gatlinburg, 2017

We spent our long weekend in Gatlinburg with some of our favorite people. The kids have been so excited about our trip to the mountains, but when BK realized our cabin was actually in the mountains, she quickly made a check-list for our next cabin. She said this one had everything on her checklist except, being too close to the edge and that’s a dangerous place for children. 

I promise I did my best parenting and at no point was there any danger. We’ll consult her checklist next time.

The Christmas tree was still up in the cabin and they were so excited about that part! We stayed in Friday evening, cooked delicious food and played card games. I could seriously spend the entire weekend in the cabin.

After sleeping in on Saturday, we ventured into town and did a little exploring. Braylen’s first stop was the arcade and a homemade corn dog that was enormous.

We slept late every single morning. When we finally did get out and about, it was definitely to find food. And we all wore plaid on the same day.

I’ve been vacationing with these 4 for as long as I can remember. We’re spread out from Birmingham to Oakland, California, so making a vacation work these days is tough.

But we did it! The gangs all here!

Later that night, BK and Jud stayed back at the cabin and we played an escape game with Chase and Haley. It was super fun and challenging. I think we have a local one here in Birmingham and I can’t wait to try out another one.

Monday morning we drove into the mountains a bit. The devastation from the recent wildfires was evident on our first day, as we drove to our cabin up Ski Mountain Road and saw that the majority of cabins were completely destroyed. I wasn’t quite prepared for just how immense and wide spread the damage would be. As we drove up the mountain, it almost looked like a different place. With the under brush burned away, you can see deep into the woods.

Braylen did her favorite thing at every stop, read.

I informed the whole group that we’re going to start hiking, so get your hiking shoes ready for next time.

We did a little exploring at the top of the mountain.

The weather was great, but at the top it was about 15 degrees cooler, so we we had to grab a couple of jackets out of the back of the car. Judson never misses the opportunity to say cheese.  

We had so much fun and it was a much needed break in the middle of a super busy January. As Jud realizes that we’re on vacation and away from the house more and more, we can’t help but laugh at all the funny things he says. He was seriously worried that we were never coming back home on night 2 and voiced his concern to anyone who would listen. He wanted to go back home with his dog and his dinosaurs and he wanted us to know that the cabin was not his new house. He keeps us laughing!