Dollywood and Pigeon Forge

DOLLYWOOD

Sabrina and Daddy on the Flying Elephants

Destiny, Samantha and Mommy on the flying elephants. Samantha loved this ride. She laughed whenever the elephants soared high into the air. Sabrina was a bit more concerned. She didn't mind the ride as long as her Daddy did not make the elephant fly.

Destiny was a little too short for this one. I had to pull her hair up into a pony tail on top of her head so she would meet the height requirement.

Destiny loved the Shooting Star. Brenda recommended this ride to her.
Michael and Destiny rode the
RAMPAGE together. Then Michael was off to the big kid side of the park, where he rode the brand new "Mystery Mine." It sounds like a really scary coaster.

In the end, it was too much excitement for the girls. They slept right through the next hour.

Sabrina...back in action after her nap. She stuck her face down over one of the holes, just in time to get a mouthfull.

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We've just come back from our first family vacation to the Smokies. The weather was beautiful for the whole trip. We spent Monday at Dollywood...compliments of Brenda Durkee. Then on Tuesday, we spent a few hours at the pool....floating around the "heated" lazy river at the hotel. Michael had a bit of a run in with the side of the pool...very close to stiches in his front lip. We cut our losses and went to the arcade for pizza and ski-ball. This was the closest I made it to a "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" game all week. I can't tell you how hard it was to drive past Harrah's in Cherokee and NOT stop. I haven't been inside in two years and here we were practically in the parking lot. Lucky for the kids, Peyton was around. I might have locked them in the trunk (if we had one) for a few hours of play time. They did get to see the Indians in full dress as we drove through the Cherokee nation. We really should have stopped for pictures, but if the babies are happy in the car, why ruin it? Samantha and Sabrina did really well on the whole trip. Peyton loaded up the portable DVD player and the "BARNEY" DVD's. We pulled them out for the last couple of hours each way. It worked like a charm.

The girls swinging at the Durkees. Technical problems..lens cap stuck.
Michael coming down from the mountain.

Tuesday evening we were off to Dandridge, Tennessee for a cookout at Bob and Brenda's. Michael and Destiny got to ride the 4 wheelers "up" the mountain. I can tell you that for someone who isn't used to riding ATVs, this can be scary. The minute you get used to handling the machine, it becomes really fun and you want to find higher and bigger areas to climb. If you really want a challenge, you can find it on the Durkee property. Michael even went fishing in their pond. It was so nice to sit and talk to Bob and Brenda again. Of course we started plenty of conversations that we didn't have a chance to finish. We really should have planned on a staying a couple of days in Dandridge just to catch up. Brenda really loved hearing the kids calling Peyton, "Daddy." Does that tell you how long it's been since we've all been together. TOO LONG. We won't wait so long next time.