 |
| Before we made it to Gatlinburg, we stopped in Sevierville to visit Baker and his crew. Lauren had a blast playing with the kids her age. We have Lauren, Emma, (a nephew whose name has slipped my mind!), and Hailey. |
 |
| We passed through Chestnut Hill, TN on the way to see baker. We were completely astounded when we saw Bush's Baked Beans had a plant (along with Ball jars) in this tiny town! The tacky tourists we are, we had to stop to see the museum! Lauren posing by a Bush's truck. |
 |
| A rare Paul, Lauren, and Lisa picture! (Thanks, Kay!) |
 |
| Lauren attempting to steal the secret family bean recipe (behind glass and lasers!). |
 |
| We rented a cabin while we were in TN and we were SPOILED by it! Lauren's favorite part was the hot tub so she could go swimming! |
 |
| Jeremy and crew had to rent a much larger cabin. Here are Kasey, Lauren, Aunt Ivy, and Evie as we sing happy birthday to James (who turned 11). |
 |
| Uncle David loved snuggling Lauren and Evie, the only girls and the two youngest of the Wade kiddos. |
 |
| Cheri had a friend, Cinnamon, who had moved into the Gatlinburg area. Her daughter, Lauren, and Evie enjoyed the Nook! |
 |
| We stopped at a beef jerky store and for the first time EVER, I saw the insect candy on sale by the maker Hot Lix. They use REAL insects in the candy. here are ants and mealworms on sale. Paul and I have an episode of candy from the Food Network on these things! |
 |
| Lauren was completely repulsed when I asked if we should get a scorpion sucker for Logan! |
 |
| Possible Christmas card? We went on a wine-tasting tour and ended up at a Christmas shop at the first orchard. |
 |
| Paul wasn't happy that I insisted upon a picture of us, but oh well! We both found a wine we liked so happy birthday to us! |
 |
| Paul said the only thing he wanted to do was to see a dinner show, so the Hatfields and McCoys won! Just the mommies and daddies went while Aunt Ivy and Uncle David volunteers to keep the 7 kids at Jeremy's! They ALL had a blast! |
 |
| Jeremy and Cheri; Jess and Jon |
 |
| Our bootleg copy of the dinner show picture--Cheri, Jeremy, Kay, Paul (with the stinky kitty on his shoulder!), me, Jon, and Jess |
 |
| The two female cousins, loving time together |
 |
| Paul, Lisa, Lauren in front of Christmas Inn (This got out of order!) |
 |
| Ride 'em, Jon-boy and Evie! |
 |
| We hit the Ripley's Aquarium because we thought the girls would love it--they did! Look at this sawfish--it looks like it's laughing at us! Creepy, huh? |
 |
| Yo, ho ho and Lauren at the wheel! Move over, Captain Hook!! |
 |
| They had these awesome tubes kids could climb in to get INTO the exhibits! Here are Dory and Nemo! |
 |
| An awesome penguin exhibit--I climbed through with the girls |
 |
| Gotta love those Wade girls! |
 |
| Bad penguin! Don't touch Jess like that! |
 |
| OOH, my! This reminds me of Vegas... |
 |
| If I can't get any, neither can you, Mr. Penguin! |
 |
| Matching Shark-tooth necklaces! We saw the divers collecting the actual shark teeth that go to make the necklaces. Pretty cool! |
 |
| Lauren, Evie, Jon, and Jess went to swim at their hotel while Kay, Paul, and I finished our wine tour. Once we met up again, we went gemming with pails and the such. The girls LOVED this! (Paul did too which ended up in a new obsession for the two of them!) |
 |
| Jess and Evie, ready to mine! |
 |
| Lauren was VERY motivated to find a purple rock. |
 |
| We met up with the rest of the Wade crew to see a family show at The Comedy Barn. Here are Jess, Jon, Uncle David, Aunt Ivy, Evie, and Kolby... |
 |
| At the end of that aisle are James, Cheri, Jeremy, Kyler, Ryan, and Kasey. Paul, Lauren, Kay, and I were in the middle of them all. |
 |
| The kids got called up on stage--there is Lauren in the purple plaid shorts and white flowered tank! |
 |
| Our last morning in Gatlinburg, we had Jon, Jess, and Evie join us at the cabin for breakfast. The girls were loving it and had to have a pic of their zebra and kitty. |
 |
| Because, for the first time EVER, we had the shortest driving distance home (3 1/2 hours), we stayed to play at WonderWorks, AKA "The Upside Down House". It was a science museum. Lauren was a little too young and short for it, but Paul had a blast! Maybe in another 2-3 years. |
 |
| Paul rock climbed. I did too only not very prettily or gracefully. |
 |
| A human-size piano! Lauren would NOT share! |
 |
| Paul played on the Bed of Nails. He said it wasn't so bad but it did poke a little bit. |
I will have one more post to cover through Lauren's birthday. Needless to say, I spent a LOT of time not at home (3 weeks) or having people in my home (another 3 weeks). That pretty much took the rest of my summer! Where did it go? Rumor has it that the state will allow us to start school earlier again next year. If that is the case, I'll have maybe 3-4 weeks of summer and then back to work! YUCK!
