Fun in the Smokies

Pictures

This year, Patrick's grandparents will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. They decided that instead of a party, they would like for us all to get together for a few days. So, we rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, and fifteen of us - our family, Patrick's brother and his family, Patrick's sister and her husband, Patrick's parents, his aunt and uncle, and Pop and Polly (the grandparents) all gathered for some laid-back fun in the Smokies. The cabin had seven bedrooms and a game room, which was a big hit with the cousins, ages 3, 4, and 7, and plenty of room for adults to talk and work a jigsaw puzzle. Monday was spent exploring Gatlinburg and resting at the chalet, and on Tuesday, one group went to Dollywood, while another group went outlet shopping and out for lunch. It was a great time to visit and enjoy being together!

Click here for pictures!

over the river and through the woods

We went to Dayton, Ohio for a Memorial Day weekend visit with Patrick's grandparents. Adam is very interested in planes and rockets now, and so we thought it would be a good time for his first visit to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Pop (Patrick's grandfather) has flown many of the aircraft displayed there. It was even more special visiting there on Memorial Day weekend.

We played at Pop and Polly's house on Saturday afternoon and went to Oinkadoodlemoo for supper. They have really good barbeque, and the name is fun to say. They even have something rare in Ohio - sweet tea!

On Sunday, we went to church at First Baptist Kettering, where my friend from my youth group days, Chad Keck is pastor. Adam had such a good time in Sunday School there that he didn't want to leave!

We headed back on Monday morning fueled by Timbits from Tim Hortons and making the usual stop at IKEA in West Chester.

Also, we discovered that Adam's understanding of the word "target" is limited to the retail establishment: