Thanksgiving in Tennessee

We spent Thanksgiving in Tennesse with Edward's parents, brother, and his family.  Our weather temps were all over the place, but that didn't keep us from getting outside.

 

The kids enjoyed the local park, a favorite spot during any visit.

 

They all love to climb to the top of this.

Since five of the six grandkids (Knox is still too little) played soccer this past Fall, it seemed like an appropriate activity.

This is pretty much what Alex did during the normal soccer season too.

Luke, waiting patiently at the goal.

Ready for action...even in a dress.

Friday, the temps dropped considerably from the 65 degree day on Thanksgiving.  The high was around 50, plus we added in some rain in the afternoon.  We still weren't deterred from going to Dollywood.  Here, Madison and Kaitlann had to have their picture taken with the nutcracker.

 



Alex joined in too.

Reading the map (I wouldn't trust his directional sense).

The scrambler was Alex's favorite ride.

Aunt Erika with Luke and Mackenzie

Pop, Nana, Kait, and Madison

We discovered Madison is 49 inches tall, just tall enough to finally ride some of the bigger rides and roller coasters.  She rode in her first bumper car solo here.

Now, we didn't get a picture of Madison, Mackenzie's, and my favorite ride-the Tennesse Tornado.  That was a great roller coaster that I took the girls on.  Madison and Mackenzie rode in front of me, and we just had a blast.  It is one that goes upside down several times. I'm sure that when the other kids are tall enough, they will enjoy it too.

Dolllywood train-When it started raining, Nana, Pop, Aunt Erika, Uncle Jason, Knox, and Luke went back to the house.  Edward, Madison, Alex, Mackenzie, Kaitlann, and I stayed another few hours, and during that, we rode the train.  The train was so much fun, as we ended up riding it in the dark.  Dollywood was decorated for Christmas, so we got to see all of the beautiful Christmas lights throughout the park.

A long train

Kait, back on the carousel

Leaves....they are just fun.

Saturday morning, I busted out some crafts I brought along, and they turned out to be a huge hit with the four older kids.

 The enjoyed making Santa and a snowman.

Concentrating...it amazes me how much Kait and Madison look alike and act alike.  They really enjoy each other.  All of the girls have a great time together, and the boys are finally getting old enough to start enjoying each other's company too.

Bass Pro Shop

We traveled to Tennessee for Thanksgiving to see Edward's family.  Edward and I ended up at Bass Pro Shop with Luke (just down the road from his parents' house).  Luke was in heaven, as part of the store was setup with a kids' area full of guns, bows and arrows, remote control cars, etc. 

 

It looks like Davy Crocket is on the scene.

Loving it

Bass Pro even had a free carousel setup inside the store.  Luke picked a moose to ride on after seeing dozens of moose in Alaska this summer.

 

Wilmington

We visited my parents a couple weekends ago.  My camera battery died, so I'm going to have to get some pictures from my mom.  I did snap this one, and even though my dad's eyes are closed, it's a nice picture.

Soccer

Luke finished his soccer season, totally loving it.  He was delighted to get his trophy, and I know he can't wait to play again next Fall.  He is a great goalie, his favorite position.  It will be interesting to see how he develops as a soccer player because he's very athletic.

A Few Random Pictures

I found I had a few random pictures on my phone, so here they are.

 

Flash at the mall...he likes to ride the escalator over and over and over again. 

 Our Clemson (and one Duke) crew at the game

 Alex received his first trophy for his "Little Kickers" soccer season.  He had four games for his season, and Edward and I agree he's the "secret weapon" for his team.  His secret???  No, he doesn't have some amazing kicking power, but he can talk to death anyone.  He distracts the other players, coaches, and refs by talking to them non-stop during a game.  His most popular question, "Who is your favorite Power Ranger?"  Anyways, he had a lot of fun and loved getting his trophy from his coach.  She said she'll be back next year to coach too (yea)!

 Madison loved her Halloween dress and begged me to get a picture before school the other day.

Another random Flash sighting...this one from the zoo yesterday.

North Carolina Zoo

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day here in North Carolina, one of the prettiest days we've had in a long time. My sister and I spoke early on last week and said we would plan a zoo trip if the weekend looked nice.  I don't think the weather could have been nicer.

 

 Here's our zoo crew for the day-my three along with Cousin Alaina.

 Flash was spotted at the zoo.

The colors at the zoo were beautiful.  I think it really helped that we got a cold snap for several days prior to this; all the leaves were in full color.

Oh yeah, we did see some zoo animals while at the zoo  :)  The kids loved the giraffes the most, followed by the bears and alligators.  My kids LOVE the river otters, and they weren't out yesterday.  We're also anxiously awaiting the polar bear return, as they are away while their facility is being renovated.

The carousel was a huge hit, and each kid enjoyed picking out their animal to ride.  Alex, I mean Flash, was delighted to get a "Clemson Tiger" as he said.

Madison wanted a cheetah, and Alaina wanted an elephant.  I didn't get any pictures during the ride, but Madison and Alaina spent most of the time holding hands; it was so sweet.  All three of my kids LOVE Alaina. 

Luke wanted a cheetah too because "they are the fastest animal."

Taking a short break after a lot of heavy walking-The zoo was very crowded due to the nice weather so it was hard to see some of the animals and even hard at times to walk anywhere.  Hopefully, our next trip won't be so crowded.