Gatlinburg, Part 9: Fun With The Girls

 The second half of the week, my parents and nieces came down to spend a few nights with us.  This was the first time we have seen Paula and Samantha in nearly a year, so it was a really nice treat to see them and spend time with them.

Cutie kids at sunset:

 The girls are always so good with Ava and Aidan.  They all snuggled in to watch "The Muppets":

 After spending half the day in the water park, we headed to town for the evening for dinner and some shopping and strolling:

 We ended the night at an ice cream shop that I had been fawning over the entire week.  It was a great way to spend our last night in Gatlinburg.  Aidan opted for Superman ice cream:

 And Samantha did too :)

 Our last walk back to our room :(

And...our last BEAUTIFUL (if I may add) sunset...

Gatlinburg, Part 8: The Track

 One evening we headed over to Pigeon Forge for some go-kartin'/bumper boatin'/kiddie ride goodness.  The kids really liked the fast karts and lots of giggling ensued:

 

 It was a good thing the karts were so fast - the wind blew Uncle Drew's hair out of his face so that he could see where he was going:

 I sat out the bumper boats (I figured since I was wearing a white tank top it would be the best for all involved).  Aidan and Pepaw teamed up to take down their bumper boat enemies:

 

 There were go-kart tracks in kiddie land that the kids could drive themselves.  It was too stinkin' cute for words:

 

 The kids liked this ride at first, but it literally lasted five minutes.  We were a bit nervous the kids would get off the ride a little "sea sick".  This was about the moment when the kids started getting pretty bored with it:

 To cap off the evening, Uncle Drew and Jacob took the kids for a spin with our last few tokens:

 

 

Gatlinburg, Part 7: Gettin' Our Swim On

 When we were in Gatlinburg, we made really good use of the pool and on-site indoor water park.  Since we were renting the time share, we had free admission into the water park all week - so we went THREE times!

It was like a "Great Wolf Lodge", Jr.  There was a lazy river, a couple of water slides, and a water "tree house" complete with the huge bucket that dumps on everyone in the immediate area.

The kids were big fans of the lazy river.  Mommy and Daddy liked the relaxation of it:

Except when getting pummeled by one of the many waterfalls and/or buckets that will dump on a moment's notice:

We also spent a lot of time in the indoor pool - it came in handy the day we went and it was raining all day:

When possible, we hit up the outdoor pool to splash around and catch some rays.  Daddy proved to be an excellent flotation device:

And, thanks to these awesome "Dollar Tree" water cannons, our kids were the most popular at the pool:

Aidan liked spending some time soakin' in the hot tub:

And our view from the pool.  Quite breathtaking, really:

Gatlinburg, Part 6: Getting Immersed in Local Culture

While in Tennessee, it is only natural - and expected - to take in some local customs and cultures.  There was a Moonshine Holler on the strip that promised to be an interesting place to visit and sample the real stuff.  Sean and I took Pepaw for some samples while the kids hung out with Memaw, Uncle Drew, and Jacob:

 

 We scored some yummy pink lemonade flavored 'shine:

 Oh, AND they sold Yuengling there!  This is a regional beer you can only find in certain states and man, was it yummy sitting on the back deck while playing Euchre:

 Gatlinburg also boasts some Pepper Palace stores, where you can sample and buy hot sauces, salsas, candies, etc.  Sean was up for the challenge:

 He took it like a champ - I was so proud *sarcasm*.

 And for good measure, this was our view on the deck as we played cards and had a few night caps:

Gatlinburg, Part 5: Parrot Mountain

One day on vacation, a traveling field trip of sorts came to the resort.  There is a bird refuge in Gatlinburg called "Parrot Mountain" where people can pay to hand-feed the birds with nectar, and admire the pretty creatures flying about.

As luck would have it, Parrot Mountain came to use and the kids got to hold some pretties:

 Aidan was skittish of little Peanut.  If you've ever held a bird, you know they usually like to use their beaks to test the steadiness of your finger before they stand on it.  Aidan read this as "the bird is biting me" and was more than happy to admire from a far from that point on:

 Ava, on the other hand, was our very own Dr. Doolittle:

Gatlinburg, Part 4: Take a Hike

And we did, too!  Once again, we revisited a place we had been on our previous Gatlinburg trip, and that was a hike to Laurel Falls.  It's just over a mile hike to the falls, but it is rather steep.  Ava made it the whole way unscathed, however Aidan got pretty worn out and we had to carry him a few times (that was pretty awesome).

 Jacob, Pepaw, Aidan, Memaw, and Sean on the way up:

 There were some pretty flowers along the way, and Ava wanted to pick some, but I convinced her a picture would be better so we could always remember them (plus, I didn't like the idea of her reaching into a bush on the side of a mountain and potentially taking a tumble):

 This rock has some historic significance for us.  You guessed it - Sean and I posed for a pic on this very same rock and it still sits in our Great Smoky Mountains picture frame:

 On the way up:

 We made it!  The rocks were very slippery: Aidan slipped a couple times, and some woman completely bit it and took a boy down with her.  The view was definitely worth it :)

 After the hike, we needed some nourishment since we burned all those calories, so we went into town to grab some pizza.  Just outside the restaurant the kids spotted this super cool chair and they immediately climbed up and demanded I take a picture:

 Oh, I forgot: It was pizza AND beer.  Hey, we were on vacation!

 The pizza place was one where people could decorate and hang dollar bills.  Ava loved this, and decided to decorate one of her very own:

 Just in case you couldn't see in the other picture, it does say, "I love Ian".  She professed her love for all of Gatlinburg to see: