Mountains Part II

Avery was excited to go exploring all through the mountain farm village.  It was the perfect place to take kids! Pictures below from the village…

Nay Nay telling him about the village

Looking in the Davis Main House 

Checking things out

Seeing where they kept the crops

Playing by the creek

Checking out the hogs

They even had animals…this chicken came right up to Avery.

The Davis Home

Who's Strong?!

Touring the village made us work up an appetite! Before we could eat lunch Avery had to check out the gift shop! He found a pair of binoculars and a little black bear. Reed Morgan and Avery also got matching shirts! 

A true explorer now!

We found a great picnic spot to have lunch, Collins Creek. Something about a picnic in the mountains can't be beat! Everything tasted so good. 

Our quaint little picnic

Picnics are his favorite  

As we were finishing up our lunch, my mom thought it would be a great idea to take a hike to Clingman's Dome. This is the highest point of the Smoky Mountains. It is a mile of a steep incline. We have hiked it before when Avery was 3 months old. This time we decided to hike it with a 3 year old and a 7 month old. I pushed Reed the whole way up in a stroller. Everyone that passed kept commenting on what a strong person I was. You go girl! If she can do that we can do this!! I kept responding ignorance is bliss! :) It was a great workout to say the least. Here are a few pictures of our climb…

NayNay was trying to give Avery a piggy back up the mountain

We made it and someone seemed relieved to make it!

The view was breath-taking and worth it!

Avery and NayNay at the top!

At the end! We survived!

Once we finished up our eventful time in the mountains we were completely worn out and starving! We headed into Pigeon Forge to visit a few shops by the Mill and enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Pottery Place down by the Mill. One of our favorites. 

Avery was so excited to give NayNay a prize 

I scream, You scream, We all scream for Ice Cream!

What better way to end the day than with ice cream! We were beyond tired, hot and full! Not sure why we got ice cream except that it was right there and Avery wanted some. Even though we all got kid scoops, I think we threw away more than we ate! Of course I had to give Reed a few tiny bites too! Ready for more fun tomorrow! 

Mountain Getaway Part I

Last week my mom surprised me and told me she wanted to take the boys and me to the mountains! Our usual condo was booked so we had to find a new place to stay. We were a little disappointed Cherokee Lodge was full because it is our home away from home. Mom and I did some research and found a new condo, Baskin Creek. Instead of being located in Pigeon Forge like Cherokee, this one was in downtown Gatlinburg. While we are accustomed to staying in Pigeon Forge, we quickly realized some perks to staying at our new place!

We loved being walking distance to downtown Gatlinburg. It was a nice walk next to a creek. We found it to be convenient to some of our favorite places.

He loved walking with his Nay!

Walking into downtown. 

Another perk was the Pancake Pantry!! Now don't get me wrong, we visit this place no matter where we stay but this time it was special because we were able to eat there for breakfast!! Normally we are too far away to get up and get everyone there for breakfast before the line wraps around the building. So we had to start off the trip there! 

YUMMY! They have the best pancakes!

Reed Morgan's first time at Pancake Pantry

Avery just loved the pancakes! 

Avery took a pic!

 Avery had pancakes with bananas and strawberries. He inhaled it! I don't blame him, those are some of the best pancakes I have ever put in my mouth! 

Avery sure loves to snap pictures with Mama's phone. Here is a close up of his breakfast! Notice NayNay in the background. Reed Morgan, NayNay and I were posing for a picture but apparently his breakfast trumped us! 

Before heading into the mountains, we walked around downtown. I went to get my favorite homemade black bean and corn salsa. I have to have a jar or two every time we come! There were many fountains along the way and Avery enjoyed throwing money in and making wishes! 

Making a wish

These two sure do love each other!

My sweet angels!

Next up we packed the car and headed into the mountains. Avery kept asking where are the mountains? We had to keep telling him that we were in them. He loved looking for the peeks as we drove. His favorite line the whole trip was, "Are we there yet?" ha! 

Avery has a deep, deep love for trains and with trains comes tunnels. His face lit up as we went through the tunnels in the mountains. We counted them on our way in and as we left. There were 4 tunnels! I love seeing his excitement!

One of Avery's favorite things!

This was our view. Stunning!

First stop was this little mountain farm village. Mom thought it would be a great place for Avery to observe and run around. This farm museum was created in the late 1950s to share what life was like for families that lived here in the mountains. Avery enjoyed seeing what life was like then. 

Getting ready for the farm museum tour

My mom was so good explaining and showing Avery all through the village. I loved watching them interact with each other. I felt like I was a kid again watching my mom with him. My mom sure knows how to make things fun! 

To be continued…… 

Swim Lessons

This is Avery's third summer to take swim lessons. Last summer and this summer we went to Mrs. Jill! We just love her classes with our friends. Avery has been like a little fish these past two weeks. A picture is worth a thousand words so I thought I would use pictures to show all our fun this summer with Mrs. Jill!

Telling the kiddos to blow bubbles

Kick, Kick, Kick, Kick

Working on his kicking

Hardest skill to work on…back float

Our Happy Swimmer!

Mrs. Jill talking to them

Avery has really enjoyed jumping in the pool this year! No Fear!

Ella and Avery 

Favorite thing is going down the slide at the end of the lesson. He went down everyday. Only one other kid went down   besides Avery!

Blast off arms!

Trying out goggles

Mrs. Jill is the best and we are lucky we have had lessons with her and our friends for the past two years! Until next summer….I bet Reed Morgan will be joining in the fun too!!

Father's Day

It was a fun weekend to celebrate the dads in our world! John and my dad started off the weekend boating down the Caney Fork. They left before the sun rose and took off for their fun!

Dad cooking breakfast

Here is their spread

John with his rainbow he caught

While BeBe and John were gone, I was able to finish up the Father's Day crafts we made for them. Avery and Reed made one a craft for BeBe and Dada. I didn't get a picture of my Dad's put it was two cars made out of each of their footprints and it said "We wheelie love you!"

The boys ready for craft time!

Reed Morgan's painted foot

His photo cube for his Dada. Avery made one for John on his first Father's Day!

The boys made John a cute canvas with two bears. One bear was Avery's footprint and the other was Reed Morgan's. It was fun to make the crafts but it is a little different with two. While I was trying to work on Reed's craft, Avery was playing in his little kitchen and drug over all his toys from the den! He was busy playing and making a mess! :)

Avery was so proud to give John his prize he made! He is such a thoughtful little guy!

Reed Morgan with his Dada on their first Father's Day together!

Saturday night we went over to my parent's house. My mom was in California so we had to FaceTime her in a few times. We had some pool time and then cooked out together!

 

32 years celebrating this Dad!! 

Sunday we had lunch at our favorite restaurant and one that is close to church, the Boulevard! We enjoyed sitting back and hanging out for a bit!

Reed and Bebe's first Father's Day together!

VBS was starting Sunday night at church so I had to go and help decorate at church that afternoon. John took Avery home for a nap and Reed Morgan went with me. John got some relaxing time in on his Father's Day! That night I took Avery to VBS while John and Reed  got to spend some one on one time together! All in all we had a great time just the guys and me celebrating! I am beyond thankful for them both and know my two boys have some great role models to look up to! Not only do they have John and my dad to look up to but also John's dad! He is a great grandaddy to them as well! We will celebrate with him soon!

A picture to honor Grandaddy!