Before I even begin, can I just talk about how difficult it is going to be to get my kids back on schedule!?!
This week Darren surprised us by planning a short Hurrah in the Smoky Mountains before school starts.
Part of me was really excited (because Darren NEVER does this) but the other part was stressing because #1: My left knee has been giving me a lot of issues (as in I can barely walk normally). The doctor thinks I have an injured or torn meniscus.
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| this shot helped BUNCHES |
#2: I go back to work the next day after our arrival and you know... plans/lists must begin (puke). But when it comes to the Great Smoky Mountains, I just can't say no.
Besides, I planned to take it easy on our mini-vacation until I realized-
the mountains have a lot of elevation (aka. steps).
There were steps to the car rental, there were steps to the pool, there were steps at the park, there were steps to our house, there were steps to my bed, there were steps in every building we entered!?!
Pretty soon, I was really giving my knee an encouraging pep talk (out loud). I also took it really slowwwww. I was the last person up every time.
The first night, Connor and Darren attended the Bristol race!
Connor is a huge racing fan. You can see in this picture Kyle Busch is not his favorite.
The ladies stayed back for some reading (I'm sorry but we had to do a refresher right here before school starts), some pool time, and guess what was on in the room- Beauty and the Beast (sing along time)!
The next day, we drove to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The fog just rolled off the mountains and it was gorgeous.
Darren rented an "unknown" home and that could always spell trouble. As we drove further into the mountains and further away from town, we were very worried we made a mistake.
We literally drove straight up in the air to get to our rental.
My kids are beach people so they were pretty certain we were staying in a "dark and spooky" house. In Connor's words, "the mountains are so dark. Why do people live here?"
It wasn't The Hilton but I thought the home was fairly nice, even if it was an hour away from everything.
We busted open the hot tub and all was well......
The next day, Darren was determined to find "Goats on a Roof", someone told him it was really cool. All we could find was this gift shop with four live goats in the center of the room.
I googled later and think maybe we were suppose to find this place. Oh well, the kids still loved it. 😀
The kids loved Hard Rock Cafe (look at those dang steps). This was a first visit.
We played 20 questions (one person thinks of a person, place, or thing and then the other party asks questions until they can think of what "it" is).
Darren and I got into a fuss because he said he was thinking of a "thing" and guess what it was!?! Sir Purr!
That is totally in the category of PERSON.
Sir Purr is in the PERSON category not the THING category or at the very least the ANIMAL category. Don't you agree??
We did some good back to school shopping.
Connor bought Carlee this super, glitter dolphin from the Goats on a Roof shop. I sure wasn't paying for the ugly thing but she loves it.
The next day the kids really wanted to go back to the NASCAR park (from last year).
Prior to this they wanted to wear their new school shoes, which I thought was a great idea to break them in, but Darren thought they should keep them clean and not wear them.
Of course, as luck would have it I let them wear them anddddd- puddles everywhere!
(see Carlee's rain dance)
I hate it when I'm wrong.
We had fun even though it began to rain off and on.
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| Sweet Picture with Daddy |
I couldn't participate much but I'm really glad the kids had big fun with Darren, lots of giggles on the fast rides.
We were really proud of Connor for rock climbing (he is so scared of heights). He didn't get far but we said he could scale it next year (minus the greasy pretzel he had just eaten). 😀
He also got mad at me for yelling out directions (I call it encouragement).
I did find a sweet shop named after me:
The next day we played:
Black Light Putt Putt Golf
I may have mentioned before that I was voted "Most Likely to Trip at my High School Graduation" for a good reason. I remain a klutz.
What goes really bad with a bad knee?
Me + Black. Light. Golf.
That evening we enjoyed a cheesecake buffet for Darren's Birthday.
Guess who forgot the birthday cards?
I am terrible.
Due to the weather, we skipped the hot tub and went for the jet bath.
Our rental came with a club pass. We had to drive on the side of the mountain to get to it but we did get one day of swimming between rain. Even in the mountains the humidity was cray cray.
Now I'm off to hobble around the house before my first work day but the beautiful mountain memories will remain in my heart.
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