"Family Vacation"

Dad and his 2 girls 

Mommy and EB on the observation deck at the top of Lookout Mountain 

Feeding EB a bottle while riding a train backwards up a mountain...., with my crazy brother in the background! 

Having lunch at "Cheeburger Cheeburger".  

The Tennessee Aquarium 

Elijah Brooks fascinated by the fish!

Mommy and EB both fascinated by the penguins! 

The penguins were amazing! 

This past weekend, my family gathered together in Lookout Mountain, TN (near Chattanooga) for Easter.  We didn't originally plan on being out of town Easter weekend, but with 3 family's various schedules, it just worked out that this weekend worked for all of us.  I had not seen my sister and her family since Christmas!  Needless to say, Elijah Brooks has changed quite a bit since Christmas, and so has his cousin Bradford who is 3 months older than him.   

We had a very rough time actually getting to the mountains.  My sister and her family arrived at the mountain house first, followed by my parents, and then we arrived several hours later.  My mom called me once she arrived at the house and said that they had very strong storms there and that we would probably wind up driving through some of bad weather.  About an hour later, my sister called and said that the power had just gone out at the house!  As soon as we hung up the phone, Jay and I quickly realized that it was quite likely that we were driving through a tornado on the interstate!  We had golfball sized hail pound our car and we have some lovely dents in it now.  I had blanket over Elijah Brooks' carseat and I was under the blanket with him...., yes, I was under the blanket!!!  Just ask my parents, bad weather freaks me out just alittle bit.   Obviously, we made it safely there, but it was not the most relaxing of drives.  Between the power going out and driving through tornados with a 5 month old, I was quite sure that we were certainly embarking on a "Griswald Family Vacation"!  

Once the bad weather had passed and all of my family was together safely, everyone relaxed and we had a great time together.  Wyatt (3), Bradford (8 mo), and Elijah Brooks (5 mo), had such a fun time playing together.  We spent one day at the Tennessee Aquarium and I was amazed at how intrigued my 5 month old son was with the fish!  He loved looking at all of the colors, shapes, and movements.  We rode up the "Incline Railway" also one afternoon to the very top of Lookout Mountain.  My sister and I were both glad that we had children to take our minds off of the fact that we were riding a train backwards straight up a mountain!  

However, I think my favorite part of the trip was the nighttime.  My sweet mom cooked dinner each night for us...., she is such a servant and takes such good care of her family. Each night after all 3 children were put to bed, the 6 adults just sat around the table eating dinner, laughing, and telling stories.  We all learned much more about each other than we knew!   

I am so thankful that my family is so close.  I have always had a wonderful relationship with my parents and my sister.  My brother-in-law has been in our family since I was 16 years old and he really is like my brother.  We are already planning our next trip together....., the beach this summer!