Family, Friends, and Fun (not necessarily in that order ;>)

Sorry for the mile-long post; it may be boring for everyone but grandparents ;>) We have been on vacation in the Smokies; we rented a cabin for the week. Mark and I used to do that all the time, pre-kids, and would always have such a nice time. It turned out to be more fun than I originally thought it would be, just different, because we had to plan around kids' schedules (they continued to insist on sleeping and eating regularly). We bookended our trip with visits with family and friends. We worshipped and ate lunch (separate events ;>) with Rodney, Tricia, and the kids on the way up. Samuel always enjoys them, although these pics are all of Benjamin with their kids:

with Erin

with Matthew

with Clint

We had specifically booked a cabin with a creek because that was always our favorite thing about our prior rentals (our favorite cabin was no longer on the rental market). We had also wanted something private, so we inquired about what was across the creek, and found out there were no cabins there. When we arrived Sunday evening, we discovered that the creek was dry! (It was inappropriately named "Stream of Dreams" !) Monday, sitting on the wrap-around porch, I kept smelling something I could not quite put my finger (or nose ;>) on. Finally, a herd of cows came into view across the (nonexistent) creek. Ahhh.....now I recognized the smell. They certainly added to the "atmosphere", if you get my drift (which we did when the wind blew just right ;>) Also, I had no idea cows were so noisy ! I knew they mooed, but these also bellowed loudly enough to remind me of some scenes from Jurassic Park. Mark called the rental company about the missing creek, just to let them know we thought they should have told us. Surprise, surprise---they offered to let us move to another cabin on a creek. We hated to pack everything up again, but it turned out to be worth it. The cabin was newer, more private, on a wider creek that actually had water, PLUS there were no smelly cows---what more could you ask for ;>)

One view of the creek at the new cabin

Playing pool with Samuel, whose concept of pool was to kindly retrieve the balls that Mark shot into the pockets---the game that never ends ;>)

Ben watching us eat ice cream at the entrance to Cades Cove. (They have the best soft serve ice cream at the store there.)

Samuel was not a happy camper the day we drove to Cades Cove. We stopped at the horse stables to see about a carriage ride, but decided that would be a waste of money, as he wouldn't get too near the horses. To distract him as we drove through the Cove, we told him to look for a bear. He looked and looked, but no bear, so we bought him this one ^ when we got to the visitor center. He was so happy about it. And, naturally, when we left the Cove, we happened upon a mother bear and her 3 cubs off the side of the road near Laurel Falls !

This was visiting the farm of an artist we're acquainted with in the Smokies; Samuel wouldn't get too near his horses either !

We all played with water pistols bought on clearance at Walmart---who knew 15 cents could be so much fun! Samuel continually shot HIMSELF, but that's okay since we were shooting him too!

Family self-portrait in the creek

Catching minnows with Dad

....and picking out rocks to take home

With mom in the creek

We had such a nice time that we booked an extra day to our stay ! Coming home, we worshipped and had lunch with Matt and Amanda:

We finished our trip by heading to Mark's parents----4 of his 5 aunts and uncles that live in California and Washington were visiting the week we were gone, so we didn't want to miss seeing them before they returned home. Here are just a couple of those pics:

Mark's dad and Ben

Samuel with great uncle J.B.

Ben with great aunt Laura

We arrived home around midnight Sunday night; we've been "recovering" all week, but it was worth it !