Fall Break Fun

My girls are on Fall Break this week, and in the absence of any big trips to Disney World or the beach, we decided to have fun here at home! 

We took Monday to rest and relax, and Tuesday was a trip to lunch and the movies (no pics, sorry!) and an eye doctor appointment for Caroline. She complains about her vision from time to time, but luckily he told us that her eyesight isn't bad enough yet to need correction. He did say, though, that she's likely headed down the same path to terrible vision that I followed.

#ThankYouLASIK

So Wednesday, we headed off to Dollywood to take in their National Southern Gospel and Harvest Festival. 

I was in Pumpkin heaven! 

#DollywoodNeedsAStarbucksThough

Ella Kate's very favorite ride in the park is the FireChaser Express, so we headed over there first thing.

And passed the short wait time with a selfie session.

Apparently Caroline couldn't hear my screams for her attention, but my ever-photogenic husband sure did! 

Got a good smile from Caroline before we took off on Barnstormer. I'm telling you, this ride gets me every time. I really feel like I'm going to flip right out of that thing! Caroline just loves it though, and we rode it three times this visit. 

While we were riding Barnstormer, Steve and Ella Kate watched the bird show and we met up after. Just so happened to meet up at the gem mining booth, which Caroline was quick to point out that I always say that we'll do next time, and then we never do. She wasn't wrong. So Steve bought her a bag of dirt, and she gem mined herself enough rocks to pay for college!

#AMomCanDream

Caroline is typically a daredevil at theme parks, but this time she wasn't really feeling like it. Instead of the major thrill rides, we walked over to the Country Fair area that is more for the younger kiddos. 

Still fun to be had on those swings, though! 

I sat out on the Demolition Derby and tried to take some pics. Those little cars moved too fast for my slow camera skills, though! 

Caroline cracked me up, though. She was laid back, one arm on the wheel like she was a teenager cruising the strip. All she needed was some gangsta rap instead of the classic oldies the ride was playing! 

We decided to get lunch after riding all the rides in Country Fair. I have talked on here before about Dollywood having terrible food options if you're looking to eat healthy, but I had done some pre-planning and found some things that I thought could work. 

#BestLaidPlans

By the time we had ridden rides and walked all around the park, I was STARVING! I threw finding healthy eating out the window and settled for finding the shortest line. We ended up getting the same Italian peppers and onions sandwich and homemade chips that we pretty much get on every visit. Maybe next time I can be healthier.

After yet another ride on FireChaser and a bathroom break, Ella Kate found a picture spot. 

My little Hoot in between Dollywood's hoots.

Since Caroline missed the first Wings of America bird show, we went back over there to catch another one. My girls love pretty much anything related to nature, and they both could pretty much stay here all day. At the end of the show, they ask for donations to help keep the bald eagle rescue program, Eagle Mountain Sanctuary, up and running. You bring a bill up to the stage, and their African crow, Friar Tuck, will take the folded bill from you and put in the donation box. It's a super cute little trick!

Theme parks are always exhausting, and after a couple of ice cream cones, we decided to call it a day. This time of year, the park closes fairly early anyway. On our way out, I stopped to take some pictures of the great fall decor they had on display. I don't know if I just don't remember it before or what, but the decorations really seemed to be much better this year than in years past. 

Aren't these little pumpkin people just precious?

My girls love cinnamon rolls, so on the way out of the park, I stopped in the bakery to get some to take home from breakfast. I'm sad to report, though, that they weren't all I expected them to be. If you ever visit Dollywood, get the cinnamon bread from the grist mill rather than the cinnamon rolls from the bakery. 

We tend to avoid the shops at Dollywood and focus on the rides, but because of the Harvest celebration, they were making homemade apple butter and sampling it inside of Taste Traders. They were also sampling their coffee, and after trying it, I had to buy a bag! It was delicious!! All of their flavors sounded amazing, so now I know what my souvenir will be whenever we visit the park! 

After our fun filled day, we had a bath and sleep filled night! 

Hope everyone is enjoying/enjoyed/will enjoy their Fall Break!

Weekend recap

This weekend was all about fun for my girls. 

(except for Saturday. That was my relaxation day!)

We started off Friday at the pool. The girls were in swimming lessons all last week and were eager to show off their skills!

The day started off a little rough....

But got better quickly! Popsicles help, but Mama was the one melting! After the rain moved out, the humidity moved in. It was sweltering!

Like I said, Saturday was my relaxation day. Steve was in a conference all day, so I started bingeing on the new season of Orange is the New Black.

Then it was Sunday Sunday! When we bought our Dollywood season passes, they came with 4 "bring a friend free" passes that I intended to use to bring Tatum with us. I texted her to see when she could go, and Sunday was the best day for her. Steve was still in his conference, so we made it a girls day! 

Little did I know that the passes expired last month. Oops. 

This girl loves her some popcorn! I actually think my girls could live off popcorn if I let them. 

This time, they had mascots. I've never seen them at Dollywood before, and Ella Kate was thrilled! Caroline wasn't too excited about them. 

I'm glad to have one that still gets excited about characters! 

My biggest complaint about Dollywood is their lack of healthy food options. I had seen a veggie cup at a little snack shack near FireChaser Express, and I started regretting not buying it when we were half a mile away around lunchtime. There is a bakery near the entrance where I had seen small salads and cold sandwiches in the past. I got the girls settled with their chicken tenders and headed over to get me something remotely healthy. Well, now the only healthy options amongst the rows of cookies the size of my head and cupcakes with icing a mile high are these $5 cups of strawberries. And they have grapes! <insert sarcastic font here>

Y'all know Dolly's not eating all that fried food. Homegirl needs some salads at her theme park! 

After lunch, it was back to the rides! 

The scrambler was always my carnival favorite. Still can't resist it! 

Finally a picture of Caroline! 

I gave my camera to Tatum to have her take this picture. Caroline got so mad at me because I had a "loose article" out.

 #rulefollower

After a long day at Dollywood, Ella Kate was D-O-N-E! 

We stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner, and Caroline was starving. Since she is my TERRIBLY picky eater, I decided now was a good time to tempt her to eat something new. The waitress had brought us some apple butter, so I slathered some on one of those yummy biscuits. You should see this face she makes when she eats something new. It looks like I'm forcing her to eat fingernail clippings. Once she started chewing though, that face changed! Girl at a whole biscuit for the first time in her life! 

And Ella Kate is always ready for a good biscuit and apple butter! 

After a fun day, good meal, and long baths, the girls and I were ready to call it a day!

It was really a lot of fun, and I cherish these fun days with my girls! 

Jamaica Day #6: Let's go home!

And we have come to the end of our vacation. 

<sniff, sniff, SOB!>

Actually, at the time, I was sort of ready to come home. As wonderful as Jamaica was; as wonderful as time away with just adults was, I missed my girls. I missed my routine. And I knew that my parents were worn out by all the running around that they were doing for me! I was ready to relieve them. 

That being said, I'm also ready to go back to Jamaica! 

We woke up really early that morning to finish our last minute packing and to go get breakfast before we left. Unfortunately, Jeff woke up feeling pretty terrible. We luckily had brought some Zofran with us, so he felt better fairly quickly, but you know how awful it is to be sick to your stomach when you're in the privacy of your own home, much less in a foreign country with a ton of travel ahead of you. 

To give him some time to relax and let the meds kick in, Leeann, Steve, and I went out to get breakfast. 

A cruise ship was out on the horizon!

Sunrise Sandals Tower shot...

Goodbye, Burn Box! 

<swoon>

One thing I didn't mention earlier is that the resort was undergoing a facelift while we were there. The construction was unattractive, but didn't get in our way at all. If our rooms had been closer to the lobby, the noise might have bothered us, but we were far enough away that I never even noticed it. Besides, we were only in our room to sleep and get dressed anyway, so I doubt construction noise would have interrupted that since they didn't work around the clock.

Every day we went into the lobby, it was almost completely different than the day before. I really wish I had taken before and after pictures, because there was a dramatic difference between the first day and the last. Originally, the lobby area was a typically tropical design. Warm earth tones and lots of plants. By the time we left, the lobby was elegant and sparkling, with bright white paint, gorgeous upholstery, and shimmering tile. 

The lobby even had a brand new restaurant! We were actually the very first people in line to try the new restaurant, but we ended up not being the first ones seated because we weren't paying attention and were looking out at the water instead. 

#squirrel!!!

The brand new Vista restaurant:

One thing I hadn't mentioned yet is how heavy everything there is. I'm assuming it's because of the almost-constant sea breezes, not to mention the threat of hurricanes. But if you're ever in the tropics, especially in an open-air resort, pay attention to how heavy the silverware, plates, cups, and ramekins are. I just thought that was a neat observation. I'm surprised hotels on the shore in the U.S. don't do that, too. 

New fancy-pants omelet station: 

I took some more pictures of nature on our walk back to check on Jeff. I'm always amazed by plants and animals I've never seen before. This tree had this stuff growing out of the bottom of it that reminded me of tentacles. 

#longliveUrsula

My friend, the turtle. As soon as we got there, I spotted this little guy sunning himself on a rock with his neck stretched long. I thought it was a statue. We stood there and watched him for the longest time looking for movement and never saw any. Then, on the last day, here he his just swimming around having a big time! 

Some fish in the new pond that was built at the new refurbished lobby.

 We got on the shuttle back to the airport for our forever-long commute. 

#boo

#poutylip

Look! A Jamaican Harley Davidson store! My Daddy was excited about this pic. 

To ease the pain of going home, we wasted away again in Margaritaville...

#parrotheadforever

And that's it! That's the recap of our trip to Jamaica!! Hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them. If I can't, I know a very knowledgable travel agent that can help me out. 

Have a  great hump day!