Emma Claire's First Sleepover

Emma Claire is having her first 'friend' sleepover with her cousin Branna!! Can you tell they are already having a ball?! I hope Aunt Hannah and Uncle Brandon are up for the challenge!

Dollywood Day #2

Day #3 on vacation was not only a fun family day but it was also mine and Benjamin's 7th anniversary! What a fun place to celebrate! We started off the morning with going to one our favorite places in downtown Gatlinburg, the Pancake Pantry. It is oh, so, good! My choice is always peach delight and Benjamin's is chocolate chip pancakes. Just look how yummy that food looks!

After spending some time in downtown Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, we loaded up the big kids and headed back to Dollywood for day #2! These girls were just giddy about going back.

Of course we had to have couple shots inside this heart for our anniversary! We had one made with Emma Claire but for whatever reason it didn't turn out.

The girls were fearless riding some of these rides. Just look how high they were!

We also hopped on one of the favorites, the Dollywood Express!

We got to see some beautiful sites!

Emma Claire was SO tired. I caught this shot of her curled up with her Aunt Hannah.

I have no clue why everytime I tell Emma Claire to smile she throws out one of these poses!

While the big boys went to ride some of the bigger rides Hannah and I took Emma Claire, Branna, and James to see Christmas on Ice. The entire time we talked about going Emma Claire opposed the idea. She just wanted to ride the rides but I tried to explain to her that she would love the show; and I was right! As soon as the show started her mouth flew open and she was entranced the entire time.

It was really good! One of the things I admire about Dollywood is their focus on Jesus birth as the true meaning of Christmas and they portray that in every show.

Before we left we wanted to take the kids to ride one of the bigger indoor roller coasters. Hannah and I were a little nervous about riding it! We weren're sure how the kids would do but they LOVED it! I sat behind Emma Claire and Benjamin and as I was screaming in anticipation of what was coming Emma Claire had her arms straight up in the air. Go figure. : ) The kids were so exhausted from the day. It was only minutes before they were sacked out in the van.

After dinner we dressed all the kids in their matching pj's and spent time dancing to Little Sally Walker...

Just look at this beautiful scenery. We were so sad to leave but blessed that we had such a great time! Thank you, Poppa and GG, for the wonderful Christmas gift!

Dollywood Day 1

The kids were so excited to head out the door and have some fun at Dollywood!! Just look how bundled up they were...

Our boys were ready to go!

The girls could. not. wait. to ride their first ride. It looks like the daddy's were a little more afraid than they were.

Even Camp got to ride the Veggie Tales roller coaster. He is in the yellow cart with Benjamin.

We had the perfect spot for the Parade of Lights. The kids were the star of the show and every character that came by stopped to wave at the kiddos.

Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus....

All the lights were beautiful. Walking around seeing the sites were enough to make my heart happy.

The boys were DONE. They really enjoyed the sites/rides but they were so bundled up that they were miserable. We decided we would just take the big kids for day #2. : )

To Be Continued...