Thrills and Squeals!

OK....from now on I'm not ending my posts with tomorrow because that inevitably becomes next week!

After attending the Smokies baseball game, we cleaned up and headed to a show.  The show of choice was The Comedy Barn.  It is know as an award winning family comedy variety show in the Smoky Mountains! 

We enjoyed laughing together and the kids enjoyed being a part of the action.  Both Claire and Levi were asked to participate in the dog show which takes place at the very beginning. 

Dancing the night away!

We would recommend The Comedy Barn to anyone looking for some family fun.
 

Day 2 of our vacation was spent at the family friendly theme park known as Dollywood!

The park reminded us of another theme park known as Silver Dollar City.  You are transported back to the "Good Ole Days" with country music, overalls, bonnets with long dresses, and down home country cookin'!  Everyone working at Dollywood makes you feel right at home!

Dollywood has a nice selection of roller coasters and Matt and I rode them all.   Our favorite was the newest roller coaster that opened the month before our trip, called The Wild Eagle.  This roller coaster was smooth as glass and gave us the feeling of soaring high above the Smoky Mountains!  We loved it so much that we rode it twice.  We tried to convince the children to ride roller coasters but they were both nervous.  They did enjoy spending time in the children's area.   Now, this next picture I am not proud of but had to buy because it is classic and a ride we will never forget.  Matt and I FINALLY convinced Claire to ride a roller coaster.  It was called Mystery Mine.  Every roller coaster we had ever ridden with "mine" in the name was very mild.  Not so for the Mystery Mine.  Claire was very nervous as we approached the loading dock and the man strapping us in confirmed that this was NOT a scary ride.  Claire started crying before we ever started moving and it wasn't long before I started!  This roller coaster was the WORST one in the park.  It went straight up in the air very slowly before catapulting us into an upside down loop.  The picture that follows was right after fire shot in our face before exiting the building!  Claire is panic stricken and if you can't tell.... her knuckles are white.  When we exited the ride she felt like throwing up and I did too because I am the one who convinced her to ride! I hope she is not scarred for life!

Matt looks a little dazed too!

She was proud of herself for riding and even happier to report it to her BFF who we ran into at Dollywood.

After a long day in the park, we rode the Dollywood Express.  The rocking of the train almost put us to sleep!

Next stop....Ripley's Aquarium and Wonderworks!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

The first item on our list of things to do was to see the Tennessee Smokies take on the Chattanooga Lookouts.  The Smokies are the AA affiliate for the Chicago Cubs and the Lookouts are the AA affiliate for the Dodgers.  The Endris family has always been die hard Cubs fans even though the Cubs have caused consistent disappointment and great heart ache throughout the years.  But we were pleased to see the W flag flying high on the Cubs flagpole! 

It was a cool, beautiful day in Sevierville with mostly sunny skies and a few passing showers.  The stadium was virtually empty because of the  mid-afternoon game.  Our seats were directly behind the Smokies dugout so Claire and Levi both caught a ball thrown to them by the catchers.

Levi's ball was given to him by catcher Michael Brenly.

Claire's ball was given to her by catcher Juan Apodaca, who has already been promoted to AAA Iowa Cubs.

Everybody loves a good mascot photo...right?

2B Elliot Soto looks hard at a ball low and away. You can see the ball just below his right knee. Good call ump!

RF Jae-Hoon Ha looked really good at the plate that day going 2 for 3 with a monster double off the wall that nearly got out. I think this guy will play in the big leagues one day. He is very fast with a lively arm and lots of quick power at the plate. He is awfully young to be starting at AA at only 21 years old. Look for him in Chicago by 2014.

1B Justin Bour is much of a man at 6'4" 250 and was Levi's favorite player.

We loved the DH's name: Rebel Ridling. Jana kept saying, "His parents didn't really name him that, did they?" He wasn't exactly a little fella either at 6'4" 230.

The game was enjoyable even though the Smokies lost to the Lookouts, 7-5.

We left the ballpark singing, "Go,Cubs, Go; Go, Cubs, Go"

Spring Break!

Spring Break brought with it our family vacation.  We had been counting down the days since Christmas and it just couldn't get here fast enough.  When it finally arrived, we set out on a long journey to Tennessee.  Pigeon Forge was our destination and relaxation was our plan.  The drive was a long 12 hours, but passed  quickly with the license plate game, movies and a great book on CD (The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews).  We were happy to arrive and find this cabin as our "home away from home" for the week.

It was "For Sale" and we were tempted to buy it but decided against it since the commute "home" would be so far! 

Cubbies Delight was the name of our cabin.

Master Suite

Every one had a turn in the spa tub and loved watching TV while bathing!  We were living the life of luxury!

The kids suite

The kids loved having a TV in their room too!

The living room

The French doors lead out to a screened in porch with a hot tub. 

 The hot tub was Levi's favorite part of the whole trip!

The loft

 Levi had all intentions of sleeping in the loft but it was a little lonely and dark upstairs so he opted to sleep with Claire in the kids suite.  They both spent a lot of time playing pool though!

After unpacking and checking out the cabin, we settled in for a long Winter's Spring nap because that 12 hour road trip wore us all out!  Tomorrow ~Day 1 of our Spring Vacation~ Take me out to the ballgame!

He is Risen

He is risen indeed!  Our Easter celebrations have come and gone but Jesus is alive and well and we continue to celebrate Him everyday!  

Miss. Mary Gore, our Toledo Bend Ministry Missionary, came to our annual Spring Fling and shared the resurrection story with the children using the Resurrection Eggs.  She also brought balloons and made balloon animals, swords, crosses...you name it and she made it.

The children love Miss Mary and she loves them!

Following the Resurrection story, the children participated in an Easter Egg Hunt and Scavenger Hunt.  

Claire's team on the run looking for the dedication plaque at the church.

Our silly music minister and one of our crazy choir members. 

My sweet family

After the Spring Fling, our family went to celebrate with the Endris' and enjoyed an afternoon in the park with our cousins.

Easter morning, we woke up to treasures in our Easter Basket and our dog, Lucy even had a surprise!

Lucy loved her stuffed monkey!

Dressing up in our Easter "best" is a tradition that we look forward to and have many pictures to document the occasion.

Notice the thumbs up from Levi...we never know what he's going to do!

Flowering the cross

Family is such a vital part of our lives and we enjoyed eating lunch at my uncle and aunt's home and visiting with our loved one.

My mom and grandmother

I love the Jasmine covered arch that welcomes you to their home.

We have made memories this Easter and look forward to many more!

**Sorry for the picture overload!