Smoky Mountains Vacation

In early August, Alina's side of the family gathered in the Smoky Mountains for a week-long vacation. The trip involved lots of fun times for everyone! We rented a large cabin together, spent our days exploring the National Park and other local attractions, and spent our evenings hanging out at the cabin.

Probably the most memorable moment occured on August 3rd when Tom and Emily returned from a hike -- ENGAGED! Tom surprised Emily with champagne, strawberries and a proposal by a waterfall.

Other activities included:

• Tubing on a river (Elliott, too!)
• Zip lining
• Dixie Stampede dinner show
• Hiking and scenic driving the mountains - we saw four bears!
• American muscle car museum
• Putt Putt
• Dinners at the cabin (w/mudslides!)
• Wii and Guitar Hero
• Playing pool at the cabin
• Sky Lifts
• Alpine Slide

A collection of the best photos from our vacation appear on Alina's photo site.

Highlights are below:

We enjoyed the spectacular view from the decks on our cabin!

Rosemary and Elliott enjoyed the little moments of hiking: sticks, rocks, insects, birds, snails and worms.

We saw four black bears during our visit to the Cades Cove section of the National Park.

Both kids enjoyed non-stop play and attention from the family.

Be sure to click over to Alina's photo site to see all the photos!