Friday events

Friday morning we headed back to The Apple Barn for breakfast. After breakfast, we went three different ways to shop.

Apple Barn/Shopping

Friday evening we met Merl, Bev and Kathi Blevins for dinner at Calhouns. We had a great time! Especially when the waitress asked Jimmy to go out w/her later that night. You should have seen how red his face got! Too funny!!

Sorry Erika, she cut you out of the picture!

What we've been doing...continued

Thursday everyone except Josh and Ashlee went to Clingman's Dome. It was Hannah's first trip to North Carolina. :) When we got to the parking lot to begin climbing, if you weren't near the edge when you looked out all you saw was sky. The view from the top is absolutely beautiful!

Clingman's Dome

For dinner on Thursday we headed to Texas Roadhouse and made it with no problems :) After dinner we went to Old MacDonalds Mini Golf for a little competition. Can't have a family vacation without at least one putt-putt game :)

Texas Roadhouse/Mini Golf

Both pictures are links to the photo albums.

What we've been doing...Wednesday.

On Wednesday the guys spent the day at the Nascar Speedway. Us girls went to The Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and then went on the Roaring Fork Nature Trail. If you click the picture below, you will see more from our adventures.

Hard Rock Cafe/Roaring Fork Trail

One thing I didn't get a picture of was when we got to the end of the Nature Trail, we were sitting at a stop sign and the lady in front of us backed into the front of the van. We were driving my grandma's van. Thankfully there was no damage to the van. The other driver had a little mark on her bumper but nothing major!

After we all met back up at the cabin, the plan was to go to Bennetts for dinner. Plans changed quickly when we got to the bottom of "our mountain" and we heard a strange noise coming from the van. It had a flat tire. Not the best day to be driving :) We ended up back at the cabin for dinner!

Flat Tire

I think the above picture should be a link to more. I'm trying to figure out how Picasa works. :)

A True "Mountain Jewel"

The name of our cabin is Mountain Jewel Lodge and it definitely is true to its name! I believe it is a unanimous opinion that this is our favorite cabin yet! It is extremely spacious and has an awesome view. I tried to take video of the inside, but can't seem to upload it so I have taken some pictures and will attempt to give you a tour of our cabin!

Entry Level

Entry

Living Room

Dining Room/Kitchen

Dad & Mom's Room

Lower Level

Josh's Room

Arcade Games

Matt, Erika & Hannah's Room...Laundry to the right

Jimmy's Room

Game Room

View from Game Room/Lower Deck

Hot Tub

Upper Level

Erin & Sara's Room

Windows in Erin & Sara's Room

Ashlee's Room

Loft/Sitting Area

View out from Loft

View down from Loft

Biggest Loser: Finale!

The results are in...we have had our final weigh in and the winners have been announced! They are me and Sara!!! YAY! Here are some pictures from our celebratory dinner.

The first place losers decided to cook the winner's choice for dinner.

The Menu: Fried Chicken, Mac and Cheese, and Corn on the Cob...Yum-O!

The winners enjoying their meal :)

Dessert: Brownie Sundaes

Last place losers had to clean up afterwards!

Smokin smoky mountains, playing games, and hannah too :-)

After a yummo breakfast at Apple Barn it decided to rain, by the time we got to the cabin we could not even see the mountains across from us. Hence the smokin smokies :-)






Hannahnanna being as adorable as ever :-)


Of course no vacation is complete without our favorite family pasttime, GAMES!!! :-)


Posted by: Guest Blogger, Ashlee.

Vacation!!!

YAY! Vacation time is finally here! We left this morning about 10:30, we got to our cabin in Gatlinburg about 5. It is extremely spacious with an incredible view! I am so excited and looking forward to some serious R & R!

What an exciting game!!!

I had the opportunity to 'entertain' a new employee at OhmartVEGA tonight...by taking him to the Reds game. Of course I couldn't pass up this experience! :) (just so you know, every new employee does not get this same treatment...he is a Regional Sales Manager located in Canada) It was an extremely cold evening to be sitting outside!!! During the 8th inning the Reds were down 5-3 and I was thinking maybe we should leave, but I didn't want to pressure others in the group so I didn't say anything. Well, for those of you who don't keep up on the Reds, the 9th inning was the best of the entire night!!! Brandon Phillips was up first, got a base hit. Next came Griffey Jr., base hit. At this point the atmosphere in the ballpark had completely changed! Third was Edwin Encarnacion who after a few botched bunt attempts HIT A HOME RUN!!! and the game was over with the Reds winning 6-4!! YAY!!! Here are a few pics from the game.

Ken Griffey Jr.

YAY! A home run!

...and this one belongs to the Reds! :)