Bluegrass Buckeye Baby Boy: Gatlinburg Trip

This past weekend we went to Gatlinburg with my family. Since my brother's homecoming from Iraq he wanted everyone to take a weekend and go there together. We had a blast. It was loud since there were 5 kids under the age of six there and the 4 oldest don't know the meaning of the word quiet or whisper, but it was also interesting. I let my uncle have the extra bedroom, which worked out since he could have all his grandkids sleep with him, which Mike and I were on the pullout couch in the living room. So that means when the kids got up for breakfast, we got up too. I'm not much of a morning person, but got up at 8 both mornings. Saturday morning we got up, my uncle made everyone breakfast which included biscuits, gravy, bacon, hasbrowns, omelets, and sausage. Needless to say we were pretty stuffed.

Then we all go ready and were out the door by about 11:45, which is pretty good for 17 people. Half of the people went to the Ripley's Aquarium, all the kids did, and Me, Rachel, Chad (Cody's friend), and cousin walked around downtown Gatlinburg. About 1:30 we drove back to Pigeon Forge and headed to Go-carts. I'm not much of a go-cart rider and it was $8 for one ride on one track, so I passed and told Mike to do it. I also sat with Megan since she's 7 months pregnant and can't ride them either. At 2:30 we headed over to Dixie Stampede and got ready for the show. It didn't start till 4:00 but there was a pre-show and everthing. The kids absolutely loved it. My cousin's little girl didn't touch a thing on her plate because she was so enthralled with everything that was going on. I had to keep reminding Amerika to eat.

Then we headed back to the cabin and relaxed for a bit. I had a big headache so I laid around for a bit until Megan said she needed to go to Walmart. So we got in the car and ended up taking a long scenic route with a few wrong turns, but we eventually made it there. Came back and played some games like Clue, then we played to rounds of Charades. Found out after we left on Sunday night one of the Charades Rachel had to do was Pussycat Dolls. I can only imagine how that went.

Sunday we all went out and got an old time photo. Which took forever. I have never been to a place slower than the one we went to. It was horrible!!! I wanted to pull my hair out. After the photo, Mike and I headed to the outlet mall. I became a little happier. The only store I really wanted to hit was GAP. I got some cute clothes. Two cardigans, two tank tops, a skirt, and a dress. And I wanted Mike to look for a suit. We ended up with a suit, 2 dress shirts, and 2 ties for $180!!! He picked out one shirt and tie and I picked out the other. I'm excited to see him in it this weekend for the wedding.

In the end, it was so nice to see everyone and spend time with them. I love spending time with my cousin. We get along so well and just understand each other. We've gotten pretty close over the years so it's nice to have someone I can connect to like that. We're talking about going to Vegas this summer with our husbands for a little trip. Should be fun. And because her husband works for an airline we can get cheap cheap plane tickets!! :) And I LOVED LOVED LOVED seeing my bug. She is my absolutel world. I wonder sometimes that if I love her that much, how much am I going to love my own kid. I also am glad I got to see my brother since I hadn't seen him since like August. I am so proud of him for serving our country. Here are some pictures from the trip.