A Wonderful Vacation!

We just got back from the most relaxing and refreshing vacation! The most relaxing part for me was knowing I did not have to come home and write a paper, watch videos, or take a quiz! Here is a picture of my portfolio right before I put it in the mail! Now I am looking forward to the paycheck (of course it will go straight to paying off my loan)!



We began our vacation with 2 nights at Rando's parents. We enjoyed a Chattanooga Lookouts game with them on Friday night! We had a great time fellowshipping with his parents and watched a good ball game!



On Saturday, we said goodbye to his parents and our little girl, Noodle. We know she had a great time with her grandparents and Uncle Gizmo!



While in Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge we did as much and as little as we wanted! It was nice to be able to sleep in and stay up late! Last year we went on a cruise and had a blast while staying busy visiting all the islands. This year we took it slower and enjoyed a simpler vacation!

We enjoyed many good dinners at places such as Calhouns, Damons, Hard Rock, and Corkys. We also cooked hamburgers at the cabin one night and had a hot dog picnic one afternoon. Here are some pictures from our dinners out!




A major part of the refreshment came from enjoying God's beautiful creation! We did not even have to leave the cabin for a beautiful view of the mountains.



We enjoyed climbing and sitting on the rocks in this river.



On our way back from our picnic we saw a bunch of cars pulled off the road. There was a cub playing on the embankment. Of course we know mom had to be close by but we never saw her (I was okay with that too). A few nights later we saw another bear about 50 yards from the cabin. The neighbors said that a mom and her cubs were in between our cabins while we were gone.



In Cades Cove we saw a wild turkey, 2 bears, and a hundred or so deer. The does have quite a few bucks to pick from this year because we saw way more bucks than does!



One evening, I was talking to my sister on the phone when I saw this raccoon walk across the deck. I would love to say that I kept my cool, but Rando would correct me! I was a little nervous (okay a lot nervous). I just could see him trying to get in the cabin. I learned that he was more afraid of me. He finally found his way back into the woods, but not before I snapped this picture through the window.



Many nights we stayed up LATE playing games (Phase 10, pool, and Rummikub), watching movies, and T.V. Rando read a lot. In fact he read a whole book (it would take me months to complete it). We are both night owls so we would stay up late and sleep in! Here is a picture of us in front of the fire place. The cabin is wonderful because there is plenty to do there at the cabin or you can ride into town for tourist attractions.



We also had a lot of fun playing putt putt! We played 3 games during the week. My 18 year old brother asked me, "Are y'all up there to try out all the putt putt courses?" He will understand when he is old like us! We had a great time during our friendly competitions. I finally beat Rando for the first time when we played Hillbilly Golf (which is an adventure). Rando beat me the two times we played Fire House Golf.






We also did a lot of shopping. We were good to mostly just window shop, but I was able to get my Christmas shopping started. Another thing we enjoyed was going to WonderWorks. It is an interactive exhibit hall with a variety of things to do. I pitched to Derek Jeter, we completed trivia quizzes, we played basketball in the NBA, landed space shuttles, experienced a "hurricane" and an "earthquake", and many other computerized attractions. It would have been better if all of the exhibits worked, but we enjoyed ourselves anyways! Here we are right before the earthquake!



This vacation reminded us that the simple life is wonderful! God has given us so much to be thankful for! We had a great time enjoying God's beautiful creation and spending time together! The cabin is called "The Blessing" and it truly was! The whole vacation was a blessing from God! I can't wait until our next getaway!

Well, now it is back to real life. Rando returns to work, I am preparing for school to start back, and we have house cleaning and yard work to do! If only we could just stay on vacation! Of course, God has blessed both of us with jobs that we love and being at home is nice too! It was nice to worship at Hebron today with our church family!

We hope all of you have been able to find some time away from the rush of life this summer to enjoy your family and friends. Have a wonderful week!