We just got home from a family vacation where we went to Dollywood, "the Great Smoky Mountain's family fun vacation adventure with great shows, thrilling roller coasters, festivals, and kiddie rides" located  in Pigeon Forge, TN and then to the NC mountains to camp in our tent for one night before heading back home.

We met my brother-in-law and our sister-in-law and their two girls at the hotel down the street from Dollywood.  The hotel had a great deal where we could buy one day at Dollywood and get the second day for free!  We went to the park each day at 9:30 AM and stayed until around 1:00 PM, then we went to our hotel to rest a few hours then we went back from 4:00-7:00 PM, when the park closed.

Since we went during the week the crowds weren't too bad and breaking up our time at the park made it alot more relaxing and manageable with young children.  It was hot, but the park gives out free cups of  ice water at any refreshment stand so we stayed hydrated and cool with plenty of water.   Here are some highlights from our trip.  (WARNING: lots of photos coming at you :) )

Barnstormer was a new ride for 2011 and it was like a big pendulum swinging back and forth. I knew better not to step foot on the ride since I can get sick swinging on a backyard swing! My hubby, son, my husband's twin brother, and niece went on it, but their stomachs were queasy when it was over.

My husband is in the middle in the white shirt holding on to our son.  It went really high and they said it felt like they were falling straight down! Yikes!

The Country Fair area of the park was a big hit with everyone.  Fun kiddie rides were enjoyed by all!


Thunderhead was a big wooden roller coaster that was a very bumpy ride, fast and went way up and went down fast!  I rode this twice and had a headache from being tossed around so much, but I survived!

Here's a shot of the coaster curving around.  It was amazing the wood could withstand so much weight and power! Oh my!

OK, this is the most ridiculous picture of me (bottom left corner next to my daughter in the pink shirt) screaming and closing my eyes as we rode the Thunderhead, but I thought since my husband always laughs at it when he looks at it, maybe it will put a smile on your face too :) I survived this roller coaster and another one we rode by screaming and closing my eyes.  My husband asked why I close my eyes the whole time and I told him I did not want to know what was about to happen!  It's really not fun for me to see myself falling straight down on a coaster so I close my eyes in hopes I will see the end!  My husband is in the white t-shirt, my son is in the blue t-shirt with his eyes closed and screaming (I wonder where he gets that from?), my husband's twin brother is in the brown shirt in the back next to his daughter. I was crazy enough to ride this again the next day to keep my sister-in-law company because no one else would ride it with her.

This was a fun wet ride as the riders can shoot water from their rafts, but then at different areas on land there are water guns so anyone can shoot at the people on the rafts! This was a family favorite!

Adventure Mountain was also a family favorite.  We went on two different obstacle courses with harnesses attached to us and ropes.  We were at different heights throughout the course.  I'm not scared of heights, but I must say I was sweating quite a bit concentrating on not slipping while being so high in the air!

Here I am crossing a wooden steps and our 7 year old is crossing on a rope.

Here is a tower of one of 3 courses you can choose to do.  To the left of the tower you can see the ropes going across that we went across.  This photo shows just how high the courses were. The workers at this attraction were very impressed that our children did so well with the course.  They kept saying they were so brave for being so young. 

On Friday, June 10, my daughter's 7th birthday, we decided to take in some of the beautiful scenery close by so we checked out of our hotel and headed into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We hiked the Clingmans Dome Trail  in NC, which is a 0.5 mile paved trail to the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains.  The distance is short to get to the top, but the trail is very steep.  Lots of work to go up, but worth it! 


This is the lookout tower at the top.  Breathtaking views and cool breezy air were our rewards for the steep climb!

It's always a blessing to see nature while camping.  Here is a hummingbird at my in-laws feeder.


He also found these little critters in the creek water.  Needless to say, he was in heaven and loved exploring with his sisters.

If you get to this point in this post, I thank you for taking the time to read some of the highlights from our vacation.  It was a blessed and fun week to spend with family!

A year ago this month, I began blogging and this week for my blogiversary I will be hosting a giveaway so check back soon for the giveaway details! 

I am taking a break from packing for a family vacation by writing this special post for our dear Cupcake# 3!   As you read this post, our family will be in TN at an amusement park for 2 days and then camping in the NC mountains and I'll be away from a computer all this week and into the weekend.  I look forward to posting about our adventures when I get back!

While we are traveling, our daughter will turn 7 years old on Friday, June 10!  7!? I can't believe it! 

Here we are in the hospital on your birthday!  You had a head full of beautiful dark hair!  We couldn't believe it!  You looked like you had a wig on! :)
Your big sister is wearing a pink t-shirt that says "I'm the BIG Sister" and your big brother is wearing a blue t-shirt that says "I'm the BIG Brother".  I made these shirts for your siblings and wrapped them up for your brother's 2nd birthday.  At his party, they each opened the t-shirts and this is how we told family and friends I was pregnant with you!  It was very exciting to share our joyful news in this way!

Your big sister and brother loved peeking into your bassinet to watch you sleep peacefully! They were in awe of you and loved giving you lots of hugs and kisses!

This picture was taken just before your first mass visit.  You looked so beautiful with your pink and white lace outfit. It was a lovely day to bring you to our church for the first time!

Here you are sleeping on Nana's lap on the beach for your first trip to the beach and your first 4th of July. 

Here you are at 9 months old with your brother and sister  and you still have a head full of beautiful dark hair!  I had to put bows in your hair at 9 weeks old and since you never lost your hair, as many people thought you would, we continued to keep the hair out of your eyes with pretty bows!

Just 5 minutes from our home is a farm that grows strawberries and blueberries.  They also sell a variety of plants and flowers.  You can pick the strawberries/blueberries or buy some that have already been picked.  The farm also sells homemade ice cream with yummy flavors: strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, banana, and vanilla to name a few.  Here are some photos of a recent trip to the farm that we took with some friends:


In the background are the blueberry bushes and in the foreground are the rows of strawberry plants that we enjoyed picking as well!

It's that time again to link up some artwork to Kimberly's Friday Art Showcase Link Up.  This week I am linking up pencil drawings that my three older cupcakes did and I got in on the fun and drew something too!

We recently purchased the Mark Kistler Online Art Classes at a really good price through Homeschool Buyers Co-Op ! You can get 3 years of online lessons for $39.60 through Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op! The offer expires on June 30, 2011!

So I plan on having art lessons through these fun and great art videos that shows you step by step how to draw all kinds of drawings.  Our family especially likes the "Stop" button on the videos so we can always pause the lesson to take a longer time to sketch each part of the drawing.  So this week we did the following:

Mark's online classes are great and it was so fun to sit down with my children to draw with them.  I hope I can continue to draw with them as I plan to do these art lessons each week with my children.

There is lots going on over at No Ordinary Blog Hop (NOBH) with new and old friends, more great co-hosts, and categories to link your posts.  Click button below to join in on the fun!

Before the puppet show that I hosted at my house a few weeks ago, I prepared hibiscus tea for the first time and the moms and children at the show loved it (and our family did too!).  My children's Spanish teacher, Delly at Delly's Deals, gave us a handful of dried hibiscus flower petals and told us that this delicious beverage was easy to prepare and very popular in Mexico.  It was so good and very easy to prepare.  Did you know there are great health benefits to sipping down this tasty drink too?  For a recipe and the health benefits you can read more HERE.

Here's how we prepared our hibiscus tea:

  Add enough cold water to cover the petals and simmer until the water gets bright red.

 Drain hibiscus juice into a pitcher leaving the petals in the strainer.  I have read that you can dry the petals after their first time use and make another batch of tea, then discard the petals.

We then added a little more than 1/4 cup of sugar (add as little or as much sugar as you prefer) to the warm hibiscus juice to help the sugar dissolve easily in the water. 

We then filled the pitcher with cold water to the top of pitcher and mixed the tea.  We refrigerated the tea and served it cold.

My son loved it and so many others.  It is a refreshing drink and reminds us of fruit punch, but without all the artificial flavors and tons of sugar that alot of juices have.

My friend, Delly, said she could only find one Mexican store locally that sold the hibiscus petals.  Have you ever found hibiscus petals or tried this great hibiscus tea?  If not, I encourage you to go on a hunt for the petals and make some tea for yourself!  It will be worth your time and preparation!


Another thing that I think is worth your time is visiting and linking up to No Ordinary Blog Hop (NOBH) that I co-host with Lynda, Anna-Marie and our newest hosts, Melissa, Kara, and Christine!  Today starts a new month for NOBH which means new posts and a new set of blog buttons for you to choose and place on your blog and/or posts!  So go check out NOBH, have fun and meet new friends!