LEARNING AS WE GO: Tennessee Road Trip

I've had a weekend to settle back in from our trip to Tennessee. It already seems like weeks ago that we went. I imagine it's because we crammed a million activities into about 5 days - but that's how we roll. We like it crazy and chaotic. And then we like to complain about it.

Before we even headed west, we actually traveled north to Raleigh to see Amanda, Scott & Bryson. They were in town visiting Amanda's Dad and Judy. With only three hours between us, there was no way we couldn't swing by to see them before they headed back to Florida. It was a quick stay over visit - cooked out with the family, hung out for a few hours and then out the door the next morning.

What a cutie Bryson is and growing by the second. Mattie and Evan couldn't keep their hands off of him. Evan is even more convinced now that he wants a baby at home (keep dreaming, bud).

On to Tennessee we go. Initially, Robert was going to make this trip alone because he was going to Pigeon Forge for business. But I figured since he was gonna be so close to Knoxville, it would be really nice if the kids and I came along and we all visited with Robert's family. I was quite aware it would be a quick visit, but I also knew it was important for the kids to see their grandparents while we had the chance.

We stayed the first two nights in Pigeon Forge while Robert worked. I dragged the kids to the Outlet Mall one day, but repaid them with race car driving and amusement rides later that evening.

We also had a pretty good dinner at the historic Old Mill Pottery House Grille. All of the food was served on plates made at the Pottery House which was a nice touch. The area surrounding the Grille was charming as well.

Our second day was spent at Dolly Parton's Splash Country. This water park puts Garden City's Wild, Water & Wheels to shame. It is a traditional theme park, just like Dollywood, except it's all water rides - not to mention, it is HUGE. The kids loved it. Robert and Evan chose not to wait in the hour long lines for the big water slides, but we had just as much fun hanging out in the kiddie parks. We also randomly ran into Cousin Matt & Heather whom we would be seeing later in the week.

Once we got to Knoxville, we had about 36 hours to visit with everyone. Evan's birthday was only a day away so we thought it would be fun to have a party for him while we were there. He has never had the pleasure of having both sets of grandparents at one of his birthdays - not to mention aunts, uncles and cousins! He had a blast!