Family vacay post #1
So this is the first time we have really taken a BIG vacation together as a family since Addison was born. There was some worry about how she would do...will she nap, will she scream in the car the whole way there and home (16hr drive)...will she be crabby baby the whole time. The fears had us a little anxious about our planned vacation.
We packed relatively light...especially for us...and set out on our way last Thursday the 19th. We loaded up the Outlook and set out at 6pm ready to drive all night long so we would arrive in time for our 1pm check in and hopefully have all the girls sleep most of the way here so we would have less crying, bathroom breaks, food breaks, etc.
For the most part our plan worked. The two older girls (we brought my niece Haven with us so Shayna would have a friend her age) slept a good portion of the way after we watched Enchanted with our nifty built in DVD player and wireless headsets. (So loving having that!)
Steve drove most of the way but I did drive from 12:30am - 3:30am and another hour or so that next morning so he could get a little rest. Addison did some sleeping...and some fussing. But once daylight hit she was all smiles and cuteness. She really loves her big sis and her cousin BIG TIME! They can make her smile and giggle when no one else can.
Once we arrived, we got all checked in and hung out in our cabin while we waited for our friends Dan and Liberty to get here and check in with their family. What a great cabin! I will post some pics when we get back. We have a bedroom for us with a MASSIVE jacuzzi tub and the girls have their own room and bathroom as well. Both bedrooms have doors that lead out to our private balcony with a table and chairs so we can hang out and be one with nature when we feel like it.
(the mesquitos are biting pretty bad out there though so this has not been an entirely pleasurable experience for Dan who they seem to love the most).
That first night we were all pretty tired and hungry..so we hit up a restaurant in Gatlinburg real quick (not diggin on their food so much...but the house brewed beer was good) and then did some window shopping along the main strip before deciding that we were ready to come back and hit the hay. Well...the girls did anyway. Liberty crashed out at their pad...and Addison and I did at ours...the teens stayed up giggling and watching TV while the men smoked some cigars on the balcony till 1 or 2 in the morning. Good stuff!
The next day, Saturday, we took the kids to the waterpark here at the resort. It is a great big indoor waterpark with a retractable roof that is mostly for little kids, but has a lazy river and some waterslides that all the bigger kids seemed to like okay. Shayna and Haven were pretty much ready to split after less than an hour though and took off to go work out in the fitness room while the rest of us stayed for a couple of hours at the waterpark. Addison liked the baby area...she just struggled with how cold the water was. Luckily, the hot tub wasn't really all that hot so she and I played in there for a little and both of us were much happier with that than the cold temps of the baby zone.
The rest of Saturday we spent with Steve's father and sister at the RV campground where they are staying. It was really great to see Becky...it has been years. Addison got to finally meet her Aunt B and Kermit (Gigi & Pops new doggie).
After a few hours I was falling asleep and Addison was melting down from the minimal naps...so we came back home and got her to bed. By then I had my second wind and we spent the evening playing chicken foot with Dan and Liberty on the balcony drinking wine and having a good time.
More on the rest of our trip later...time to get ready so we can all go to the aquarium in a few hours!
We packed relatively light...especially for us...and set out on our way last Thursday the 19th. We loaded up the Outlook and set out at 6pm ready to drive all night long so we would arrive in time for our 1pm check in and hopefully have all the girls sleep most of the way here so we would have less crying, bathroom breaks, food breaks, etc.
For the most part our plan worked. The two older girls (we brought my niece Haven with us so Shayna would have a friend her age) slept a good portion of the way after we watched Enchanted with our nifty built in DVD player and wireless headsets. (So loving having that!)
Steve drove most of the way but I did drive from 12:30am - 3:30am and another hour or so that next morning so he could get a little rest. Addison did some sleeping...and some fussing. But once daylight hit she was all smiles and cuteness. She really loves her big sis and her cousin BIG TIME! They can make her smile and giggle when no one else can.
Once we arrived, we got all checked in and hung out in our cabin while we waited for our friends Dan and Liberty to get here and check in with their family. What a great cabin! I will post some pics when we get back. We have a bedroom for us with a MASSIVE jacuzzi tub and the girls have their own room and bathroom as well. Both bedrooms have doors that lead out to our private balcony with a table and chairs so we can hang out and be one with nature when we feel like it.
(the mesquitos are biting pretty bad out there though so this has not been an entirely pleasurable experience for Dan who they seem to love the most).
That first night we were all pretty tired and hungry..so we hit up a restaurant in Gatlinburg real quick (not diggin on their food so much...but the house brewed beer was good) and then did some window shopping along the main strip before deciding that we were ready to come back and hit the hay. Well...the girls did anyway. Liberty crashed out at their pad...and Addison and I did at ours...the teens stayed up giggling and watching TV while the men smoked some cigars on the balcony till 1 or 2 in the morning. Good stuff!
The next day, Saturday, we took the kids to the waterpark here at the resort. It is a great big indoor waterpark with a retractable roof that is mostly for little kids, but has a lazy river and some waterslides that all the bigger kids seemed to like okay. Shayna and Haven were pretty much ready to split after less than an hour though and took off to go work out in the fitness room while the rest of us stayed for a couple of hours at the waterpark. Addison liked the baby area...she just struggled with how cold the water was. Luckily, the hot tub wasn't really all that hot so she and I played in there for a little and both of us were much happier with that than the cold temps of the baby zone.
The rest of Saturday we spent with Steve's father and sister at the RV campground where they are staying. It was really great to see Becky...it has been years. Addison got to finally meet her Aunt B and Kermit (Gigi & Pops new doggie).
After a few hours I was falling asleep and Addison was melting down from the minimal naps...so we came back home and got her to bed. By then I had my second wind and we spent the evening playing chicken foot with Dan and Liberty on the balcony drinking wine and having a good time.
More on the rest of our trip later...time to get ready so we can all go to the aquarium in a few hours!
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