Great Smoky Mountains (part 2-Dollywood)

Something kind of neat about Dollywood is that if you go after 3pm then you get the next day's park admission free! So, we took advantage of this perk and closed the park down the first day and opened and closed the park the next day! The kids were total champs. Keagan even ended up with a migraine headache part way through day 2 and spent about 4 hours puking and crying and sleeping in the stroller. But then was a champ and ate a little supper and was raring to go with no more issues! (yes, I have a child that suffers incapacitating migraines...we are learning triggers, but Keagan hadn't had one in a while that we didn't think about it during this trip)

Day 1 - basically a get-to-know-the-park day. We spent a lot of time in one area and didn't do a whole lot of roller coasters.

Day 2 - Keagan rode every roller coaster that he could except one (and it was a crazy wooden roller coaster that Josh rode on first and told Keagan and I not to ride because it was rough). The big one that made us the most proud was The Eagle. It was a roller coaster that dangled your feet and had several inversions. It was an awesome coaster, and he loved it...after we had issues of him chickening out just as it was time to get on! But then he wanted to ride it a couple times. We were so proud of him!

Finley couldn't ride most of the rides because he wasn't tall enough, but he was pretty thrilled to ride this junior coaster! And from the looks of it, it was actually pretty intense!!

Dollywood was so much fun and such an easy amusement park to take the family to. We decided after 2 days at Dollywood that it was much easier than Disney World. And much cheaper. And closer. And less stressful. So we came up with the phrase Why Disney when you can Dolly? Of course, we will still be taking the kids to Disney because they have begged to go back someday. Someday....

Great Smoky Mountains (part 1)

Right before school started we decided to take the kids on an end-of-the-summer trip. We have had a great summer with our new boat, but we had so much fun with them in Knoxville that we made a quick decision to jaunt up to Pigeon Forge for several days. We didn't tell them anything was going on and packed up the car without them having any clue what was happening! We planned this to be a super fun trip, full of surprises...and in full reality it was all a surprise for us. We arrived in Pigeon Forge around 11pm, and thought the kids would be exhausted and go right to sleep in the hotel. Wrong. The boys didn't do too bad, but Maclyn did not sleep. And so we did not sleep. Maybe 3 hours total. (TOTAL) Josh tried driving her around, I tried giving her a midnight snack, we tried lullabies and rocking, even letting her sleep in our bed. Nothing worked. I couldn't let her cry it out because we were in a hotel with paper-thin walls. The next morning I felt like I had been hit by a train after an all-nighter fraternity party...but no alcohol was consumed. We were all exhausted and cranky. And the boys' miserable behavior was just beginning.

We rallied and decided to take a hike to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the Smoky Mountains. (Because isn't that what you do on zero sleep?) There was a lot of whining, but overall it was a good trek. We only did the paved hike...it was super steep but only about a half mile long. This was after about an hour drive in the mountains...and we didn't bring food or water...and then an hour drive back to civilization. Can you tell we aren't really outdoorsy?! Anyways, the view was gorgeous and even though we were literal zombies, the pictures turned out great!

Appalachian Trail!  (We didn't hike any of it...but let the kids walk on a portion of it for pictures. Haha!)

Once we got back down to Gatlinburg and filled our bellies, the kids really wanted to go on a ski lift ride. They loved riding up the side of the mountain. Unfortunately we couldn't get off at the top because the recent fires destroyed their gift shop and lookout.

Our night that night (and all other nights thereafter) was much better. All the kids slept and so did Josh and I. It made our moods much better. Unfortunately we were hit with how entitled our kids were the next day. We were pretty disappointed in how much they whined and demanded we take them to do things and how we never bought them anything and it was really sad. We honestly were upset because Josh and I had initially planned this time to be an anniversary trip, but we didn't want to leave the kids because we knew they'd enjoy it. But then they threw this nasty behavior in our faces and it was rough. Luckily, things improved but the taste was left in our mouths.

Happy 5th Birthday Finny!!

Ok, so it is way past Finn's 5th birthday (July 27th!!) but it still must be documented! And each and every birthday is important so, you know, this Mama goes big or goes home!!!

At 5 years old Finley continues to be hands-down, 100%, the most passionate kid I have ever met (this can be a good or a not-so-good trait). He is super smart and says some of the funniest things I have ever heard come out of a child's mouth. In short, and I have said it before, Finley humbles me as a parent and gives my life a lot of spice (and a lot of sugar, too!).  He is a creature of habit and likes a plan, and when said plan is disrupted just a little bit it throws Finn off like no other. But because I don't like to rock his boat, and because it was his birthday, I promised Finners I would decorate and "surprise" him for his 5th Birthday. So he awoke to his bottom bunk being covered in streamers and celebratory stars from strings. 

Lotsa help opening presents!!!

And lotsa help reading his cards.

And lotsa help putting together his birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa!

Finley's 5th Birthday party was at the Murray Jump House (or as Finn says, the "Mary" jump house). He chose a Star Wars theme. In fact, he chose his entire birthday party place and theme a looooong time ago. Oh, and he really wanted a gold #5 balloon. That's all he really cared about. Mama made sure this happened!

The Cake!!! Finn was very excited about his cake! (It was as delicious as it is awesome looking!)

Bouncy house time!!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet second baby!! I am certain I was just typing up his first birthday post....