Spring Break 08

Only in Gatlinburg!!!

This year Spring Break was also our Self family vacation. With our families getting larger and lodging and transportation becoming more challenging we decided to go to Gatlinburg for a few days. We rented a really cute log cabin right outside of town and were able to drive since it was so close to home. The original plan was for David and Bonnie to fly to Atlanta and drive with us and for Tyler, Lauren and Ava to fly in, and meet us there. But sadly, that wasn't how it worked out. Bonnie's mom got unexpectedly ill and they couldn't make the trip. So, it was just us and Tyler and Lauren. It was strange with it only being a partial family vacation but we still had fun. And in true Self fashion we packed every day and night with as much as we could find to do and eat. ;0)

While we were there, we explored the strip in town, ate lots of pancakes, went to an aquarium, arcades, did the Alpine slides at the top of the mountain and went to Cade's Cove and saw some amazing scenery. The girls had fun. Sarah Grace was game for anything and ate like a champ every where we went. She loved shopping in town for souvenirs and liked feeling big not being in a stroller. Charlotte was fan of anything that didn't involve straps or buckles. By the end of the trip she had had enough of strollers, car seats and highchairs! She did really like the aquarium. She loved the fish and really paid attention and had a bit more freedom. Ava was great!! She's so sweet, such a good girl. She went with the flow, napped in her stroller, played during dunner... And the girls loved her!! Charlotte greeted her everyday with a a very enthusiastic, "Hi baby!" and Sarah Grace wanted to be a mommy. She wanted to hold and pick her up every chance she got. The adults had a great time doing everything and we went to some great restaurants. I think the overall favorite of the trip was the Pancake Pantry. We ate there twice and all got the same thing both times! Umm umm good!

The weather was great the whole time we were there. It was sunny and in the high 70's everyday except the last. On Sunday, it got colder and was only in the 40's. It actually snowed on us coming home in the mountains that day! It was so pretty to see all the new green trees and SNOW at the same time! (There are more pics in the Gallery!)