So, we had a FANTASTIC time in Gatlinburg.
We finished up Lukes Valentines party at school which went GREAT then headed home to get Mickey and got on the road. We made GREAT time and arrived in our cabin around 9:45.
FUNNY STORY:
We get to the cabin and are SO excited to check things out. We run from the car and like little kids (well two of us are little kids ; ) start running from room to room. As a family we go up the staircase to the top bedroom to explore and as we come down there is a huge bear on the wall:
As we are going by the bear I look at it and saw a HUGE, I mean HUGE hairy spider on the bears eye. I freak out a bit and call Tim up to show him, and he freaks out. O.K., I'm going to try an fast forward this story, but NO LIE it was like 15 minutes of Tim and I throwing things at the spider to determine if it is alive (the kids meanwhile are freaking out crying saying they don't want to stay at the cabin and want to go home AND we haven't even seen 1/4 of the cabin yet). After this drags on and I continue to see my kids getting more and more worked up and my husband unable to get it from the wall I grabbed a broom and tackled the spider. I stabbed it, it went flying and................................... it was FAKE!!!!! We couldn't believe it.
So we calmed the kids down and explored the rest of the cabin. Here are the pics of the cabin:
View from above looking down at the kitchen area:
Living room and fireplace area:
The hot tub outside:
Gameroom:
What I loved about the game room was that when you were sitting in the hot tub you could see the t.v., very cool!
We each had our own bedroom, with a king sized bed, bathroom and t.v., it was glorious. After the bear incident though Luke was too scared to sleep up there so Lauren and Luke ended up bunking together. Here is a pic of one of the rooms so you get an idea:
We ended up having a pizza delivered that night and stayed up until around 12:30 eating pizza, unpacking and getting settled. Tim and I hit the hot tub and it was a great night : )
The next morning we hit the town. For those of you who havent been to Gatlinburg, it has A TON OF STUFF TO DO. Luke had b-day money burning a hole in his pocket and he wanted to do the Car Museum in downtown Gatlinburg. So he and Tim did that. Here is Luke with one of the cars:
That one as from Fast and Furious. Tim said it was awesome, they had everything from the Ghost Busters car, Elvis car, Jurassic park vehicles, Dukes of Hazard, Herbie, the Batmobile, Kit from Knight Rider, etc. They loved it!!!
While they were doing boy stuff Lauren and I headed across the street to the Wacky Bear Outlet to stuff a bear. She loved it but that place was such a rip off. The bears were super crappy and expensive but Lauren absolutely loved it, so that was fine!
Then we had fun walking around and looking at the stores. Here is Tim and the kids with the big ball in front of the Ripleys Believe it or Not museum, they always try to stop the ball to no avail:
Then we headed to the Village (our FAVORITE place to shop/hang out/eat in Gatlinburg)
Its just so quaint there. Its also home to the Smokey Mountain Candy Kitchen. Here are the kids watching them make the Taffy in the window:
We went to the Life is Good shirt, the entire upper floor was clearance, I got a great shirt there and Luke spent more of his b-day money getting a shirt there too.
After we were all shopped out we headed back to the cabin to relax, squeeze in a nap for Lauren and I (the kids had been up REALLY early that morning after a late night so we were tired). It was Valentines day and we wanted to go to the Park Grill Restaurant, luckily they did call ahead. Here are the kids dressed and ready to leave for dinner:
We got seated right away and the food was great. Steaks/prime rib/ great salad buffet, etc. It was a good time. Here are the kids at the table:
They had a gift shop there and the kids wanted their picture taken with the huge bear there :
After dinner we hit the town again. We had SO MUCH fun doing a mirror maze attraction they had there. We went along for the ride because the kids wanted to do it but Tim and I LOVED IT!!! The kids kept heading towards the exit and wed pull them back in. wed take turns hiding and finding one another, HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS, such fun! Then we played Circus golf and kept shopping. Here are Tim and the kids outside that night:
Tim found a sports store that had tons of Yankee stuff so he was in Heaven buying that stuff for the basement. While they were inside buying stuff Lauren wanted to pose for the camera : )
We walked by the Wax Museum and saw this guy:
What a great night. We headed back to the cabin to relax, and Tim and I enjoyed another hot tub night, I could get used to that!!!
The next morning we wanted to go out for breakfast, but we let the kids get in the hot tub first:
Tim shot some pool:
Mickey had fun exploring the cabin:
Luke enjoyed
.. um
warming himself by the fire : ) : ) : )
We headed to downtown Gatlinburg and ate at Flapjacks, what a yummy breakfast. Luke ordered a bear waffle, so cute:
Then we headed to Gatlinburg National Park to hike. We stopped by the cabin and grabbed Mickey and were on our way. I had heard good things about the hike to Laurel falls and was excited to try it. Well, when we got there we got Mickey out and headed to the path, I was SO disappointed when the sign said no dogs. Poor Mickey. As we were standing there reading the sign that said no dogs, Mickey was so excited to go on a walk, he darted towards a couple coming up and his leash completely clothes-lined Lauren taking her legs out from under her, not a good start to our walk. Oh well, we put him back in the car and headed up the mountain.
All the signs said this was an easy 1.3 mile hike. I swear it HAD to have been longer. Dont get me wrong it was so worth it, but it was a long hike, about 45 minutes straight uphill to get there.
And you can teach kids alot about the areas you are driving through. There- I appealed to the teacher in Lesley! But I love the convenience of flying!
I would fly for those prices! Less wear and tear on your car AND your bodies! You all travel so much that flying for this one trip really makes sense...at least that is what I would do!
I still say drive, but I'm shouting in the middle of a hurricane, apparently. 
If you fly, are you still leaving to go down on the 21st? I agree that staying at AKL makes more sense than switching back and forth! WOO HOO for an extra day at the end of your trip! Will that be your Universal day, or will you skip Universal if you fly
Congrats on the refinance! Your trip to Gatlinburg looked AMAZING! Love all of the pics! The one of Luke warming his hind parts is HILARIOUS!
Poor Lauren getting clotheslined
I HATE it when you think a vendor is a cheaper option than a restaurant!
That happened to us in ATlantic City for breakfast too
