Heading home

Probably one of Hannah's favorite parts of the trip was getting to watch tv when she got up in the morning. We really limit the amount of tv at home, so she got a little spoiled while we were on vacation.

We packed up and headed up to Ohio. We purchased a portable dvd player for our trip..and I think it's the best $100 we have spent in a long time. It really helped keep Hannah entertained while we were driving.

being silly in the car

ah...fast asleep

We arrived at Papa and Grandma's house in time for dinner. It sure was nice to be able to stay with them for a few days. It broke up our trip home and gave us a chance to rest a little. Cody and Erica came and spent the day with us on Saturday, then we went with them to their church on Sunday. Although we always miss Farmington while we are away, it was nice to be able to see Cody and Ericas church and worship with them.

Thank you Lord for the chance to take a much needed vacation, enjoy the beautify of your creation, and have time away with our family!

TN Vacation Day 6

On Friday we went to the Aquarium. I think that this was one of the best parts of the trip for all of us...we loved it! We loved seeing the sharks and all of the amazing creatures that God created!

Check out this video of a shark swimming over our heads:



shark!

such big fish!

having so much fun!

not too sure about touching the horseshoe crab

or about the fish...

After the aquarium we went back to the condo for lunch and to rest during Hannah's nap. Then we headed out for another hiking adventure. No bears this time, but we did get to enjoy this beautiful stream.

After our walk in the woods we headed back into downtown for one last evening walk. We stopped for some ice cream along the way. We ended up passing our cones around to try each flavor. Here Hannah is with her cone and her Daddy's. I asked her which one she liked best and she held them both up...yummy ice cream!

TN vacation day 4

This was a quiet and relaxing day. In the morning, we went to the arts and crafts loop in Gatlinburg. It was fun to see our friend Jolene's best friend who own a jewelry shop there. Hannah enjoyed walking around and talking to anyone that would give her attention. She told them her name and how old she was, they were all blown away.

We spent the evening back at our condo. We enjoyed a family movie night, I don't know that we've ever really done that before. We watched the Lion King, and Hannah had popcorn for the first time (don't worry I bit the kernels out of each piece first). She loved it!

TN Vacation Day 3

On Wed. we decided to venture out and take a hike. There was one paved trail in the park that led up to a Laurel Falls. It ended up being a very wet hike. We hiked 2.5 miles up a mountain with a stroller in the rain. It wasn't too terrible once we were wet...so we tried our best to enjoy the hike. We saw the fall, which were beautiful and turned quickly around to head back down.

On our way down the mountain we met another couple that said that they had just seen a mother bear with her cubs right off the trail. They gave us a few pointers on what to do if you come in contact with a bear and sent us on our way. With hearts pounding a little, we whispered a prayer and continued, keeping close eye out for her. It was actually the perfect situation, we got to see a bear and her cubs, and she didn't bother us at all....it's really neat to see animals in their own natural habitat like that :)

We got back to the condo and rested while Hannah took her nap. By the time she got up, the sun had come out so we headed out to the pool. Hannah got to swim in a pool for the first time this vacation. She loves the water!

A super exciting part of our day today was, Hannah pooped on the potty for the first time. I was planning to begin potty training when we got home in the fall, but it kinda just happened. She's showing all the signs of being ready to begin: She knows what to do in the bathroom, and tells us when she wants her diaper changed and when she's poopy. It just kinda happened this day. I think I smelled her and decided to put her on the toliet...wouldn't you know it...she pooped! Let the potty training adventure begin!

TN Vacation Day 2

On Tuesday we arrived in Gatlinburg. We were so excited to get to see our condo and the beautiful view from the balcony.

living room

kitchen

bedroom

wonderful bathtub

the beautiful view of the mountains from our balcony

The view of Gatlinburg from our condo

We settled in, had dinner, and then went for a walk in downtown Gatlinburg.

Vacation Day 1: Creation Museum

We had such a nice time on our little family vacation. It was different traveling with a little one...but fun too. We took our time getting down to Tennessee, which worked out really well. We drove down to Grandma and Papa's house on Sunday and spent the evening and night with them. In the morning, we were off to the Creation Museum near Cincinnati (thanks to the Lucas family for sharing your guest passes with us!). We enjoyed our time at the museum. It was neat to see and we definitely want to take Hannah back when she gets older.

Hannah loved most of the dinosaurs (there was one moving one that scared her)

Our favorite part of the museum was Noah's ark. The ark model that they had built was only 1% of the size of Noah's ark.

This is a sad reality in our world. The Creation Museum did a good job of using scripture to show God's plan for the world and His perfect hand in creating it.

The outdoor gardens were beautiful!

Hannah's favorite part was the petting zoo.

We drove and spent the night in Jellico, TN that night; then finished our trip to Gatlinburg in the morning.