Keeping Up With...Family (Weekly Wrap 7/29 - 8/4 - Part 1)

Friday (7/29) was a crazy busy day!  AJ had two different appointments (chiropractor and GI Clinic) and Adrian also had a doctor's appointment.  We ran around like crazy all morning to get everyone where they needed to be and get a few last minute errands ran as well.  Then the rest of the day was spent packing so we're ready to leave in the morning.

Saturday (7/30) we finished up what we needed to do and hit the road to Tennessee.  We hit the road shortly after lunch and made great time getting down to Gatlinburg.  The boys were rock stars again in the car.  We made two very quick stops and got down to our chalet in about seven hours.  Zak talked the last 90 minutes because he didn't want to fall asleep which was both annoying and adorable.  We got there in time for dinner with everyone and just relaxed and spent some good quality family time.  We have 4 families here (my parents, my 2 brothers & their families and us) for the whole week to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary.

Our view from the deck

Sunday (7/31) we got settled in a little more in the chalet and went and did some food shopping to start our week.  Then we went and spent some time at one of the 3 pools we have access to this week.  It was fun to swim with the boys and my nieces and fun to see them all playing together.

And then our big surprise for the week showed up.  My grandfather, uncle & 2 nieces flew in to surprise my parents.  They were delayed because of the weather in NJ (and getting a little lost here in TN) but they finally got here around 7:00 just in time for a huge Italian dinner.  My parents were shocked!!  They had no idea they were coming!  I'm shocked that we all kept it a secret, including my 3 boys.  We spent the night eating and talking and just being together.  It was fabulous!

Monday (8/1) we spent the morning hanging around the chalet and getting a few things done.  My mom made crumb cake with the kids, we cut up some fruit and veggies and we did some laundry.  Adrian, my father & my brothers went to play a round of golf.  When we were all done we headed to the pool for some fun and to cool off a little.  After that we went back home for dinner and more family time and to figure out what we would do the next day.  It was a relaxing and fun day.

Tuesday (8/2) morning we headed out to one of the most recommended places in Gatlinburg, Crockett's Breakfast Camp.  We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of pancakes, cinnamon rolls and waffles.  Delicious!  Thanks to all of our friends who recommended it!

Then we headed to play some "Hillbilly Mini Golf" with my brothers, sisters in law and nieces.  It was a pretty cool concept.  You rode up the hill in a little tram like car, played the course down about halfway and then rode the tram down the rest of the way.  The course was fun and we all enjoyed it.  I didn't win, but I got the most holes in one - three!!  I was wildly inconsistent though so I mostly got ones or fives.

After golfing most of the crew headed back to the chalet to cool off in the pool.  The five of us headed to Pigeon Forge to hit up an arcade.  The boys had seen them as we were driving around and really wanted to go to one.  We had a fun time playing a bunch of different games together and walked out with a few cars, some candy and an inflatable bat.  After that we headed to Kroger to stock up on some essentials (like Graeter's ice cream!) and headed back to the chalet for dinner and some board games.  Another fantastic day with family!

I think I will end this here and continue with the next two days of the week in part 2.  We did quite a bit those days and this is already a pretty long post.  Come back to hear what we did the rest of the week!