Still on Vacation!!!

We are back in Ohio! We got back yesterday afternoon. It was a GREAT vacation…and I still have the rest of the week until I have to be back at work! I am enjoying just being home today. We haven’t done much…I have to go take Hubby’s sister to work in a little bit…but that is about it on my agenda for the day. The kids slept in this morning…and have just been playing and laying around. So, I think they are enjoying just being home too!

Let’s see….Saturday morning, we got up and went to Crackerbarrell with MIL, SIL and our family. We gave MIL her Mother’s Day present since we were leaving later that day. I think we decided to do that every year for Mother’s Day. It was so nice and not crowded….she really enjoyed that more than trying to figure out what to do on Mother’s Day. That was nice! We left there and finished packing our stuff and the van (no, I didn’t get my clothes that I had ordered!). Then we went to I-Man’s soccer game. They only got half of it in before it started POURING DOWN RAIN and HAIL. It only lasted a few minutes…but enough to call the game. At least my parents got to see I-Man play! We came home and changed his clothes and then we were off on vacation! The kids did great on Saturday with the driving. We stopped when FAB was getting restless, which was at Richmond, Kentucky. That is where Hubby wanted to stop anyways. So, we got a hotel room at a Holiday Inn Express (it was really nice) and ordered pizza and went swimming and had a great first night! I-Man and I had fun playing in the pool with a couple of other little girls. FAB didn’t want to have anything to do with the pool. Good thing we didn’t spend a lot of money on a hotel in Pigeon Forge with an indoor pool! She was TERRIFIED of it. Oh well.

We got up on Sunday and Hubby and the kids showered me with Mother’s Day hugs, kisses, cards and a devotional book. Then Hubby and I-Man went and got breakfast for all of us. We had a nice morning and then were on the road! The kids were more restless this time….I-Man just wanted to be there!!!! We FINALLY got there and we had lunch at the A&W Rootbeer Stand…went to Wal-Mart….and then went to check-in. Well, check-in time wasn’t until 4:00 and it was only 3:00…so we headed back into Pigeon Forge and the kids rode rides. I-Man and Hubby did the “Wild Woody Race Cars”….race cars on a wooden track. I wanted to do it but it said that if you were pregnant, you couldn’t do it. And truth be told, I am not sure how I would’ve gotten down into the car and out again. Then they rode other rides….we spent $35 in a matter of minutes! GEESH! They had fun..that is all that matters. We headed to our room and it was VERY NICE! First thing, FAB drops the remote control on the tile floor and it breaks into many pieces. So, the phone rings and it is the front desk making sure everything is fine….so I tell them about the remote and within 10 minutes we had a new remote! Cool. So, we un-packed and then headed out for dinner. We went into Gatlinburg to the Texas Roadhouse. YUM! But, FAB was about to expire….so dinner was no fun. We had to take turns eating and walking around with her. Oh well. The service was great….they have sweet tea everywhere…it was fine. Oh, side-bar….as we are driving into downtown Gatlinburg, we see Girlie Mom’s younger SIL. Very funny!!!! So, after dinner we head back to the resort and the kids play on the cool playground for a while. Well, this might be severe overshare, but we get back to the room and we have to use the bathroom….well, the toilet clogs. NICE! We can’t get it to go down. So, I call the front desk and tell them we need a plunger. Well, 15 minutes go by and it is now emergency because I-Man has to go potty and blah, blah, blah. SO, we call again. They say someone is on their way and sure enough, here comes the same man who changed our remote for us. A plunger doesn’t work…so he had to go get a snake. JOY! How embarrassing! Trouble was…the toilet bowl was shaped funny and that was the real problem. Lesson learned. We have made a GREAT impression…I tell the guy that we hope we don’t see him again the rest of the week. He was very nice…..but geesh! We watched the Survivor finale. I-Man was happy because he wanted Aras to win. Then we went to bed.

Monday…we got up and the kids had breakfast in the room. We decided to go up in the mountains. So, we drove up to Cherokee Point…where you are standing at the state lines of Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. It was 59 degrees in Gatlinburg when we started up…and 39 degrees at the top. We didn’t stay long, needless to say. But it was neat. FAB really liked the scenery and so did Hubby. He had never been up there before. So, we came back down and headed into Pigeon Forge. Hubby and I-Man rode the race cars again….FAB and I went to get tickets to the Black Bear Jamboree for that night….and then we all went to play Putt-Putt. That was a blast. Then we did a little shopping. We bought FAB a doll that is adorable! It looks like one of those American Girl dolls….but was less than half the price. I also got some buttons (or whatever they are called) for my crocs. I forgot to mention….before we left on Saturday, I went to a local store here and bought myself a pair of black crocs. I had been looking at them for a few weeks….KK bought a pair and she took me to look at them a while back. They didn’t have a pair in my size in the color I wanted….so I went back and they had them! I got a black pair. So, anyways….there was a croc store and I bought two buttons (one for each shoe) for my crocs. I wore those suckers the entire vacation! I LOVE them. I still think they are ugly…..very ugly…..but comfort supercedes looks and they are very comfortable! I have ingrown toenail issues and these are the bomb for that!!!!

Anyways…so after shopping for a bit, we decided to go back to the room to freshen up a bit before going to the Black Bear Jamboree. That was a GREAT show. After that, we went into Gatlinburg and walked around the downtown area. We had ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s and then did a little shopping. Then we went back to the room and went to bed. We were all pooped!!!!

Tuesday morning, we got up and got ready and went into Gatlinburg and had breakfast at that yummy pancake place. I got the French Toast and it was SOOOOO good. Then we walked around there for a bit and then headed into Pigeon Forge to do a little shopping. I forgot to mention that on Monday night, we stopped at the quilt place and I got a new quilt! Yahoo! It is very cute….it is in the pinwheel design. I got it off the clearance rack…so it was only $45 for a king-size quilt. I had to buy the pillow shams too…and those weren’t on clearance. Oh well!

Okay..so back to Tuesday. We went shopping a bit at the outlet malls. We got some good deals at Old Navy and the Disney store. Then we headed back to the room. Hubby and I-Man went swimming. They have a very nice HEATED outdoor pool. So, the boys had fun while FAB took a bit of a nap and I started packing up our stuff. I really got on Hubby’s nerves on this trip because I am so anal about keeping things neat and organized…..even when it isn’t our house! Oh well, can’t help it! So, after the boys got back from the pool, we all ended up laying down and taking a quick nap. We were worn out! Then we got up and went to Golden Corral….we decided that a quick place for the kids was better than trying to eat at a nice restaurant again. Not our first choice…but it made the kids happy! Then we went to the Comedy Barn. That was a GREAT show! It was very funny and the kids did great. I am glad we did that. I HIGHLY recommend that if you all go there with your families. It was fun and good, clean fun for the whole family.

After that, we went back to the room and crashed. Again, we were all very tired!!! We packed a lot into the few days we were there! It only rained once…and that was when we were at the Black Bear Jamboree, so it didn’t bother us a bit. It was just cloudy the whole time, but that was fine with us!

We got up on Wednesday, packed up all of our stuff and headed down the road! We took our time, stopping at a few places for the kids to play and stretch their legs. The funniest thing is that neither of the kids fell asleep until we were almost home. Those stinkers! Oh well…we made it home safely!

We got in and got everything un-packed (immediately because I am anal about that too) and then MIL came over with one of her sisters. They split some more of our haustas. Then Hubby mowed the yard….I took I-Man to church….FAB and I ran some errands…then came home and Hubby went and got I-Man. Then we watched AI….SIL came over because we had let her borrow our car while we were gone. So, she came over and then Hubby drove her home.

Today, again, we haven’t done much of anything! The kids are enjoying being home. I-Man actually told me he didn’t want to go anywhere! Funny kid. It looks like his t-ball game will be cancelled again tonight. His first game on Tuesday was cancelled too. Bummer! Hopefully they will get to play next week! His games are on Tuesday & Thursday nights. He is really looking forward to it!

Well, I think that catches you all up on our lives! Hubby did take his laptop, but it was so slow….I wasn’t patient enough to full with it.

OH! Isn’t my Mother’s Day/Birthday present from Sister the greatest!?!?!? I can’t wait to go to that! That will be sooooooo much fun! She is the bestest! I know you are all jealous of my great sister….my Mom will be so excited too!!!!!

I am off to get caught up on all of you! Hope you are all doing fine and I have certainly missed you all! I feel so out of the loop for missing a few days!!!!

Love you all!!!!