Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant

On the way home from Tennessee, we like to stop at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant. The food is great (the portions are HUGE!) and they have really yummy apple fritters and apple butter. We enjoyed a good meal and then headed for Ohio. It was kind of sad leaving the mountains, but we have many wonderful memories from our trip.

Emmaline and Mommy
(Can you tell the someone is tired of being strapped in?!)

Jacob, Aunt Katie, and Ellie

Andy and Nathan

Dad, Mom, and Andy

Greenbriar Trail - take 2

After dinner tonight, we hiked the Greenbriar Trail one last time. It is our new favorite trail in the Smokies...lots of shade, lots of river, and not a lot of people. We enjoyed this last hike together before we head home tomorrow. We even came across an old family cemetery and some deer on the trail.

Jacob, all geared up to hike
Ellie taking a rest

Jacob and Aunt Katie enjoy a quiet moment in the middle of the river

Mom collecting rocks from the riverbed
Daddy and Jacob wading

Rock Band

One of the highlights of this vacation was playing Rock Band together. It was usually girls (Katie, me, and my niece, Marleigh) against the boys (Andy, Andy, and Nathan) and we held quite the competition. Sometimes we even let the younger kids play, but their scores didn't count!

The Girls

The Boys

Ellie on drums

Emmy practicing for her first rock concert

Jacob on guitar

Happy 30th Birthday, Katie!

Although it isn't officially until tomorrow, we celebrated my sister's 30th birthday tonight. Mom made chicken pot pie (our traditional birthday dinner) and a delicious cake. We ate, she opened presents, and we enjoyed our last night having everyone together. Good times!

Jacob, Aunt Katie, and Ellie

We gave her the necklace she is wearing and "13 going on 30"

Presents!

Make a wish!

Roaring Fork Motor Trail

After our hike, we finished the Roaring Fork Motor Trail. We saw lots of different homesteads. Jacob and Ellie liked running around and exploring.

Jacob thought this rock looked like a surfboard
while Ellie thought it looked like an old-fashioned slide

Jacob's pose in this pic. cracks me up

Ellie at "The Place of a Thousand Drips"Katie, Me, and Ellie
Jacob by a mill
He liked how the water made diamond shapes as it rushed down the chute

Katie was standing on this log trying to take a picture of the flower in the top left corner of this pic. Her first attempt at log surfing was not successful!

Luckily she had a change of clothes in the van. While she changed behind the van door, we heard Jacob and Ellie giggling. It was at that point that she realized they could see her through the window. Too funny!

Grotto Falls

Every time we visit Gatlinburg, we hike to Grotto Falls. In previous years, we've gone in the fall and the trail was not crowded. This time of year was very busy, so the kids didn't get to play in the water as much as they would have liked. It was a good hike though and we saw lots of animal tracks on the trail.

Katie showing how far we are about to hike
It was almost 3 miles round trip.

Uncle Andy and Jacob liked playing in the cold water

Andy, Nathan, and Andy

Jacob and Daddy on the trail

Greenbriar Trail

Katie, Andy, Andy, and Nathan hiked on the Greenbriar Trail before dinner tonight. It was a shaded, mostly gravel trail that ran next to the river. They had fun playing in the water and hiking together.

Amazingly, Andy did not fall in!

My handsome husband by the river

Wild Plum Tea Room

Today, Mom, Katie, and I went shopping in the Crafter's Loop. We always get dessert at the Wild Plum Tea Room. It was just as good as we remembered!

Oconaluftee Indian Village

After Newfound Gap, we headed to Oconaluftee Indian Village. We ate a picnic lunch before heading into the village. Once inside, we watched several Indian dances and then toured the village. We watched several different kinds of weaving, making a canoe, a hunting demonstration, and saw various types of houses the Cherokee Indians have lived in through the years. Our last stop was the gift shop. The owner gave Emmaline and Kayla matching necklaces. I don't know if she has a family member with Down syndrome or what, but it was nice that she appreciated the uniqueness of both girls.

The Gang eating lunch

Emmy and Mommy

Katie, Ellie, and Jacob by a hut
(Jacob is trying to show the bug crawling on his arm.)

Mommy and the kiddos outside a log cabin

The Harvesting Dance

Emmaline and Daddy
She loved the dancing and would clap after each one.

Jacob next to some beadwork

Newfound Gap

On our way to Cherokee, North Carolina, we stopped at Newfound Gap. The state line between Tennessee and North Carolina runs through here. There was a nice breeze blowing and we even got to see a black bear!

The Kids
Andy, Jen, Katie, Dee, and Angel

Dad, Mom, Katie, and Andy

In the woods near the Appalachian Trail

The black bear

Emmy liked playing in the moss on this wall

Jacob and Daddy on a tall wall

Jacob thought this hole in the rock was the perfect cup holder for his water bottle.

Kayla and Angel by the state line