Home Away from Home

 Growing up, Christopher and I both spent a lot of time in the Smokie Mountains. We love to visit over a long weekend, so we packed our bags and had a mini-vacation. We couldn't check into our villa until Saturday, but we didn't want to lose time, so we drove down and camped out our first night there. Our friends, Ellen and Mark went with us and had never been to Gatlinburg before!

Evey did excellent sleeping on the ground. She actually slept better than me! She was so cute in the tent!

When we woke up at sunrise, we packed up camp and headed out to drive the dragon. Christopher has been talking about driving Deal's Gap for years, so we made the plans to do it this trip. I get very, very car-sick (which is why we hadn't gone before) and so we got some Dramamine and got ready to go.

I've never taken Dramamine before, so I had no idea how it'd affect me. I definitely wanted maximum car-sickness-prevention, so we decided I should take two. By the time we actually got to Deal's Gap, I was so loopy! I couldn't hold my head up... at all. I felt like my speech was slurred and I was so groggy. We drove all 318 turns in 11 miles and got to the Dragon's gift shops and decided to turn around and drive it back again. I slept through every turn.

I definitely got maximum prevention!

By the time we got to Mountain Loft, we found out that we couldn't check in until 4pm. That wasn't part of the plan We were exhausted and hot, so we hit the pool to waste some time.

After a few minutes swimming, we realized how hungry we were. So we got a recommendation and headed down to the strip. I had eggs benedict which weren't as great as Christopher's but definitely did the trick. After lunch, we had enough energy to hit our favorite spots on Glades Road.

We stopped for our traditional Sasporillas and Ice Cream at the Old Fashioned Soda Shop!

Finally, it was 4pm!! We headed back to the villa for a quick nap before heading downtown for the evening.

Evey played Peek-a-Boo with Mark.

We always love spinning the massive marble in front of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum and Evey had a great time running her hand throught the water.

We went to Old Smokie Candy Company, and Evey decided she wanted some toys... This was the first time she'd ever pulled things off the shelves, and she did it right! She just kept going back for more! She did really well, though, when we put them back and waved "bye-bye."

By 11pm, Evey was starting to get fussy, but she'd been such a trooper all night! She may have been tired, but she enjoyed the trolly ride home!

When we got back to the villa, we put Evey down and decided to play the Redneck Game of Life. The four of us were up until 2am (which I haven't seen in ages!) but had to be up and running again by 5 to hit Cades Cove. It was going to be an early morning!

Cades Cove was beautiful! We got there a little after sunrise, but still in time to see loads of deer!

Evey loves to drive with her Papa.

After all that running, we were all exhausted! Evey fell asleep half-way through Cades Cove, and then we all napped again when we got back to the villa. Ellen and Mark had to leave at noon, so we had crammed as much of Gatlinburg as we could into the time we had!

When we woke up, it was a bit rainy and we decided to head out for a late lunch.

Look, Mom!! NO HANDS!!

Evey stood on her own for the first time!

After a tasty lunch at Blaine's, we decided to go to the aquarium. I'll post those pictures later!

Kwa Heri! Baadaye!!

Last year, in June, my parents left the country to head to Kenya. I thought they were insane leaving the month before their first grandbaby was due, but we knew God had called them there and we were trusting that they'd be home before Evey made her appearance.

This year, they decided to stay longer than last... They planned a trip for an entire month.

For anyone who's ever talked to me before, they know that I'm a mommy's girl. I've never spent a whole month away from my mom, but, again, God had called them, so away they went.

Evey and I woke up bright and early on June 3rd to meet my parents at the airport. We got there by 5am. Just in time to say good-bye, or "Kwa Heri" if you will. I am definitely missing my mommy and daddy, but they're having a great time doing all the things they felt led to do!

Waving good-bye to Mimi and Mipa.

We've had a couple of Skyping opportunites since they've been gone. The first time, Evey was with her Auntie Ali for the day and they said she was reaching through the computer to get to her Mimi. The reception in Makutano, however, isn't very clear. We weren't able to use video at the same time and couldn't talk while we used the video feature. The phone feature worked perfectly, so at least we got to talk a bit!