Mountains Trip

We left out on Friday night. We decided to take Jamina's car, so it would be more comfortable for mom. Me and mom would jokingly wave to one another occasionally, because it felt like she was so far away from me. The ride wasn't nearly the nightmare I thought it would be. The kids were pretty great.

We got a room at 3am in a little town called Ooltewah. Our room was nice, but we were too sleepy to really care.

The kids caught their second wind as we unloaded them from the car. I didn't think we would ever get them back to sleep. Mom enjoyed the show.

Michael threatened to sleep with mom, if the kids didn't calm down.

Mom slept through alot of the driving. But she was a great help with the girls when they became restless in their car seats.

Poor Michael drove the whole time. Our ears started popping as we got closer and closer.

I was so excited to see us headed toward this beautiful view! None of us have ever seen anything like it before! All my mom kept saying was "THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE IT! THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL!" It was great to see her child-like enthusiasm.

We drove through Cade's Cove before going to our cabin.

Mom couldn't do alot of walking, nor could I. Nor did the girl's want to. But The drive was beautiful.  Breathtaking views and tons of deer.

We DID see TWO bears as we were leaving Cade's Cove. I was SOOOO excited, but I didn't have my camera ready!

Next came time to check into our cabin. I was scared it would look completely different than it did online....

It did not disappoint! It was beautiful! Our views were incredible.

Mom got the whole upstairs loft. It was a Master suite. Of course, worry wart over here spent the entire time scared to death that she would slip down the stairs.

We went and got groceries, cooked supper,  and spent the night relaxing by the fire.

We had a home cooked breakfast and supper EVERY day! In fact we only ate out once the entire time!

Our first full day, we were tourists to the fullest. We took in Gatlinburg and all it's beauty.

We went to the arcade, "for the kids"........

Mom had listened to me, the pregnant one, go on and on "fudge, fudge, fudge!" So during one of our little breaks, she treated all of us to some delicious and terribly expensive fudge!

I wasn't sure it was the greatest idea, for mom or ANY of us, but we decided after our day in town, that we would follow it up with an evening in Dollywood.

IT WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! There were Christmas light everywhere! Gorgeous isn't a strong enough word. Mom was tired and cold. The weather was kind of yucky. I was very worried about her.

Of course she put on a smile in between shivers for her babies. They rode rides and ate cotton candy and took in the views.

I had fun, but I had fear in my heart that mom was over-doing it. I know her. I know her facial expressions. Though she denied it,  I could tell she was wearing down. We cut it short and headed home.

The next day, as I feared, mom was exhausted. TOO exhausted to get out of bed. We spent the day relaxing while she slept. The girls "swam" in the hot tub.

That night (Monday) came the much dreaded Dixie Stampede. I am not really one for rodeos and stuff like that. I am certainly not one for forcing my kids to sit for 2 hours. But OH MY GOODNESS! That remains my absolute FAVORITE part of the trip! It was the Christmas show and it was incredible! My kids loved it! It was the one meal we ate outside of our cabin, and it was DELICIOUS! It was GREAT, GREAT, GREAT!

The view from our porch.

Haha, it wouldn't be like me to take a good picture, now would it? Check out the view behind mama.

Tuesday we headed toward home. We made a quick stop by Ruby Falls. It was nice. Not the best thing for a family with small kids, because there are no strollers allowed. Not a great thing if you are claustrophobic either! You are inside a cave for over and hour! Mom and I both were hurting in our backs from all the walking (over a mile), But the waterfall at the end of the tour is gorgeous!

Goofing off in the car........

 Our last night was spent in Fort Payne Alabama. We stayed in a great Hotel with an indoor pool that the girls adored.

On Wednesday, we made it back into Mississippi and hurried to get started on our Thanksgiving chores.

 I am so happy that me, Michael and my brothers helped cross one more thing off of my mom's wish list--she got to see the mountains. She says that she had a blast, but like any vacation--it was exhausting. I was sad to see the trip end, but glad to be home.