Trip to Tennessee

I have been meaning to write a post about our trip to Tennessee for a while...like since we got back...on February 6th.  The post became daunting because of the number of photos I had to sift through in order to document how we spent our time during our visit.  We got a little camera-happy at times...

So, on January 30th (or so), we headed south to visit my family and meet our nephew/cousin, Jack, for the first time.  Since he was born (eight weeks early) in November, I had been so anxious to get my hands on him, but because of Jeff's work schedule, sick kiddos, and bad weather, our trip had to be postponed a few times.  After a very long but not-bad (terrific, I suppose, considering we had an uneventful 14-hour car trip with two little ones) drive, we FINALLY made it.

When we arrived at the condo (at almost midnight), we were greeted by my Mom (Nana), my sister (Nay-Nay), my brother-in-law (Uncle James), and Jack!  I couldn't believe how cute that little boy was (is!)...and how tiny!  We were all so happy to see everyone!  So happy, in fact, that our previously-sleeping (in the car) children woke up to hug and giggle and run and dance...

Our visit was so great!  Jeff had to spend much of our time in Gatlinburg working, but the rest of us had lots of fun (sorry Daddy)!  We got to see all of the members of my immediate family (Kris came home from school for a weekend, and Dryse had some days off of school and work), plus many members of my extended family.  We even dropped in on one of my best friends from growing up, Jessica Bookstaff!

We took the kids swimming several times, walked around downtown a bit, and visited The Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies (which Avery says was "totally awesome").

Here is a slideshow of photos from our time with family:

Here is a slideshow of photos from our trip to the aquarium:

Leaving was sad. Avery and Noel tried to hide in a closet with their Nana in an attempt to be left behind. Saying goodbye is especially difficult with no future visit on the books... 

It was so great to spend time with everyone...and terrific to meet Jack! He is such a sweetie! Next time we see him, he'll be HUGE, I'm sure. He's been packing on the pounds like a champ. Keep up the good work, little boy! Hopefully we'll see you, again, soon...