Country Pines and NO WHINES

We decided to spend a couple of days this Spring Break in the Smoky Mountains. Our kids have never experienced all the frills that area has to offer, and it's fairly close to home which makes travel easy. Matt and I spent hours searching for the "right" cabin to accommodate our brood. We found the perfect fit (and price) with Country Pines in Pigeon Forge.

We toyed with the idea of going to the Wilderness of the Smokies which is a giant, indoor waterpark. The more we thought about it though, it just wasn't ideal. Matt and I wanted to be able to relax on vacation, and the idea of getting into a swimsuit, being COLD, chasing 3 kids around, appealed to me NONE. Plus, if we spent loads of money at Wilderness, we wouldn't be able to do any of the other fun activities. We decided a cabin with a HOT TUB was the solution. Our kids loved their new home! When we pulled into Pigeon Forge, Karson said, "If we lived here, we would have a paradise everyday." The kids were in heaven from the moment we pulled in the driveway of C.P.

The hot tub is where the majority of their time was spent.

Karson and Miles snuggling in their king sized bed.

We did venture out into Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, but honestly, I think the kids would've been content staying at the cabin the whole time. In fact, many times when we were out, they asked repeatedly if we could go back. On Monday night we made our way over to MagiQuest (the children had to pick out mythical names Karson = Clover, Isaac = Cobra, and Miles = Monster). This experience was definitely Karson's favorite. She loved all the quests and hunting for the right answers. I did too, but it was hard wrangling all three kids on a time crunch. You only have an hour and a half on your first visit which goes by FAST when you're trying to figure things out. Plus, it didn't help having two incredibly SLOW tagalongs.

Like everything in Pigeon Forge, this was a costly experience, but well worth it. And, if you hang onto your wand (and receipt, both will be challenging), you can play anywhere there is a MagiQuest and pick up where you left off. The charge is also minimal.

On Tuesday, we decided to take the kids into Gatlinburg. Monday night it had stormed really bad like it did in Bowling Green, and the effect on Gatlinburg was pretty extreme. As we were heading into G-burg, we noticed lots of fire trucks, police officers, EMT, rescue people, etc. Later in the day we heard that a plant basin wall had collapsed and killed two workers. It also was leaking raw sewage into the Little Pigeon River. How sad! Also, as we were making our way in, we saw workers cleaning up an area where part of the mountain had slid down onto the road at the entrance. Quite a storm!

We decided to take the kids to Ripley's Aquarium which Matt and I have decided will be our LAST trip to this venue. We've been one other time to a Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, but the kids were younger and didn't remember much. I like aquariums, but this one was a bit on the crowded side. It was dark, packed with people moving 1 inch at a time and simply not enough action to keep the kids occupied. Don't get me wrong, they liked it, but I would rather spend money at a zoo or a LARGER aquarium like the one in Chattanooga or Newport.

Sharks and tropical fish, very neat to view.

Clowning around in the play area. This was a definite highlight. It was a wide open, bright space with lots of things for the kids to do and play on.

There was a new exhibit called the Penguin Playhouse. I could've spent all my time here. Penguins are fun to watch and quite comical.

After the aquarium, we went to Aunt Mahalia's Candy shop for some goodies. Matt and I both got a scrumptious caramel apple. We decided to pound the pavement and window shop. We made our way to the big, water ball at Ripley's and over to the SkyLift. After that we were pretty worn out and made our way back to the car. We decided to order a pizza from Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Besides the Mellow Mushroom (to-go order), we ate all of our meals at the cabin not because we're cheap but because we are smart. Very few children I know want to go to a nice sit-down resturant and eat. And, I don't like throwing money away on food they will barely eat. PBJ's, chicken fingers, macaroni, spaghetti and cereal are the key to satisfied children in our home =). Plus, I wanted to avoid fast food if at all possible--we eat it WAY to much at home.

On Wednesday, we made our way over to Wonderworks. The kids had been super excited about visiting this place. I was too, but again, like the aquarium, it just wasn't that impressive once we got inside. The Louisville Science Center and I suspect the Adventure Science Center in Nashville beat this attraction, hands down. There was very little for Miles to do and he cost as much as the older kids did (which didn't seem fair to me as he couldn't do most of the things). Everyone had fun though, and that's the point.

Watching my kids climb the rock wall was quite impressive. They both made it ALL THE WAY to the top and never fell. Since the line was a mile long, I witnessed MANY climbs and very few of them (older children and adults) made it to the very top. My little monkey's scaled the wall quickly. I highly doubt I would've been able to.

I love how Isaac is waving to everyone in the crowd on his way down. Turkey.

Enjoying the exhibits.

This exhibit was called Mind Bender. Two people challenged each other with a moving ball at the center. Whoever was the most relaxed, won. It was neat because your brain waves showed up on a monitor. Miles beat Karson, I beat Isaac, and Karson beat Matt. Wednesday was our last full day in Pigeon Forge, so I decided to take Karson and Isaac back to MagiQuest that night to continue their journey. Matt and Miles decided to play mini golf.

No journey to the Smoky Mountains is complete without an air brushed t-shirt. We had a marvelous time in the mountains and are looking forward to visiting there again real soon. Since we left Pigeon Forge on Thursday morning that gave us a couple of days to relax at home which was incredibly nice. Miles had his first tee ball practice Thursday night. On Friday, the kids went over to Meme's for the morning and Matt and I went to Mammoth Cave and hiked Green River Bluff. Later that day, Matt and Pap took Miles to the lake. He loves doing stuff like that. Our break actually felt LONG since we broke the week up. I cannot WAIT to have my babies home for summer break. This weather has gotten me pumped up for summer days at Beech Bend and relaxing in the lazy river!