We are officially ON VACATION! And I think we all needed some time away after the craziness of the last few weeks, getting ready for the Africa trip, doing 2 weeks apart- not to mention the roller coaster the past 2 months have been since we found out about Carolyn's brother or sister. So this time of R and R is much appreciated! Thanks Mom and Dad for making this happen!
We got up at 3am on Saturday morning to get an early start... thinking/hoping Carolyn would fall asleep in the car and sleep for more of the way... that didn't exactly work out as planned... she was awake pretty much the whole time, even with only getting 5 hours of sleep the night before. But surprisingly, she really was quite peaceful and happy most of the time and we made relatively good time. Fortunately, she did drop off for an hour or two after lunch... and I joined her! We ran into some nasty traffic getting through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg... but finally arrived just around suppertime.
This is the view from the back porch of our cabin- isn't it beautiful? You can't even tell that we have neighbors!
The house is perfect- a great place for sleeping and resting and eating and playing together- outside, inside- room for everyone. It was a great pick!
Today we packed a picnic lunch and headed into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to explore a little.
Carolyn seemed to really relish being outside with so much space to run and play. And I love how her hair fans out behind her... I'll enjoy having these pictures to look back on soon... because I think I am going to get her a haircut so that it is more manageable for a 2-year-old- even though I wish I had hair like hers!
There were lots of butterflies fluttering around the picnic area. Most of them wouldn't be still long enough to get a good picture, but this yellow one cooperated with me...
And this blue one was missing half a wing on the side I didn't take a picture of, so he had to be still. :) Brad got some great pictures in another place on the other camera but I don't have the download cord handy right now.
Here's Mom and Dad- still act like they're on their honeymoon. :)
And Jon and Laura (this is the first time boyfriends have been invited on family vacation- but she's the youngest so all the rules get bent for her- and there's a nice futon in the family room for Jon to sleep on :))
Shelly and Bryan
And us! I'm so glad to be a complete family again!
After lunch we wandered down to the stream. Uncle Bryan held Carolyn in the water and she had the greatest time playing with this stick, dropping it in the water and saying "Come back, stick!" She was loath to get out of the water, but she was soaked and it was time to go!
Hand in hand with Ammy. :) Fun times.
We got up at 3am on Saturday morning to get an early start... thinking/hoping Carolyn would fall asleep in the car and sleep for more of the way... that didn't exactly work out as planned... she was awake pretty much the whole time, even with only getting 5 hours of sleep the night before. But surprisingly, she really was quite peaceful and happy most of the time and we made relatively good time. Fortunately, she did drop off for an hour or two after lunch... and I joined her! We ran into some nasty traffic getting through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg... but finally arrived just around suppertime.
This is the view from the back porch of our cabin- isn't it beautiful? You can't even tell that we have neighbors!
The house is perfect- a great place for sleeping and resting and eating and playing together- outside, inside- room for everyone. It was a great pick!
Today we packed a picnic lunch and headed into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to explore a little.
Carolyn seemed to really relish being outside with so much space to run and play. And I love how her hair fans out behind her... I'll enjoy having these pictures to look back on soon... because I think I am going to get her a haircut so that it is more manageable for a 2-year-old- even though I wish I had hair like hers!
There were lots of butterflies fluttering around the picnic area. Most of them wouldn't be still long enough to get a good picture, but this yellow one cooperated with me...
And this blue one was missing half a wing on the side I didn't take a picture of, so he had to be still. :) Brad got some great pictures in another place on the other camera but I don't have the download cord handy right now.
Here's Mom and Dad- still act like they're on their honeymoon. :)
And Jon and Laura (this is the first time boyfriends have been invited on family vacation- but she's the youngest so all the rules get bent for her- and there's a nice futon in the family room for Jon to sleep on :))
Shelly and Bryan
And us! I'm so glad to be a complete family again!
After lunch we wandered down to the stream. Uncle Bryan held Carolyn in the water and she had the greatest time playing with this stick, dropping it in the water and saying "Come back, stick!" She was loath to get out of the water, but she was soaked and it was time to go!
Hand in hand with Ammy. :) Fun times.
3 comments:
Hello Brad, EB and Carolyn! ( and the whole family...sorry I dont know any names!) I have been checking the blog recently, you all have so much going on!Congrats on the new little one. Have a great vacation. If you all are ever near Nashville give us a call! Stay safe!
Love, Cousin Jaime and Peter
EB, I love what you said about Laura being the youngest so all the rules get bent for her- that is completely true! It's a rather unfortunate situation for us oldest, guinea-pig girls. :) Have a wonderful week resting and relaxing!
I am so glad you are able to be on vacation together! I enjoyed reading through the Congo Connection blog and seeing all that Brad was able to accomplish. You look great EB!!!!! Sorry that we have been so bad about communicating the past few weeks. We are finally in our house! The whole inside is almost completely remodeled and we are getting unpacked little by little. I'll post pictures soon! Love you all.
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