Fall Family FUN

 I know that all parents must feel this way......but I feel like time is absolutely flying & I can't keep up.  I remember being a child & thinking Christmas would never get here.  Now, as an adult, it seems we don't get over all the Christmas busy-ness before it is time to do it all again.  When I first started noticing how quickly time seems to move I didn't have children yet.  People would always tell me, "Just wait.  It'll really fly when you have kids."  And I always thought, "No way it can fly any faster."  Well, guess what.......fast forward & I now have 2 precious girls & yes, time is flying faster than I ever imagined.  I feel like I was just in the hospital having my Ava.......she turned 9 this summer!!  And there is no way our baby Aub  can really be 6! Why am I telling you all this?  Well, because, I also hit a milestone birthday this year.....40!!  Sure don't feel like I've existed for that long, but I have.  Anyway, between time flying & my girls growing & my 40th birthday, I have a renewed appreciation for really enjoying my family & my time with them while my girls are little.  
Jim & I both want to create a home full of happy memories that our girls will always look forward to coming back to.  I want them to remember their childhood with happiness.  We take a lot of time together as a family.....we play together, we have family game night & family movie night, etc.  We also really enjoy taking trips with our girls.  One of our favorite places to visit is Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  Last month we were able to visit Gatlinburg & enjoy some family time.  Here are a few pictures from our visit.....

We always enjoy walking thru the downtown Gatlinburg strip.  So many shops, good food, & a variety of activities.  Our girls have both always loved rocks.  So, this time we let them mine for gemstones.  This is something we've always seen but never checked into.  They loved it & both got some really cool stones.

 There are some things that are just a "must" for our family when we visit Gatlinburg.  One thing for me is to have a caramel apple.  YUM!!  There's just really nothing better.  The other thing that our family does every time we go is to visit Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies.  You'd think the girls would get tired of it, but they don't.  They change certain areas of the aquarium periodically so we see a lot of the same stuff but get to see some new stuff as well. 

We tried a couple of new things this trip.  We took the girls on an Alpine Slide.  WOW!!  It was really exciting & scary at the same time.  You're basically driving your own coaster car on a track down the mountain.  Lots of excitement!!

We spent one day at Dollywood.  We enjoyed a bird show, roller coasters, rides, food, & perfect weather.  Of course, like any tourist stop, they want to take your picture when you get there.  I'm a sucker for these.  These pictures are usually my souvenirs from our trips.  This is my favorite that they took.....they told us to group hug!! 

Fun times riding the ferris wheel......I noticed Jim taking a selfie of him & Ava & Aub & I were in the background.  So when we got in front, I did the same thing! 

On our last night in Gatlinburg we took in a new (to us) show.  We visited the Hatfields & McCoys Dinner Show.  What a ball we had!! Just good family fun!!!

Now that we've been back home a few weeks, it is back to the school routine.  We did enjoy some Halloween dressing up.  Dr. Lovell dressed as Old McDonald to go to work.  Ava & Aubrey both wore costumes to school......we have Minnie Mouse & a ballerina. 

After school we had to get Trixie's & Saban's tutus on so they could go visit Old McDonald.  We got to see all of the staff dressed up too.  They were all dressed as Old McDonald's farm animals.  Such a fun day!! 
















Now we're gearing up to wait on Thanksgiving & Christmas.  Oh how I love this time of year.  I sure hope you & your family are having a fabulous fall too!!