~ Spring Break 2010 in the Smokies~

Home to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Dollywood, and lots of "Hillbillies"
We decided it was time to take the kiddos to Eastern Tennessee, so we booked our timeshare in Gatlinburg and started our road trip East. It was only a 6.5 hour drive which was pretty doable for a 6 month old and he did great-only one meltdown. Once we arrived we realized that Eastern TN was so different then Memphis....so beautiful!!!
There was so much to do in Gatlinburg. It's the cutest little town nestled up against the mountains, filled with Go-Karts, Miniature golf courses, lots of yummy food, shopping, and LOTS of crazy people watching. Remember the Smoky Mountains are part of the Appalachian Chain...so that pretty much tells you what the people watching was like....CRAZY!!!

So I of course had heard of The Appalachian Trail but I had no idea (or wasn't listening in History class that day) that you could just get on the trail and hike all the way to Maine. We saw a man there getting ready to make the journey....what an accomplishment. The picture below pretty much sums up why they're called the "Smoky Mountains".

So I've got to be honest when we were driving through the mountains my eyes were wide opened looking for Hillbillies (mountain people). I've heard so much about them that I was so into it, but unfortunately we didn't see any mountain dwellers. I guess they're a little more North in the mining towns. I'm so interested now though that I want to go to that part of the country too. Let's just say they lead such a simple life but yet such a strange (inbred) life that is so crazy to me :)

The family at Dolly Parton's DIXIE STAMPEDE

So we definitely had to throw some dollars down for the dinner show but it was so worth it. There was live entertainment with horses, Southern Belles, Union/Confederate soldiers, Buffalo, Magic, and so much more. The food was amazing too. Would you expect anything less from Dolly though!!

We really did have a good time in Dillenburger (Ryleigh thought it was called that the whole time, so we just let her believe it haha) . We're looking forward to visiting again soon.
Next visit we'd love to have some company, so come out and see us.

N.V.S. Dance Competition Season 2011
So far (we still have 2 more competitions to go) Cara's regional team has placed first in their tap routine and second in their jazz.

Here's her 7-8 dance team in their "Be Our Guest" costumes. These girls have a great time together and luckily so do their mom's. Their coach Miss Kourtney is so patient and does a great job at keeping this rowdy bunch tamed.

Here's Cara in her "Cotton Eye Joe" costume. This dance is so much fun and I can tell she really enjoys performing it.

Here's Cara accepting the first place trophy (overall) for their "Cotton Eye Joe" dance. We needed to go over the word choreographer before, because when asked by the MC who her choreographer was she totally froze...so funny!!!

This was Cara's first competition and right before she went on stage I snapped this picture....she said "Mom my belly hurts, I think I have a case of the "stagefrights"....I felt bad for her but once she got on stage she seemed totally relaxed.

So we've now got the first two competitions (Applause and Star Systems) out of our way. Cara has totally relaxed and keeps asking me when she has her next one. It's a lot of fun watching her interact with her dance friends. I'm so proud of her!!!

Ryleigh will be joining her next year. I don't know how I'm going to change costumes, reapply make up, touch up on eyelashes, take potty brakes......but I can't wait. I may have to hire my Mom to come out during dance competition season. I've been a baseball mom for so long (which I also love) so it's been nice to spend a little time with my girls doing GIRL things!!!!