to the smokies!

this was our beautiful cabin... three stories...wrap around porch...LOVELY!

our first evening there was gracie's bday... we celebrated with yummy cupcakes that anna lisa made!

she opened some gifts - we got her a balloon and a princess water bottle.

she had plenty of people to hand her gifts... ha! 

here was the view that we awoke to on our first morning.

and then it was off to cade's cove.  i took this shot through the windshield - it was SUCH a pretty drive. 

the lord said "let there be..." and it was GOOD! 

the boys were checking out a black bear from the moon roof!

later in our adventure we spotted another black bear with two baby cubs!

there are cabins all over the cove that have been there since the 1800s.  the whole area was saturated in history - really cool place to visit!

the kids walked the trail to john oliver's cabin thought to have been built in 1826.  17 children were BORN in this cabin... oh my!

after lunch we hung out by mill creek

and saw the grist mill

i caught one of my favorite pictures of the year... aahhh!

then it was back to the hot tub for some splashin around

the kids did lots of playing in the cabin

max did lots of dancing.  isn't he a cutie!?

caleb could always be found with that helicopter in his hand

and the girls... what else, barbies 24/7

before you knew it, we were at breakfast saying our goodbyes.

(the boys wore their orange gear for the big game... which the cowboys won... so sorry aggies).

and hey... four adults vs. seven kids... we did pretty good!  :)

allie really enjoyed time with girls!  when she returned to school today, she asked her daddy to pray that she wouldn't miss caroline and gracie too much! 

 such good memories!

wedding pics are next up...