Our family vacation this year was to nearby Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We stayed a whole week, so we saw pretty much everything there is to see this time! We even saw bears three different times! 
The "smoky" mountains.
Someday they will actually get to hike on the Appalachian Trail, but a picture will have to do for now.
Little Pigeon River.
We enjoyed a trip up a mountainside in this tram. The view was incredible and the at the top of the mountain was a small amusement park.
Chair lift to the alpine slide at Ober Gatlinburg.
We stumbled into "Dick's Last Resort" one day for lunch when Aunt Julie came to visit us and immediately wondered if we should leave, but since we were all hungry we stuck it out. It is a VERY bizarre place to eat. The waitresses are purposely incredibly rude, throwing your straws and silverware at you, rudely asking you want to eat, and then getting mad at you when you take too long. Water is served in a bucket, which Ashleigh thought was hilarious.
Julie was not so impressed with her water bucket or bib. The bibs are tied on you by the hostess and you cannot take them off without causing a huge commotion.
To top it all off, everyone is given a huge hat with a humiliating phrase on it. Luckily our waitress agreed to go easy on us since we had small children. Let's just say she wasn't so nice to her other customers. Owen's hat said, "I eat the chocolate from the kitty box." Ashleigh's said, "I like boy cooties" and Nathan's said, "My butt snores." Julie's said, "Jersey Shore Reject" and Greg's said, "I fart in my sleep."
Trenton's hat said, "Be glad I'm not a twin" and unfortunately, my hat was not G-rated so I will not share here. Owen did not enjoy wearing his hat for very long, but our waitress kept making him put it back on.
The kids definitely loved our day at Splash Country waterpark. We had a great time despite little Dallin not feeling well.
What trip to the bear capital of the world wouldn't be complete without bear waffles for breakfast?!
Sweet baby (before he got sick and stopped eating for four days)!
Evening family hike to a small waterfall.
Our family hike led us to this cabin in the middle of the woods.
Downtown Gatlinburg on a very hot day!
"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get!" We enjoyed some great food at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. in downtown Gatlinburg. Nathan knew the answer to every Forrest Gump trivia question our waiter asked!
Trenton and Ashleigh went horseback riding one morning while I tended a very sick baby who wound up with a double ear infection half-way through our vacation. They saw two baby bears climbing a tree just minutes into their horseback ride!
We went to the Dixie Stampede dinner show one evening. We enjoyed watching the horses and buffalo while eating a huge feast without any silverware! Luckily they supply lots of wet wipes and even a hot towel at the end of the show to tidy up with. Owen was impressed with all the "pretty ladies who talk funny" (southern accent). This is definitely a must see while in Gatlinburg!
Outside Ripley's Aquarium next to the Little Pigeon River in downtown Gatlinburg.
Manta rays inside Ripley's Aquarium.
Downtown Gatlinburg. The three of them were able to reverse the direction of the ball.
Owen loves playing minature golf! He made two hole-in-ones on this course. He cheers for himself after every hole.
I love his seriousness!
We ended our fun week with Ella by heading to our favorite waterpark, The Beach, for an evening of fun.
