Tennessee Travels

In the middle of our Georgia trip, we took 4 days and went to Gaitlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN for some touristy travel. It was a beautiful area and we stayed in the most amazing log cabin literally on the side of a cliff. We got to bring Conner with us too which was great for the kids to get 4 full days together.

The car ride was about 6 hrs but the kids did great, they both had their video games, they colored, we sang songs, ate lots of snacks, stopped for many potty breaks and had a great scenic drive up.

Once we arrived, I was pretty surprised as to what the city of Pigeon Forge was, it was extreme tourist central! Kinda like a Vegas for kids with a Castle, shopping centers, golf courses, amusement parks, mechanical animals, a Christmas House, an assortment of restaurants, including multiple pancake houses and the kids favorite, an "upside down house".

A holiday train at the Christmas house in March

The "upside down house"

Super fun, science amusement park that we all had a great time exploring

Earthquake and Hurricane simulators 

Rock Climbing - can you believe my 4 year old, who is a fraction over 40 lbs climbed all by herself! 

The future astronaut

Bubbles

And of course, what fun land would be complete with out an arcade - Hailey had her first taste of the ticket spitting game machines - she ended up with a princess crown and jelly bracelets. Of course we turned it into a math exercise at the end :)  

We spent one day in Gatlinburg which was a bit more downscale from over sized store fronts but it was kinda like a cute old town, turned tourist ville. It was fun for a bit but we decided we could live without the t-shirts, and trinkets. We hit up Ripley's which the kids liked and half the group went on a chair lift to the top of the mountain. We stayed on the ground, hit up a candy shop to watch taffy being made and picked out our magnets.

Kevin and Conner on the chair lift

The view from the top

The real Herbie Beetle

After many attempts - A cute shot!

The cabin that we stayed in was fantastic - 3 stories, tons of room and super cute with an amazing view of the Smoky Mountains that I could and watch for days. The kids had a blast running up and down the stairs playing their own version of pool and Foosball in the basement and then building a fort in the upstairs loft with every blanket they could get their hands on. Pretty fun stuff! Mommy and Grandma even make the infamous "Chex Mix" lordy we were all sick the next day... but cha gotta do what cha gotta do! It's TRADITION!

The upstairs

Kids  playing their version of "pool"

Chex Mix Party

Ending an evening with a rainbow right outside the restaurant window 

Selecting "Princess" popcorn from the popcorn shop of 150 flavors

Relaxing in the hot tub

A super cute kid pic

Dad's/Brothers with the kids

Kids with Grampa and Grandma 

And ending with a girl and a puppy - never the two shall part

Thanks for the AMAZING trip Grandma and Grampa - We had the best time.