Great Smoky Mountains National Park

After Ober Gatlinburg we went to the Smokies! Christopher really wanted to see a bear, so we drive around the loop the park has until we saw a bear. Lucky for him we saw 4 bears!

This is a baby bear that we caught running across a big open field. It was very cool to see.

We also spent some time in a little stream. The water was freezing, but Christopher made us all get in. The girls screamed of course. We had fun finding cool rocks and playing in the water for awhile.

This is Avery's real reaction!

This is Avery's reaction as a result of a brib! Half Smile!!

Ober Gatlinburg

Ober Gatlinburg is usually a ski resort, but when there is no snow they turn it into a summer park. You can ride the ski lifts and look out at the view!
Avery enjoyed the ski lifts much more than I did!

You can ride down the mountain on their alpine slide ride! It was a lot of fun and Christopher was by far the faster rider!

There was also a play ground at the park. The girls loved playing in the ball pit! Sarah couldn't get out of it, so Christopher had to go in and get her.

Avery and Christopher playing half a round of mini golf. Avery was not too interested after about 8 holes. She is a natural though.

You could also go ice skating at the park. Christopher insisted on taking Avery. She was actually looking forward to it and wanted to go right up to the point when they got on the ice. Christopher loved it!!

We ended the day riding the carasol. Avery loved it and Sarah screamed through the entire ride. Which resulted in Christopher and Avery riding the again and again and Sarah and I sitting on the side watching.

Chattanooga Night 2

I wanted to go back to Hillbilly Willy's for dinner again, but Christopher wanted to try something new. So we went to Good Dog. It had good food, but didn't come close to J-Dawg's in Provo.
After hotdogs we went to a minor league baseball game. The Chattanooga Lookouts!

Avery got a baseball shirt. Both the girls really enjoyed it! I don't think the people around us would say the same thing though.

The highlight of the game for Avery was eating ice cream out of a baseball hat and then getting to play with it for the rest of the game!

More animals...

Alligator
Sea Turtle

Nemo

Shark cage that Avery was too scared to get into!

Really scary looking crab animals that made Avery cry!

Chattanooga Day 2

We woke up early on day 2 and went to the Tennessee Aquarium. It is huge and we spent hours looking at all the animals.

We first saw the sting rays. Avery was not thrilled about the prospect of touching them.

Sarah though couldn't get close enough to them.

We went to the butterfly room next. Sarah thought they were very cool and grabbed at everyone she could see.

Avery loved the butterflies also. She even wanted to hold and touch them.

Day 1 continues...

After the railroad we went to a monument/park in Chattanooga were the Trail of Tears started many years ago. Usually their is water running down the steps to indicate the tears, but it was too cold. So instead Avery had fun running up and down the steps without water.

That night we went to dinner at Hillbilly Willy's Bar-B-Q!!! It was amazing! I loved the food and if we ever go back to Chattanooga we will eat there every night!!!

After dinner we went to Lookout Mountain which over looks the entire city. It was fun for Christopher and I to see, but our girls didn't love it!

Down the road from Lookout Mountain is Chattanooga National Military Park. We walked around for awhile and saw all the cool cannons, but the highlight of the park was getting to watch a guy propose to his girlfriend! It was so cute and I wish we had taken a picture.

Family Vacation Day 1

Day 1 started with a trip to the Tennessee Valley Railroad. It was a blast and the girls loved riding a real train.

This is the actual train we road.

We road a couple of miles and then got off the train. We were able to see how they turn the train around on a big turn table. Then we got back on the train and road it to the station. It was a lot of fun!

Avery and Sarah's favorite part was hanging their heads out the window and feeling the wind in their hair.