Laurel Falls and Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg

I had fun hiking to Laurel Falls. It had been way too long since I've walked a trail, and I'm sorry that this one was paved, although that made it a little easier for my four year old to hike. Laurel Falls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park was not as impressive as I had hoped, but it was still pretty. I was told that if they had just had rain, the falls would have been wider. Still, we had a fun family picnic before the hike, the girls loved the pools of water up by the waterfall, and I got to take pictures.











Later during our vacation we headed to the Ripley Aquarium in Gatlinburg. Although the girls did zoom from one thing to the next, the Aquarium was all they talked about for days later. We went to Gatlinburg a couple more times during the week, and each time the girls begged to go back to "see the animals."



The picture above and the picture below are sea dragons. So cool, right?





We had lunch at the little cafe inside the aquarium, and while the rest of us were finishing up, Popper asked if she could go watch the rays. Of course I had to snap a picture. While we were eating, we actually got to watch a diver go into the tank and feed the rays (and the few young sharks that were also in the tank). The girls were pretty excited about that.

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My family took a vacation last week. It was the first vacation, just for us, that we've ever taken as a family. My husband and I decided to journey to Tennessee to see the Great Smoky Mountains. I had dreams of hiking the mountains, seeing waterfalls, and taking amazing pictures that I'd want to frame and put up all over the house. Then we got there, did one hike, and reality set in. Right, I have a 4 year old and a 2.5 year old. They don't like to walk for a few miles at a time, they get tired. They can't be carried the whole way, we get tired and the little ones then don't get any energy out and our crazed by the time we get back to camp. So, the whole trip ended up being a lesson in how to compromise with our wee little ones.

Here are pictures from our first big stop along the way. We all needed to stretch out legs, so we headed for Claytor Lake park. It was chilly, but there was a beach, lots of deer, water, rocks, and shells to collect. What more could my children ask for?

We had a much later start time than we wanted, but it made for pretty dusk pictures, like this one.










Some might find this next picture boring, but I love the simplicity and peacefulness of it.


Popper really wanted me to take a picture of her shell, and she was quite thrilled when we got home and looked through the pictures and got to see the picture. I love her!


Did I mention it was chilly?