Here it is! Our vacation recap! I love documenting everything here on the blog. Here are the first three days…
Wednesday, July 24
The day we left for vacation, Hadley had her last day of the Cincinnati Reds softball camp! She loved camp so so much, and learned a lot. The camp was three days long, and all day long. It took her after the first day to get used to it, and then was pumped to go back. On the last day, they had a small ceremony with some awards and every girl got a certificate. The high school girl that was her team coach, ended up playing with Natalie (Hadley’s bonus sister), on her club volleyball team!
After softball camp was over, we hit the road! Hadley changed in the car out of her hot and sweaty uniform. And because I am an over packer, and we had zero room in the bed of the truck, we asked this nice lady that I had met only one prior time at a softball tournament to take Hadley’s giant softball bag home with her. She graciously said no problem! Or Hadley and Huxley would’ve had a softball bag at their feet for the car ride.
I always get the kids new goodies for the car ride. Yes, we have the iPad but I always like to have non-electronic options. I should share all of the goodies in another post, but the items I got for them were new headphones, a book for Hadley that she secretly read in the car without telling us! Some fun toys for Huxley, and other small little things that fit into these clear bags.
We made it to the first stop of our vacation. Pigeon Forge, Tennessee! We had a small cabin tucked away in the woods, it was the cutest thing! It was a two bedroom cabin, with one bedroom downstairs, and the other bedroom upstairs. The kids ran around a little bit, and checked out the place. Upstairs had a pool table, and a pac-man game. Hadley as always, is such a good sport with Huxley and includes him in everything. He had no idea he wasn’t playing, but he was just as excited. Huxley took a bath in the giant jacuzzi tub, and then went to bed. I had rented a mini-crib for him to sleep in, and we put him in Hadley’s room upstairs. We bring our own sound machine, and monitors from home. He slept so good! After Huxley went to bed, Hadley stayed up a little bit and we just hungout downstairs and chilled. She looks like a teenager in her pajamas and Walmart special slides.
Thursday, July 25
When we woke up, we went outside on the large porch and just hungout and looked at the scenery. Trees and cabins all around us. I’m so glad we brought Huxley’s lawn mower, things like that keep him occupied in certain places. Kevin and Hadley did some yoga on a YouTube video, Hadley was cracking up! And then I did my workout. We ate lunch in the cabin, and just kind of relaxed and hung around the cabin. Huxley took a nap after lunch. We all got ready to head out after Huxley woke up.
After Huxley woke up from his nap, because we all know a rested toddler is 1000% better than a non-rested toddler. Especially at a place like this! We went to a place called The Island, which was basically a small amusement park with places to eat, shop, and rides. They try to convince you to buy an unlimited rides pass for like $50, but if you did your research some of the individual rides only cost $6 each and I know they wouldn’t use $50 worth of rides. So we had Hadley pick four $6 rides, which costed only $24 instead of $50! I know it’s vacation, but we don’t have unlimited coin! Huxley rode only one ride, so Hadley got to ride three. She was happy as can be. And then we went to Build-a-Bear, and they had the basic bears on sale so they both picked one out. Hadley was so happy, she loves that place! It was incredibly hot and humid, so after we did the rides and Build-a-Bear, we went back to the cabin to swim at the community pool.
The pool was a decent size, and it felt amazing after sweating at The Island place. Huxley is getting so good at swimming with his puddle jumper, he’s super relaxed. And Hadley just loves to swim in any body of water. I love it when she wants to braid her hair, she looks so cute with it up.
After we swam in the pool, we headed back to freshen up for dinner. We went to a place called JT Hannah’s Kitchen. It was pretty crowded. And luckily they stuck us in the way back of the restaurant, because Huxley just acts a fool in public. We don’t go out to eat much with that kid. I don’t know what it is about the second child, but they make me feel like I have no control. Even when I bring toys, electronics, all the things! After dinner, we walked next door to get the kids some ice cream. Tip for toddlers, you can ask for a half a scoop for the little ones!
Friday, July 26
I fell asleep in the outfit I wore to dinner the day before, and I even worked out in it! I didn’t feel like making more dirty laundry just for a workout. I feel so much better when I move my body, especially on vacation! A few photos of the cabin, the lighting was just terrible inside. It was super dark, even in the morning!
This was the mini crib I rented for Huxley. It’s the best invention ever for traveling with little ones. We leave the crib and mattress on the front porch, text the people we are gone, and they pick it up. So easy and so worth it.
Here is our cabin! It was so cute I loved it and would go back in a heart beat. We even had a hot tub on the back deck, but we didn’t use it because we all passed out early from being so tired. It was a fun two days to start our vacation!
You can’t not stop at Buc-ee’s when you see one right? As we left Pigeon Forge, we stopped at the Sevierville Tennessee location. This is our second time going to Buc-ee’s and it never gets old that’s for sure. It’s so big it’s insane! Hadley got a sweatshirt, and a t-shirt. And for lunch, we all got random things to eat in the car so we could get on the road. Kevin got the brisket sandwich, I got an egg & cheese sandwich, the kids got peanut butter and crackers, and chips. Huxley isn’t the best napper in the car, his poor little head falls down and he wakes up. He maybe slept 10-20 minutes every time we were in the car.
We made it to the second stop of our vacation. Birmingham, Alabama! We stopped at a hotel, we’ve stayed here the past two years. It’s a nice, clean hotel, with a great breakfast, decent outdoor pool, and the staff is so friendly! As you can see by the look of Kevin’s face, we were exhausted by this time. The hotel only had one working elevator, which made for longer wait times. Which isn’t very fun when you are unloading all of your stuff, even for just one night. Once we got settled, Kevin took the kids to the pool and I went to get my nails done. I didn’t take any photos of my nails at this time, I didn’t get a chance to get them done before we left so I found a random place by our hotel and they did an amazing job! We went out to dinner at a local Chili’s, and then back to the hotel for bed. Huxley was beyond tired. Another tip for toddlers, you can call the hotel and ask if they have a pack ‘n play to use! Ours did, and I did have some Clorox wipes to wipe it down with and brought our own sheet. It was perfect! After Huxley fell fast asleep, Hadley and I snuck out of our hotel room, and went downstairs to the lobby. We had a snack, played hangman, and just hungout her and I. It’s hard to stay in one room when your little brother goes to bed early.
And that was day 1-3! Check back for more this week!
Happy Tuesday everyone!
Looks like a great start to your trip.
They were building that Buc-ee’s when we were in Sevierville otherwise I would have made my family check it out after hearing so much about it from ALL the bloggers. We have never seen one before. That cabin looks great and it sounds like you had a lovely start to your trip.
Definitely check out a Buc-ee’s when you get a chance!