Birthday weekend in the Smoky Mountains.

This weekend I turned 31! 

I'll be honest-- I was feeling pretty bummed about having a quarantine birthday. I tried to play it cool, but Jordan could see right through me. So he pulled off a huge surprise, and booked a cabin in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee for our family! It. was. AMAZING. 

I can't even tell you how good it was for my soul to be in the mountains with my family, just enjoying each other and re-setting from stressful quarantine life. It was the best "socially distanced" trip ever.

^cutest co-pilot^

The drive there was, well, kind of eventful. The valve stem of one of our tires broke as we were topping it off with air before we left, but luckily a kind man was able to get us into his shop and fix it ASAP so we could still go. It still set us back a bit, and then it rained CONSTANTLY for pretty much the full 4.5 hour drive...and Monroe remembered that she hated her car seat so she was pretty sad for a lot of the time. Haha.  

But then when we are about ten minutes from the cabin, and the GPS decided to take us through literally the scariest, darkest, windiest, most narrow road in the country. We were both putting on brave faces for the kids...but we were freaking out inside.  

^I think this was about the point when Jordan said to me, "what happens if a creepy guy steps out into the road right now?"^

Needless to say, when we finally got to the cabin, we were a little spooked. Haha! It was dark and we were in the woods...and it had just been a crazy ride getting there. (Also the "beware of bears" signs posted everywhere didn't help. We were like wait...what did we get ourselves into??)

^So happy to be out of the car!!^

But the kids were totally unfazed, and they wasted no time getting right to the fun stuff! They ran around and explored all of the rooms, and then headed straight up to the air hockey table to play.

In the meantime we got the car unloaded, and then finally got everyone settled and in bed.

When we woke up the next morning, the cabin was MUCH less scary! haha.

The weather was crisp and perfect, and it was so sunny and beautiful outside. All of the chaos that had happened the day before was totally, 100% worth it! 

Perfect place and weather to spend my 31st!

^Our beautiful cabin for the weekend!^

^Our cabin's name. The boys thought it was awesome. haha^

^Two fuzzy babies watching morning cartoons together.^

^This doesn't even do the view justice. It was INCREDIBLE.^

^Back for another round, first thing in the morning!^

Downstairs, the cabin had a pool table and arcade, which was hands-down the boys' favorite part. The arcade had several old school games on it, and they could have sat and played for hours if we let them. They also loved playing pool with their hands, because the sticks were just too tricky. Haha.

They had a BLAST!!

^Helping Brights to play like the big boys^

Want to know my favorite part of the cabin?

THE HOT TUB.
I think I need to convince Jord to get one for the house...because man. It was kind of the best.

^mid-morning soak! Happy birthday to me!!^

After we played at the cabin for a while, we got ready to head into town (Gatlinburg) to check it out. We couldn't do all of the regular touristy things we would have normally done due to Covid-19, so we just kept our distance and wandered around for a bit. 

I definitely want to go back when we are able to go into places and do other stuff, but it  was honestly fun to just be somewhere new after being at home for like a hundred days. Haha!

^love this little explorer^

^they are looking too old. make it stop^

^the kids were equal parts intrigued and terrified by this creepy carnival situation. a bonus of everything being closed is we didn't have to go inside like some of them wanted to do. haha^

^MONROE! Sweetest baby at 3.5 months old^

There were lots of touristy Ripley's Believe it or Not type museums, and all of them had weird statues and stuff out in the front. They were all closed, but the boys wanted to stand by them and get photos anyways. 

Boston and Camden were begging to come back here someday and go inside!

^Cam loooooves anything creepy, so of course he needed a picture in the coffin. haha^

 After we walked around for a minute, we realized we were starving so we left to get some food. I yelped a bunch of nearby places that were open for takeout, and we ended up at the BEST place ever--Mama's Chicken Kitchen.

And holy cow, you guys. If you're ever in Gatlinburg, you HAVE to go here. We got fried chicken, creamy mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, hot sandwiches, crispy fries, and the best buttermilk biscuits and jam I have ever had. It was seriously amazing!

^terrible photo, but it was the best birthday lunch ever.^

^My perfect girl^

^front porch sittin'^

^literally cannot handle these two^

After lunch, we went for a family walk on the quiet road around all of the cabins. It was sunny and beautiful, and just the perfect afternoon. The boys had a blast running around and being crazy outside without anyone telling them what to do. haha.

It was so, so good.

^always climbing in the dirt^

^so beautiful!^

^this guy. seriously.^

^living their best lives, exploring the woods^

^My two biggest boys!! I love them so much^

We stopped at a little grassy area to let the kids play in a creek, and they were just loving every bit of it. I plopped myself down on the grass to soak in the sun, and then suddenly had the thought..."wait, this would be the perfect place for snakes to hang out..."

 ...and about two seconds later, Brighton yelled, "AHHHH! A big wormy!!"

He had legit TOUCHED a giant snake, thinking it was a stick to throw in the water. Haha SO GROSS! He pretty much jumped back into the stroller after that.

^can you tell he was still totally traumatized here? haha^

After that, we headed out to get mama a birthday treat. Because you KNOW that's what I'm about. We ended up at Maddog's Creamery and Donuts, and it was super yummy! 

I had an orange creamsicle donut that I will probably dream about for the rest of my life, and Camden had a "Cotton candy cloud ice cream" that he will dream about, too. He was in HEAVEN!

^He could not have been happier!^

On our way to the cabin the first time, we had passed a cute wedding chapel tucked into the trees, and I mentioned how romantic and beautiful it looked. So on our way back from getting treats, Jordan pulled into the chapel parking lot without saying a word. He knew it would make me happy to take a photo there, so he just did it.

He is the absolute best friend I could ever have.

Seriously, I love him so much.
After we stopped at the chapel, we went back to the cabin to open some gifts!

^Another reason I love Jord--he literally sought out and found my favorite discontinued treat and ordered it for my birthday. The best!!^

^My boys!!^

Then we put the kids to bed, hung out in the hot tub, and watched some Parks & Rec. Seriously just the best birthday.

The next day was Mother's Day, and there was no better place to wake up than in the mountains with my babies. We loaded the kids into the car, and drove through the beautiful green hills of Pigeon Forge while eating Egg McMuffins.

It was the perfect end to an amazing weekend.

^A bunch of cabin ragmuffins. haha^

Here's to 31, and all of the adventures it will bring with my favorite people!