Monday, June 24, 2013

Gatlinburg Trip Part 1

Last week we took a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. J and I have not been in 8 years and the boys have never been, so to say that we needed to take this trip was an understatement. We thought it would be a fun trip for the kids and we knew we all would have a blast. We do love the beach, especially at summer time but I have never experienced Gatlinburg and the mountains during the summer months so I really wanted this trip to happen! There is much more to do while it's warm verses while it's cold like we usually do in the past.
 
We decided to make the half way trip to Nashville and spend the night. The boys have never stayed in a hotel room so they thought that was pretty cool.
 
 

Even baby Westin knew something fun was coming up and he couldn't wait to get the day started!
 

A little blurry but this is the boys headed to Gatlinburg!! :) I promise not one child cried or got upset about anything. We have the best little travelers. As long as you are passing Westin his goldfish and sippy cup on a regular basis, he is even a breeze!
 

Right when we pulled in to Gatlinburg we decided to pull off and walk down to the creek. It is always such an awesome time to us! These little boys were in awe of the beauty from this area.
 

Westin is taking his first drink out of a big boy cup. He never spilled one drop... our smart little boy!
 

 
He's blowing kisses down by the creek here! :) 
 

Our first full day we decided to head on up to the mountain so we could see everything we wanted to see in nature. The next several days it was calling for rain so we knew this day was our best bet.
 
These are from Newfound Gap. Such a beautiful area and I'm so blessed we were able to have a picnic on the top of this mountain. It was a blast for all of us!!
 


My little nature boy!! :)
 

One of my favorite pictures of my boys from this trip!!! Love these little men so much and I love their Daddy more than I could ever imagine!!! It was nothing short of a miracle to have each one of them smiling AND looking at the camera. Can I get an AMEN?
 

Me and my handsome hubby at Newfound Gap!
 
 
After we had our picnic and walked a few trails at Newfound Gap we decided to head on up to the highest part of the mountain, Clingman's Dome. Once you get there you have to then hike up half a mile to the summit.... It was very interesting seeing two adults, clearly with no athletic ability and out of shape getting up to the summit but we made it with all the kids in tow! :) Awesome experience and Westin sure enjoyed his nap on the ride up in his stroller. ha
 

On this day we also saw 6 bears!!!! It was amazing and the boys about had an accident because they couldn't believe they were seeing live bears, in nature. We all were amazed and each one of them was  so beautiful. The Momma bear and her cubs were my favorite.
 
 
 
To say we had a great first full day is an understatement. I would say this was one of my most favorite days because we did so much and saw so many wonderful things, in nature! Being in the mountains I felt very close to God, as if I was in constant prayer and praising the entire trip. Leaning on Him for so many different things as well as praising Him for all He did on that trip. It was amazing and seeing nature in it's beauty just reminded me of His never ending love for us!
 
I will post more on Part 2 tomorrow... stay tuned!


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