The Mountains! Days Two and Three

I was not surprised that my kids woke up early the first morning. However, I was not expecting it to be before 6 am! Already being anxious considering our bedroom was on the top floor and the kids' bedrooms were on the first floor, we didn't get much sleep. But the waking up game started at 5:15 am Saturday morning. Ryan cried out, I ran downstairs to quiet him with the paci, he'd scream for me to pick him up, I'd come back upstairs choosing to try and ignore it, Tyler comes to the foot of the stairs ready to get up, I tell him to go back to sleep, Ryan's still screaming, I ask Josh to try..... You get the point :) Long story short, I was up with both kids by 5:45 am Saturday morning. So, I bet you aren't suprised to see this?

We finally rolled out around 10:30 am for Linville Caverns.  This was over an hour drive but well worth it once we arrived.  We did the tour of the caverns which Josh loved.  I remembered going when I was very small.  Tyler was a little nervous at times, but he came out of it saying he loved it.  Ryan did very well considering we had to hold him through the entire tour. 

Leaving, we had absolutely no idea where we were or where to eat.  We finally found a place for lunch. This is where smartphones would come in handy I suppose!  We had planned to go to Grandfather Mountain afterward, but we decided we probably should go back to the cabin and do some hiking there.  There were several trails to take.  We took a very simple one but had a little detour coming back.  Josh swore he knew a path to get back to our cabin.  Well, we got back but with thorns in our hands and a few minor scratches :)  Tyler was not too thrilled! 

If you are wondering why my kids are wearing nice sweaters it's because I planned to take pictures of them for Christmas cards.  Well, it did not happen smoothly, but I did manage to get a few.  Why are my kids all of a sudden anti-photography? 

That evening after a lasagna dinner, we made cookies and sat by the fire.  That sounds totally storybook right?  It kinda was....for like 2 minutes until the chocolate melted onto them and the carpet. :) 

We got in some good hugs and kisses before Ryan's bedtime. 

Mommy and Daddy even felt a little sleep-deprived silly.

After Ryan finally fell asleep, Tyler just had to get back in the hot tub! 

And later I did too and was happy with the hotter temperature of the water while looking at this view! :)

I did not fall asleep at 9pm that night, but I did fall asleep 3/4th a way into the movie, Social Network, at 10:30 pm.  Everyone must have been tired, because we made it until 6:45 am the next morning.  At least there was daylight! 

We spent some time in the downstairs gameroom in the mornings so that daddy could sleep in a little.  Tyler loved playing ping pong, and Ryan loved....well, pulling out all of the movies! The following pictures are from different times in the playroom!

Overall, we had a great but tiring time!  It's never truly a vacation with kids, but it is fun making family memories together whether you are tired or not!  On our way home Sunday, we stopped at my sister's new house and met up with family for a few hours.  We finally ended up home at 6pm!  Luckily, Tyler's turkey project due Monday was already done :)