what I learned in Pigeon Forge

Well, really, I was in Sevierville, but no one knows where that is, so Pigeon Forge just sounds better. Or does it? :-)

Last week, we went on a family vacation (by family, I mean our family of 4, my brother's family of 4, and my mom and stepdad) to Sevierville, TN, which is the town just north of Pigeon Forge. If you've been to Pigeon Forge and/or Gatlinburg, you probably drove through Sevierville to get there. It's where the WalMart is (see #3 below).

What is it about family vacations? I can't exactly wrap my mind around it, but I'm realizing more and more as I get older that family vacations are hard. I really don't get it. I look so forward to them, and then they just never quite turn out the way I'd hoped. Maybe it's me. I'll spare you the nitty gritty details, but I will share my top 10 list of the things I learned while on vacation in Pigeon Forge (including pictures):

10. A North Face jacket is a good make-shift baby carrier, especially when you're hiking 2.6 miles in the cold, wet Smoky Mountains. The picture below shows us at Laurel Falls. Soon after this picture was taken, I put Layla inside my North Face, zipped it up, and within minutes she was fast asleep on my shoulder.

9. WonderWorks is a lot of fun. I definitely recommend it if you're traveling with kids.

8. Little girls love to dance and bake cookies, not necessarily at the same time, but there's nothing wrong with that either.

7. The Christmas Place is fantastic!! I could have shopped for hours in that store. So many beautiful ornaments and any other kind of Christmas decoration you can imagine. Here's a picture of the type of fake tree I'd like to own one day (to go along with my real tree).

6. The Old Mill Square area is wonderful. The restaurant had the best southern food, and the shops were so fun. I bought some beautiful pottery and could have bought a lot more! I think the picture below could be a postcard. I just might frame it.

5. Tubing at Ober Gatlinburg is fun, but don't pay the $20 for your 3 year old, unless you're sure she's not going to be scared after the first time down.

4. Mel's Diner has the BIGGEST banana split, and it's only $5.

3. The female rat tail is still alive and well, at least in this lovely part of Tennessee.

2. My mom is awesome. She paid for our lodging for the whole week. She also watched the girls for me one night so I could go shopping. It was a much-needed break. Thanks, Mom! (I cannot find a picture of my mom from the trip, which is terrible. Well, I take that back. There is one, but it's of her in the pool, and she'd shoot me if I put that on here.)

1. Indoor sky diving is SO. MUCH. FUN. If you go to Pigeon Forge, you have to do it. It's worth every penny of the $35 they charge for a 3 minute "flight". Wow. Loved it.