Back to School

It's hard to believe it's that time again already!

Here are the kids on the first day of school.

Courtney is in first grade, Alyssa is in third,

and Jordan starts MIDDLE SCHOOL!

Our Tennessee Adventure

We wanted to squeeze in one last vacation before school started, so we took off for Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains. We divided our time each day between tourist stuff in Gatlinburg and hiking/exploring in the park. We had a great time, and no one wanted to come home!

On our first day there, as we were walking around downtown Gatlinburg, Jordan spotted a hotel sign with an important letter missing. That became the joke for the rest of the week as we compared hotel amenities. "Sure, it's a nice place, but does it have heated poo??" =)

We toured Cades Cove, an old farming community from the 1800's. The kids are on the porch of one of the old homes.

Gatlinburg is filled with things to do (ie: ways to spend your money). This outdoor mini golf course was built on the side of a large hill, so you had to keep climbing up to get to the next hole. The indoor course was done in black light, so we all glowed as we putted along. And just for the record, Dad won both rounds. =)

One of our favorites was our trek to Laurel Falls. The kids loved the rocks, and they stopped to climb all along the way.

Dad and Courtney on the way up.

The trail ended about halfway up the falls. Once there, the girls took off their shoes and splashed in water. It was VERY cold!

From there, we climbed down the rocks and made our way to the bottom of the falls. We felt like a little family of mountain climbers, and Courtney declared her love of rock climbing. =)

Once at the bottom, the kids had a great time climbing and exploring the rocks.

A family pic at the bottom of the falls!

Another day we took a scary-high tram ride into the mountains near Gatlinburg. This picture is from the highest point on the ride, with Gatlinburg down below. There were several towers along the way, and the tram would rock slowly back and forth as we passed thru each one. It was a little unnerving. =)

The kids loved the tram ride, though, and had no issues with the heights. In the picture, you can see Jordan calmly videotaping the whole ride. =)

The tram took us up to "Ober Gatlinburg," an amusement park with tons to do. And what were the kids most excited about?? The bumper cars!! =)

We also hiked to Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains. Jason and the kids are waving at picture-happy mom from the observation tower.

The kids thought it was cool to stand in two states at once. =)


With the exception of Courtney (who thought too many things were scary), we all had fun at the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. Here are Jordan and Alyssa next to a model of the tallest man. Doesn't look like it's in our genes... =)

Enjoying funnel cakes while walking around downtown Gatlinburg after dinner one night.

The kids loved exploring around this stream in the park. Here they are looking for worms.

And here's Courtney holding her "special" worm which ended up staying with us...until it was time to get back in the van. =)

Dad came on this vacation hoping to see a bear. All during the week, we'd seen signs, read pamphlets, etc. about how bears are everywhere in the Great Smoky Mountains. Even on one of our hikes, we just missed seeing two bears by a couple of minutes (according to people we passed on the trail). Dad was pretty bummed. Anyway, on our way home, we took the route that took us thru the park. We were driving along and suddenly noticed a bunch of stopped cars. "It's a bear!" yelled Dad. Thankfully, no one was behind us, so he threw the van in reverse and backed into the parking lot we'd just passed. And right there, not more than 15 feet away was the bear we'd been waiting for. I asked the kids if they thought I should jump out and get a little closer for a better picture, and they screamed, "No!" =)

What a great trip!