Our Getaway Weekend

We had ourselves a wonderful weekend Getaway to Pigeon Forge. We went with our friends, The Hites, and had a blast! We decided to do some things that "we haven't done" on this trip. Can you believe we went to Sevierville and never once set foot into an outlet mall??? That is a major accomplishment for me!!! Hee hee. We were one with nature this weekend. Just call us Naturalists. . . We went hiking 2 different times. The first time we hiked up to Laurel Falls.
There were many Danger signs along the way--that scared "OSHA" parents. But we made it to the top without any mishaps. Our hike was pretty much non-eventful. We saw a baby snake on our way up. . .and other than a few falls into the water. . .Just us and nature!!! Great fun! Cade did tell us about his legs hurting him a couple, maybe a thousand times on our way back to our illegal parking place on the side of the road. He was asleep before we even started the car. This hike was 3.2 miles--all uphill. . .So pretty significant for little legs. :) We went and got ice cream for a mid-day snack and then went back to the cabin to chill out for a while until we got ready for our Cade's Cove adventure. We wanted to go around 5:30--so we would be sure to see plenty of "aminals"-as Cade says. Cade's cove is a beautiful place. Every time I go, I just am amazed at God's presence. It is so peaceful and absolutely beautiful. We parked our van at the entrance, and all piled into Kevin and Christy's Explorer to take off around the 7 mile loop. We saw lots of deer, wild turkey, and what everyone kept saying was a bear up in a tree. We never got close enough to see it though (because of the rude people who STOP in the middle of the road!) We pulled off on the side of the road and all hopped out and took off into the woods to "find some deer of our own". Of course, my paranoid mind, thought of all of the bad things that could happen. . . Bears attacking us, bears, and more bears. . . but James said he would protect me, and that made me feel so much better! HA! We went pretty far back into the woods, and we did see a doe. She was just standing there looking at us. I am the one who spotted her, so James now thinks I should be a Hunter. NO WAY!! I would be too scared. . . I am not such a woods girl! After walking through the woods for a litle while, we piled back in and drove the rest of the way around the loop. We saw quite a few more deer in the fields. . . and just enjoyed spending time together with good friends. Our kids were a little wild in the back. . .But they had a great time singing, playing and just being kids! We were all starved after our hike, and made plans to go to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. When we got back to the cabin everyone was exhausted and pretty much got showers, and hit the bed. We just slept in on our last morning, got up--ate breakfast and headed back home. We started Revival today and wanted to get home in time for church tonight. Thanks guys for a wonderful weekend!!! Good night.

A few comments from our trip--

-The Rail of Tragedy
-Let's eat at Taco Bell
-Could you please move your foot--so I can see the snake?
-Don't get to close to the edge of the trail?
-Do we get local channels? (Don't ask James and Kevin about this one?)
-Did you bring your Phenergan?
-Christy, did you wake up scared?
-Our waitress at AppleBarn has 2 dogs, and she wants to share her life story with us.
-Macey wants strawberry jelly--not whole strawberries
-Are Cade's legs hurting? (I think he told us this 1000 times)
-Are you boys wearing sweatshirts? I think it is just 90 degrees outside!
-Now that we have went to Cade's Cove, When can we go to Macey's Cove? (you guessed it--Cade said it!--Too Cute! Love him)