June 2 - Dollywood - Day 2

June 2 - Monday

First full day at Dollywood

We were up and going around 7:30 a.m.  We ate bagels, yogurt, toast, cereal and got ready for the day.

The game room was so nice for the kids, while they waited for us to get ready.

All ready with cute braids and matching shirts!

We arrived at 10 a.m.  The first ride was Lightning Rod for the coaster riders and Rockin' Roadway for me and Noah.

Noah loves the map...

And we both love the car ride. 

Noah didn't really want to ride anything.  So we watched a show..."The Little Engine that Could."

Then we rode Dumbo.

Noah was so close to being able to ride the teacups without an adult...

But I rode the teacups with him.

Then he did the little kid rides by himself.  

Then we met up with the others.

They went on the swings.

We all went on the carousel.  

Isak was sweet and spent time with Noah on the ride.

Then Noah decided he could go on the raft ride.  So we all rode the raft ride and got soaking wet.  But it was so fun because we were all together.  Then we convinced Noah to go on the log ride.  That didn't go as well.  It has a very big drop and Noah was not happy about that!  He refused to go on anymore rides.  But at least, he tried two new rides on this trip.  

We were all hungry, wet and the lines for most of the rides were 40-60 minutes long.  So we left and went to the cabin around 3ish.  We got food from Sonic.  I made myself my own sandwich, but enjoyed a chocolate milkshake from Sonic.  Kids got corn dogs, chicken tenders and grilled cheese. 

Nels, Sofie, Kira and Isak went back to Dollywood around 5 and enjoyed the shorter lines for the rides.  Noah and I stayed at the cabin.  We played two games of air hockey.  

We hung out...

Then we played Golden Tee, a golf game.  We played 18 holes of golf and it was pretty fun!  

Then Noah and I watched Elemental.  When the kids got home, we ate some snacks. Here's a pic that Nels took...

Then we got in the hot tub for a bit and went to bed.

This quote was in the cabin...I like it.

Great Day 2 at Dollywood.

June 1 - Dollywood - Day 1

June 1

We thought we would go to Dollywood before Nels started his new job.  So we packed up and left at 11 a.m. on June 1.  It's only a four hour drive.  We prayed together, listened to Pres. Nelson's general conference talk from April: "Confidence Before the Lord."  We talked about charity and virtue.  I think it helped us to all be a little bit more kind this week.  Yay.  

I listened to a Follow Him podcast.  I drove half the time and Nels drove the other half.  We arrived at the cabin just when it became available, 4 pm.  The cabin's name was "No More 9 to 5."  It was very nice 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home. 

We got unpacked and settled.  The boys are in one room with a queen over queen bunk bed.  The girls are in another room with a king bed.  There's a game room with a hockey table and two arcade games.  

Also, a hot tub!

Then we went out for dinner/lunch at McAlister's Deli.   

Noah got his double mac and cheese. :)

This is one of our favorite restaurants because there's something on the menu that everyone likes!

Then we went to Dollywood from 6-8 p.m.

It was so nice, no lines and we just enjoyed it.  Here's a few pictures:

The kids went on Mystery Mine, Eagle, Big Bear Mountain, Dragonfly, Bear Trail and Treetop.

Sweet Noah.  I went on Treetop with him.  

And a Bear ride.

Everyone, except Noah, went on Dragonfly and Big Bear Mountain.

Isak and Kira got to ride it twice.   And Isak and I rode it together and sat in the very front!!

Watch out, cute kid walking through Dollywood!

As we were leaving, we got free cinnamon bread!  Mmmm.  We loved it.  

Great way to start our trip.

We went to Walmart and bought about $60 worth of food:  milk, eggs, cheese, stuff for egg burritos, sandwiches, yogurt.  Then we all went to bed.  We slept well.  The beds were comfy!

Here's Isak with Dumbo and Cole (turtle squish mallow) on his queen top bunk bed.

And this is a little exaggerated, but this is how Kira and Sofie share the bed.  Haha.

Day 1 of our Dollywood trip is done.

May 31 - Pickleball Tournament!

May 31 - Saturday

Nels and I signed up for a Round Robin Pickleball Tournament.  My first tournament.  

I was nervous!  But I'm glad I did it.  We both had a good time.  I'm glad we got a sitter too, so then I wasn't worried about the kids!

Here we are, ready to go!

Our friends did the tournament with us...Todd and Allyson.

It was fun to watch our pickleball group play too.

The girl on the left is named Becky too.  When we play together, we say "Becky Power!"  :)

Kind of hard to see, but Nels is on the far back left side of the court.  

Here's a closer shot.  He's on the right at the kitchen line.  

Here's my friend Allyson on the right.

Here's me on the left...

Nels...

Me again.  

We played four games with a different partner every time.  The first game was a tough match...I was matched with Tracy a beginner.  We played against Sam a 4.0 player and Nour a 3.0 player.  We lost 11-2.  I was crushed.  My first game!  I was pretty worried for my next game.  Game #2:  I played with the 4.0 Sam player against Jane from our pickleball group who is really good and another woman.  They were a good team.  Sam & I won 11-2.  Then I played Game #3:  I played with Josh against Deanna and another lady.  They were both good and it was a pretty even game.  Josh and I won 11-9.  Game #4 - I played with Drake against a girl and a guy.  We won 11- 4.  Yay!  It was so fun, except for the first game.  :)

Nels did well too.  I think he won two games and lost two games.  We ate fried chicken, chips, cookies and watermelon.  Food was included in our tournament fee.  

After everyone played, I was ranked 27 out of 92 people.  Not too bad.  We watched the finalists play.

Here's our pickleball group:

Back row, left to right: Todd, Jane, Keith Wade

Front row, left to right: Nels, Me, Allyson, Lisa, Phyllis, Rina and Logan  

It was a great night and the weather was perfect!  Yay!  I'm glad we did a tournament together.