Smokey Mountains

The family took a little trip up to Gatlingburg during the Christmas season.  Chad went hiking with his high school buddy, Kyle Nolen and I decided that the Tanger Outlets would be a great place to accomplish some Christmas shopping so I enlisted the help of Yaya and Nana.

Chad, Noal, Nana, Trace, Yaya @ Dixie Stampede

Our fam @ Dixie Stampede

We took the boys to the Dixie Stampede and they absolutely loved it, especially Noal.  I expected Trace to be the one who enjoyed it the most, but Noal never moved the entire show.  He didn't even look down to get his food, which for those of you who have seen the kid eat, know is a BIG deal!  Trace enjoyed it too, but was ready to go for those last 15 minutes, he 3 year old hiney had set all it could set I guess.  Nana really enjoyed it as well and I was glad she got to experience that with the boys.

It rained the entire time we were there, and one night we even got to see a little bit of snow.  The shopping was a little hindered, because between the rain and the massive double stroller I couldn't get as much accomplished as I had planned, but it was still a great time.  We ate at the Chop House while we were there and it was delish...  Noal was passed out though so he wasn't able to enjoy it like the rest of us!

Noal asleep in the stroller @ the Chop House.

Trace liked it, crayons and pizza, he was one happy kiddo.  Well, after a minor episode that landed him a trip to the bathroom with Mommy!

Chad hiked out of the mountains on Wednesday and that night we went to our favorite place to eat in the mountains, Park Grille.  It was excellent as always, if you have never been while in Gatlinburg, it is a must visit for me!  Then we took the boys to the aquarium, since Trace is fascinated with isch and shaawks right now.  The both really enjoyed it and so did Mommy and Daddy.

Yaya and Trace watching the sharks at the aquarium.

Gatlingburg was a fun quick trip for us, but I love any kind of trip.  I am glad to say that my boys are excellent travelers too.  Traveling is something that Chad and I both enjoy and share a passion for and it is nice that our boys have always been excellent passengers along the way.  Both of them have traveled from the time they were born and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Family Beach Vacation

This year for our annual family beach vacation we went to Destin, Fl.  Joining us on this family vacay was my dad and stepmom KC.  It was a lot of fun and a lot of firsts for the boys.  It was Noal's first time to go to the beach:

(unless you count while he was still in my belly last year!) and it was Trace's first time to go deep sea fishing:

which he absolutely loved.  They both were very well behaved the entire trip.  Chad and I feel so fortunate that both of our boys have always been great travelers.  Traveling is something that Chad and I both love to do and so the boys have been drug along by association since birth!  Our annual beach trip is something that I look forward to every year.

This year was no exception, work had been cRaZy to say the least and a week long vacation with no made plans was just what I needed.  They boys, while good travelers, are still very young and so we spent a lot of time, doing a whole lot of nothing, in the beach house with the boys.  Let me tell you, it doesn't get much better than that... not that I don't look forward to the days where we wake up and go, go, go. but it was nice just to have some quality time to spend with the boys and with my family as well.

The deep sea fishing trip was, well let's be honest, not my favorite.  I would normally leave that kind of thing to the men, but with Trace, I wanted to tag along to help.  Trace, on the other hand, absolutely loved the deep sea fishing trip and was awesome.  He spent time outside with Daddy and helped all of us reel in our catches and then was a very big boy and played on mommy's phone for entertainment on the two, yes two, hour trip back.  So even though the deep sea fishing wasn't my thing, I am glad that I got to share in such a special memory with Trace and Daddy.

 

I did enjoy getting to spend time with my boys on the beach.  Noal was unimpressed by the beach, but did enjoy it I think.  Trace LOVED it, he still wakes up asking if we can go to the beach.  He really surprised me because I thought he would be scared of the ocean, because for as much as we are out on our boat, he can sometimes get scared of the lake.  I just knew that if the lake scared him ocassionally, the ocean would be out for good.  Boy, was I wrong.  He loved getting in the ocean and playing in the waves.  Chad even got him to go out one day past where he could touch and he just swam around in his puddle jumper like a big boy.

Another fun thing that we did was take Trace to Alligator Beach at Fudpuckers.  For those of you who have been to Destin, you know that Fudpuckers is kind of one of those necessary evils.  It's the place you go that has the okay food, for the ridiculous long wait, and even more ridiculous prices.  However, Trace LOVES "cwocadiles" so I really wanted him to go see the alligators (they all look same, right?).  Luckily, we went for lunch and didn't have to bad of a wait and so while we waited Trace got to hang out at Alligator Beach and see the alligators.

Of course we had to have some family photos taken while we there and I learned that getting good family photos could pose to be a problem for the next few years; it seemed I was the only one interested in getting them done instead of playing on the beach... SHOCKING! (-:  I do have to say for the little amount of cooperation I had, we got some pretty good photos:

Overall, it was an amazing vacation and has already left me anxiously awaiting our return next year!

--- Roby Reunion ---

We spent this past weekend at Paris Landing State Park for the Roby Reunion.  The Roby family is Chad's mother's side of his family.  It was a wonderful time spent with family and outside in the sunshine.  The weather for the weekend couldn't have been more perfect.  It was warm and sunny, but managed to not be too hot.  For me, that is a huge plus because I am not a fan of the Tennessee heat and humidity!

Family Pic - July 2011 - Paris Landing State Park

On Friday, Chad played golf with the guys.  The boys and I arrived that afternoon and went out on the boat to do a little wakeboarding and swimming.  Then we headed down to the beach pavilion for a little BBQ.  We wrapped up the night by playing games in the family room and watching funny YouTube videos in bed.  (If you haven't heard of Epic Rap Battles of History, YouTube it!)

Ally Jane, Uncle Sam, and Trace - July 2011 - Kentucky Lake

Saturday morning we all slept in, even the boys!  That was a nice treat for Mommy and Daddy.  After everyone was up we headed back on the lake and stayed out all day.  Yaya and other family members were nice enough to watch Noal, so we could really enjoy the day on the lake.  Dan and Abby even came down from Danville to join us for a little while.  We spent the day wakeboarding, tubing, and just hanging out on the lake.  My perfect day.

Mommy and Trace - July 2011 - Kentucky Lake

Saturday night we ate at the Paris Landing Inn Restaurant and it was the prime rib buffet.  It was delicious as usual.  We then spent some time sitting around outside letting the kiddos play and just talking and catching up with family.  It was a beautiful night and we all had a really good time.



Daddy and Trace

Baby Noal

Mommy and Daddy

We had a wonderful time, as we always do, at the Roby Reunion.  Next year we are trying something new and not going to Paris Landing, but I am sure whatever we decide to do will be fun.  I just love spending quality time with family!







--- Family Ski Trip ---

In April, we took a family vacation to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Chad's parents, Ronnie and Mitzi, and his brother and significant other, Travis and Megan, went with us on the trip.  It was the first time Chad and I had been skiing since college, so we were both so excited to go.

The most interesting part of the trip was getting all of our luggage on the plane.  We had four suitcases, two ski bags, my laptop bag, a diaper bag, Trace's toy/DVD bag, a stroller, and my purse; all with just two adults and our two small kids.  Needless to say, we gathered a lot of attention as we were checking in.  I am sure we were THOSE people, you know the ones you silently think to yourself, "I hope they aren't on MY flight."  Luckily it all went pretty smooth and once the luggage was checked and we made it through security it was pretty much smooth sailing.  The boys were angels on the both flights, never making a peep!



We booked the trip with a little hesitation because it was the last week of the ski season and so we were a little nervous about what the ski conditions would be like.  Well, as you can see from the picture below they were awesome.  The second day we were there we got 15" of fresh powder it was amazing.

We skied a lot, but I have to say we are not the hard-core, go all day until the lifts close, skiers that we used to be.  We had a wonderful time just relaxing in our cabin with a nice breakfast in the mornings, skiing for a little bit, enjoying a lunch on the mountain, and then skiing for the rest of the afternoon, followed up by dinner at one of the local restaurants.

Another fun thing that we were able to do on this trip was to get Trace on skis for the first time.  We debated putting him in ski school since he barely made the age limit of 2 and a half, but we decided that it was probably best just to let him play around on them this year.  We rented him a set of skis and took him out on the ski in/ski out area of our cabin to let him get used to it.  To be so young, I think we are going to have a natural on our hands, he could keep his skis in french fry position like a little champ!

I was so glad that we were able to get some great family photos while we were there.  With two kids two and under, let me tell you that is no easy task.  Here are some current Mitchell family photos, coming to a Christmas Card soon:

We had a wonderful time on our family vacation at Steamboat Springs and can't wait to go back again very soon!