Gatlinburg, TN

Josh's mom cooked up a great idea for a family reunion.  We all met in Gatlinburg, TN and rented a cabin for a week.  Uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents were all in attendance.  The boys were thrilled to see family and Gatlinburg is one of their favorite places.  Dollywood, Splash Country water park, mini-golf, hiking and playing in the pool...what a way to kick off summer.

A trip to Gatlinberg wouldn't be complete without a trip to the local Bass Pro Shop.

They almost look like locals....scary

We hiked to a waterfall at Great Smokies National Park

The boys explored the rocks

Grady scares me.  He's like a little elf on rocks

My attempt to get all four boys in a photo.

Emma and Josh 

When we went back to the boy's shoes, we had a friend waiting for us.  Anyone see the salamander?

Mom, stop taking pictures.

Em loved the jacuzzi tub.  It was like a pool to her.

As usual, I didn't get many photos of the adults.  Darn it.  But I did manage to capture a pic of Gramma playing a board game with her boys.

Next stop was Dollywood.  Ummm, Emma didn't really like her first ride.  She kept saying, "Piggies, no like that".

She did better on the bees.  It was her idea to try another one.

By the time she got to the ducks, she was ok with rides

Waiting for the carousel

This was her favorite ride by far

We spent most of the time by the pool.  Shelley found a cabin that had its own pool and that made all the difference.  They stayed in there for hours

Cousins.  In this photo they are ages 8, 7, 6, and 5.  

Grady tricked them into jumping. Notice he didn't

Tree frogs.  The boys spent a lot of time trying to catch these little guys.

Not only did the cabin have a pool but it had a home theater as well.  It was great to catch up with family and for the boys to play with their cousins.  They get along so well.  There was only one trip to urgent care which is a miracle with 4 boys.  Myles got a nasty spider bite and his ankle was swollen to twice the normal size.  Nothing that shot of cortisone couldn't fix.  It was a successful family reunion and the boys are already talking about another one.