode the Track together a couple times. Danielle is tall enough to drive those cars, but she was nervous about doing it. ("What if I can't make it go and the guy yells at me?") All three kids had a lot of fun. Somehow it always seems like money well spent even though there's nothing more to show for it than and a few memories & pictures of the kids with grins on their faces. I guess that's really what it's all about anyway, isn't it?