This year's Whitmore trip, we spent the long Fall break weekend in Sevierville, TN. Our adventures included the neighboring cities of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. This area is actually apart of my mission, right outside Knoxville. It was a lot of fun, perfect amount of time and we stayed at this great cabin tucked up in the Smoky mountains.
We left Thursday evening. I picked Josh up at work and we hit the road. It took us forever to get there because of traffic and going through tiny towns (which we avoided on the way home). Our first full day, Friday, started out with a hike. It was hard. Not for the normal person, but for me. Halfway up I had an emotional breakdown and started crying. My body has not been pushed this far in a LONG time. Thank you to Josh and my Father-in-law for sticking with me and being patient. I finally made it to the falls and it was beautiful. We all gathered around and ate lunch, enjoyed the beautiful scenery and eventually headed back down. I was so proud of Charlotte going with us and thankful to Eve for watching the little ones back at the cabin.
Saturday was full of more fun! We found a great breakfast place and had a huge pancake breakfast. If you know me, you know going out to breakfast is my jam. Afterward, we found a great park and played for a while! Then we went back to the cabin for naps and relaxing. Late that afternoon, we had reservations for the Pirate Voyage dinner show. I think we all had really low expectations. But it was awesome. We were all impressed and really entertained. The dinner was huge, the kids loved it and Naomi was in heaven!! She didn't squirm or flinch once! She sat/stood on my lap, watching the entire time. I highly recommend!
Sunday was our day at Dollywood. If you are ever in the Knoxville area, this is a must! We love theme parks, (in case you didn't know) and this is one that is HIGH on our list. I remember that I loved it the first time we went five years ago, but I couldn't really remember too many details. It is fabulous and the fall is the time to go. The weather was so perfect. We got there before it opened and had the park to ourselves for the first hour or so. We broke off into two groups. The roller coaster group and the little kid rides group. Haha. They had rides that Naomi could go on...by HERSELF! I was dying and it made my entire day. It is more of a Disney park, in the scence that the rides are more experience and for all ages. We did lots of rides, brought a lunch and snacks into the park and then ate dinner in the park. Speaking of food, you HAVE to buy the cinnamon bread they are famous for. It is heaven loaded up in carbs. We learned, even more than we knew before, that Charlotte is a dare devil. She went on every roller coaster and loves the thrill. We don't know where she came from. Josh and I are not thrill seekers. But she was in heaven with her cousins at this amazing amusement park.
Monday was checkout. We needed to take family pictures. It has been a while since we took family photos with the Whitmores. This trail was on site where we were staying. It was the perfect backdrop to this fall vacation. I am not sure this is what we will use for Christmas cards, but it turned out good enough to frame in my house! I love family photos, even though it is pure torture for some of my family members (no names mentioned, but can you guess who?)!
