We gave Ansley several choices of things to do for her 10th birthday (birthday party, sleepover) and she chose a weekend at a cabin with her family. We haven't done this since Christian's birthday several years ago, but I really love it! It's nice to get away from it all, the kids love staying in a cabin, and there is so much to do in and around Gatlinburg so we are keeping busy.
John took a half a day on Friday, so we headed out shortly after lunch. We went to the cabin first because the kids love exploring a new cabin! But then we headed out to go for a hike up to Grotto Falls. It's so pretty, and you get to walk behind the waterfall, which is really cool.
Avery started off walking, and she did really well, but eventually John ended up carrying her in a pack on his back. She didn't mind, and the other two did great on the almost 3 mile roundtrip hike.
We planned on going out to eat, but the kids were really excited to get back to the cabin. So, we compromised and got Cracker Barrel to go and took it back. It was yummy! Since Christian and I were still in recovery mode from the stomach bug, we were going easy, and it hit the spot!
Ansley's two requests were my chocolate chip cookies and a family movie night. So, I had packed up all the ingredients to make the cookies.
Everyone loves to help! Mostly they love to help eat the cookie dough, but still, they were helping.
Then we enjoyed some cookies and watched The Croods. It was a very cute movie!
All three of the kids slept in one bed, and slept well. It's really handy for them to all be able to sleep together!
The next morning we headed to Dollywood (after making a seriously delicious breakfast of sausage and eggs that we brought with us.)
John and Ansley rode the Wild Eagle right away. Christian really wanted to pan for gemstones - he loves this! And Avery absolutely loves the little toddler rides!
She was all smiles on this ride!
We enjoyed the afternoon here, riding some rides and walking around.
We stopped and ate dinner at a local place, and then headed back to the cabin, where we enjoyed the hot tub.
Christian loved sorting his gemstones.
The next morning we got up and headed to Flapjack's for pancakes (Ansley's request). We walked around the outlets for a little bit, and then headed back home.
It was a very fun and enjoyable weekend!
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