Pigeon Forge 2010

It's been a while! Hello to all of you in blog land. I had the week of Thanksgiving off from keeping kids and had a week off from the hospital. So I have not updated in a while. Took some time to go out of town with friends. And enjoy doing nothing. Like sleeping. It was delightful. But, honestly, ready to get back into my "normal life". Ha!
So on  Nov 18th, six of us from work packed the cars and headed to Pigeon Forge, TN. We try to go on an all girls weekend every year, and this was the place this year. We had a blast. We ate, shopped, slept late, ate, played games, shopped, ate, and ate some more. It was so fun to have time away from everything and just enjoy being friends.
Day 1: We drove to Chattanooga and stopped for lunch, gas, and a trip to Charming Charlie. A little piece of Heaven for me!

Hannah singing 

Me, Jametra, and Pam at Sticky Fingers 

Holly, Carly, and Hannah at Sticky Fingers 

The view of our cabin from upstairs in my room 

This is where Jametra and I slept. And yes she is already in the bed 

Carly eating a late night snack. But it was really only around 8:00 

Day 2: We were not in any hurry to get up. So after lounging for a while, we decided that maybe we should go to the outlet mall on Friday instead of Saturday. Bright Idea. But it was fine. We ate at The Old Mill before heading to the mall. That is some good, country eating. At the mall, they shopped and shopped. I on the other hand went into a couple of stores and spent most of my time in truck on Facebook and Twitter, or reading a book. An awesome thing was that my friend Julie from Nashville was in Pigeon Forge that weekend and we met up at the mall. It was so good to see her and Ray. They are the sweetest couple. What I love the most is the look in their eyes. They SPARKLE!!! After shopping, we went to Walmart. Of course, no trip would be complete without Walmart. On the way to our cabin, Krispy Kream had the hot sign on so we wheeled through the drive through. We just laid around the cabin and watched a movie (or some of us went to bed).

Pam enjoying the couch 

A view from our cabin 

The mountains 

Jametra outside on porch 

Our kitchen- I was just a little envious 

Hannah and I at Old Mill 

Pam and I at Old Mill 

Carly being Carly 

Hannah watching and waiting for water to boil 

Holly made sausage balls 

Jametra knows how to shop 

Pam modeling some of her "gifts to herself:" 

Jametra- Reading a magazine (and yes Pam is back on the couch) 

Carly-eating a FRESH Krispy Kream

Day 3: We ate breakfast at The Apple Barn. Yum. I had been there before and knew it would be so great. As night shift  workers, we hardly ever eat breakfast, so this was a delight for sure. Hannah LOVES the apple butter. They bring out muffins and apple fritters to the table while you wait. They were so good. After eating we shopped at The Apple Barn. They have an old winery store, an old candy shop where they make homemade candy, a store with only ornaments, and a gift shop. We left there and went to The Beehive. It's a shop with lots of jewelry, purses, home decor, and shoes. I sat in a rocking chair reading a magazine. But they shopped and shopped. We then went to a Family Book Outlet. Now I was in my element. It was a large building with Christian books, dvds, cds, and gifts- all at a low price. Cha Ching! Then we went to The Christmas Place. If you need it for Christmas, they had it. I walked through (quickly) and headed back out to the car. Five of us waited and waited on Pam to get done. She got some hand painted ornaments personalized. Then we headed into Gatlingburg to eat dinner. Carly had picked a place called The Best Italian. It is a hole in the wall. But, it was good. Then we went back to the cabin for the night.

Waiting outside Apple Barn 

Hannah with Santa and a reindeer 

Hannah 

Carly 

Holly 

Me, Holly, Jametra, Hannah, Pam, Carly 

Ladies in Shades 

The Christmas Place train 

At the Christmas Place 

Waiting on Pam 

Chicken Parmesan at The Best Italian

Day 4: It's Jametra's BIRTHDAY! Hannah, Carly, and Pam enjoyed the hot tub that morning. We spent a lot of time lounging. We went into Gatlingburg that afternoon. We ate at Blaine's. Then I went ice skating by myself while they shopped. Do you see the theme yet? I came back down the mountain and waited on a bench reading a book and then moved into a coffee shop. We played Taboo and Holly grilled steaks on the grill. It was so much fun. We also had a karaoke time. Ha! I still laugh when I think about that night. It was a great last night for our vacation.

Pam and Hannah playing pool 

The road below us (with a big red barn) 

Side view of cabin 

Jametra and Carly 

Jametra and Pam 

CANDY!!  

Herbie 

Up the mountain I go 

View from the tramway 

Way up high in the air 

Jametra and I 

My view on ice skates

I honestly had a great time. I look forward to these trips every year. Now, I need to start planning next year's trip. Any ideas?