We haven't taken many vacations, and the ones we have taken have been no more than four days in length. As a family, we have decided to use our vacation time primarily for spiritual enrichment and then take short weekend trips for recreation. As gas prices have gone up, our weekend excursions have been limited as well.
Late last fall, Greg's employer set up some one-time incentives in addition to quarterly bonuses. Those who reached the top tier on the incentive list qualified for a $3,000 vacation plus a sizeable bonus. Greg blessed us by busting it and reaching the top, and was given a voucher to go through a travel agency for our vacation. After making a few phone calls, the conclusion was that most of the vacations were to destinations like the Caribbean islands, etc., and that didn't really appeal to us for a few reasons...namely $3,000 won't get a family of 6 very much of a vacation if flights and resorts are involved! We wanted to stretch the money as far as we could. He talked with his employer and explained our feelings, and the employer was gracious enough to allow any who wanted to pay for their own vacation and then turn in receipts for reimbursement. That's when planning started to get fun!
Long story short, the kids really wanted to go back to the Smoky Mts. We hadn't been since I was pregnant for Allison. After all the plans were made and the kids had to wait for what seemed like forever (8 months!), the time for our vacation finally rolled around. We had scheduled it for the very last thing in the summer, and for that I am so thankful! When arranging the timing, we had no idea I would be recouperating from a broken ankle. God was definitely watching out for us.
Our cabin was perfect. It was two story with two master suites, a game room, two beautiful decks, two hot tubs, a jacuzzi, and access to a nice inground pool at the bottom of the mountain.
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| Wish I had taken all the pics with my "real" camera. This was the accurate color in the cabin. It was spectacular. |
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| Now for some washed out cell pics. :-( |
We enjoyed a perfect blend of rest, entertainment, and family fun.
Playing in a mountain brook...
Seeing the wildlife in Cade's Cove - the goal is to always see a black bear, and this time a bear was our first wildlife sighting!
Lots of rides and go-carts!
Getting ready to have a steak at Logan's...
The Aquarium is usually on our list. What a fun, cool place!
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| Notice Kait's reaction to her dad playing with sea life... |
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| Inside the penguin house |
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| The tunnel is always the best part, although the girls really liked the mermaid show this time. |
Dixie Stampede...
And Ripley's Odditorium in Gatlinburg...
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| My guys don't seem very tall... |
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| Thanks to John Dillinger, Lima will always be famous. :-) |
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| Who's up for some deep fried oreos? |
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| Hangin' out at the race tracks...again. :-) |
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| Amazing lunch at the Old Mill |
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| ...with homemade ice cream |
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| Mmmmmm |
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| Greg and Alli in the tiny pink car...lol. |
And then to the Guiness Book of World Records...
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| World's tallest living woman...she has Greg beat! |
We all agree...our favorite part of the vacation, hands down, was the cabin. We had considered splitting up the time and money and going on two trips, but it was so restful to be able to spend 9 days and 8 nights at one location. And it was pretty nice to turn in a stack of receipts and receive a check to cover all the fun we'd just had!
And that's why they call them the Smoky Mountains.
