... hot chocolate.

It was finally cool enough today for the first hot chocolate ("piece of cocoa" for Rachael) of the season. Mmmmm!

... a visit from Mom!

My mom flew in today for a visit for a few days. I'm so happy she's here! It feels like forever since we saw her last. Rachael is thrilled to see her, too; she and 'Nana' are great friends. It's probably because they both have brown hair...

I thought when we moved to Kentucky that our families would come and visit, but so far it hasn't been nearly as often as I thought it would. (Who knew it actually is as far away as it seems. Oh well.) I'm glad she's here.

... friends who help.

I'm the Education Counselor in the RS presidency, which means I am over the teachers. One of our teachers has a three year old boy (who is in nursery). Today was her day to teach the lesson, and of course, halfway through the lesson, he had to go to the potty. I slipped out and took him to the potty, so she could continue to teach the lesson.

I'm grateful for good friends that I know would do the exact same thing for me if our roles were reversed.

... 10 things.

10 totally random things we saw last week:

1) A man hiking up a mile-long uphill path with a cigar in his mouth.

2) A women hiking up to Clingman's dome in boots with 2 inch heels.

3) Road signs and maps in both English and Cherokee.

4) A bunch of llamas. (They were part of a hiking group).

5) License plates from every state in the South.

6) A "scary monster" - turned out to be the end of a dead log.

7) A tough-looking motorcycle gang from Ontario, Canada.

8) Two drag queens at Hardees. I won't elaborate.

9) Two girls wearing handmade dresses and caps... rollerblading down the street.

10) Santa Claus at Krispy Kreme. Really! He was with Mrs. Claus and a man playing the bagpipes. Really really!

... Christmas Place!

I finally got to go shopping at Christmas Place! Christmas is by far my favorite holiday, and Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge is kind of like Mecca for all things Christmas. I explained to Ryan that it was like shopping at Cabela's or Sportsman's Warehouse... I think he gets it. He's not the Christmas fanatic that I am, but he lets me do anything for Christmas that I want.

... and relaxation.

Easily my favorite part of the entire trip... relaxing in the hot tub every night under the stars.

... and the window bed.

One of the cool things about the cabin is the upstairs bedroom has a really large window seat - it's actually the size of a twin sized bed. Like any kid, Rachael decided she would rather sleep in the window seat than in the comfortable king-sized bed in the bedroom. It's a vacation for all of us, so I took the sheet & blanket from the bed and made up the window seat so she could sleep there. She slept in it every night!

... the aquarium.

We thought we would do something fun for Rachael while we were on vacation, so we went to the aquarium in Gatlinburg. It was pretty expensive, but she had a great time! She was so excited to see everything.

This tank had something fun - dragons and seahorses.

But her favorite part? A molded octopus in a bathtub outside the gift shop.

... mountains and waterfalls.

Today we went to Mingo Falls, which is actually on a Cherokee Indian reservation. We had to drive all the way across the Park, then hike up about a quarter of a mile. The waterfall is impressive; it's about 180 feet high. The view of the Smokies on the way over is equally impressive.

... and a new family tradition.

August 2007 Family Picture at Newfound Gap
Great Smoky Mountain National Park

September 2008 Family Picture at Newfound Gap
Great Smoky Mountain National Park