Gatlinburg, Day 1

On Wednesday afternoon, we decided that we would join some family members in Gatlinburg for the remainder of the week. Terrie, Rob and Josh had been there since Tuesday, and Kim, Ayed and Abdullah joined them on Wednesday; we would be going Thursday-Saturday. You know, leaving at 4am on Thursday, approximately 14 hours after making the decision? That was a much easier task when we were two adults instead of a family of four with 2 one-year-olds! Still, thanks to some wonderful gifts from relatives we were able to make the whirlwind trip happen, and are so glad we did!

I had recently picked up neck pillows for our Florida drive (yes, we're driving. Don't get me started, I am nauseated whenever I think of it!). We thought they'd be put to good use driving that early in the morning, but mostly the girls thought they were just fabulous stuffed animals to play with! (Eventually, Elise would follow mama's example (shh.... I stole Avery's when she was sleeping (and not using it!)) and use it "correctly", but I digress).

After just under 6 hours (not bad for a previous 5 hour and 20 minute drive with no stops), we were finally in the beautiful Smoky Mountains! We checked into our great villa(?) which connected to Kim, Ayed, and Abdullah's. Look at the view --

As soon as we arrived, we spent some time at the Clubhouse eating lunch and hanging out with everyone there. There was even a Duplo table, and the girls went to town entertaining us all! :)

After a (very short) nap, we hung out at Aunt Terrie's ("Ti-ee's") a while, then headed downtown. Many of us have traveled to Gatlinburg a lot, but for some it was the first time. We had beautiful weather the whole trip, but the evenings did start to get a little chilly.

Around 6, it was time for us to head back to Ti-ee's for dinner, and then to bed exhausted! The girls got the bedroom (because of it's dark, quiet qualities (like a cave)), and Kyle and I opted to sleep on the couch pull-out. Ask me about it sometime, it was definitely an adventure... but better than us all keeping one another awake!