There and Back Again

The week after Easter, we traveled to Tennessee to visit Ryan's parents.  They live in a tiny town in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, two miles up a windy little road, in a house nestled right into the side of a mountain.  We left Monday morning bright and early, and stayed until Saturday.

 So happy to be out of the van, after a 10 hour drive!

 We mostly hung out at the house, and this was one of the things the boys were looking forward to.  Their yard is a valley, and perfect for shooting with BB guns and bows and arrows.

 We did a lot of chasing after this little girl.

 I know they were being safe, but I'm not gonna lie, I can do without this type of extracurricular.

 Exploring on the first night.  This is the hill that leads to their driveway, along the whole side of the property.  You get quite a workout!

I loved this whole series of photos of Sebastian and Genevieve! 

 Traveling clothes and sloppy hair.  She looks like she's been in the car too long.

We took one day to go have some fun.  The guys all go-karted, we spent some time at an arcade, and went out for a splurge meal at Buffalo Wild Wings. 

Always goofy faces when I ask someone to pose. 

On the way home from our day out, we visited the Elkmont Cabins.  It's a ghost town that was once a resort community of summer homes, started in the late 1800's.

This girl loves her daddy, and doesn't mind how he holds her, as long as she has him. 

 I could picture all the children that must have run along these roads at some time, excited to see their summer friends, their mamas catching up with each other in rocking chairs on the porches.

This was a tiny, cozy little cabin. 

Made me want to pick it up and plop it on some acreage somewhere in Michigan, for a little hideaway for me and the Mr. 

 One of their favorite things to do, throwing sticks and rocks in the river.

Back at the house.  You get an idea of the elevation change from the yard to the house here.  That's it up there on the left.

More shooting. 

My mother-in-law does some really cute stuff around her house.  They built this retaining wall along the side/back of the house, to keep the mountain from eroding right into their living room, and she's been dressing it up with flowers and knick knacks. 

We had so much fun watching these hummingbirds all week. 

They'd come right up on the porch next to us to eat from this feeder.  I almost got dive-bombed a couple of times trying to get these pictures. 

Another favorite pastime - metal detecting.  Old nails and pennies were never so exciting. 

Blake kindly taking Sebastian back to the house when he was done for the evening. 

I loved the view and the light here - taken from the driveway toward the back of the property. 

The end.  Til next time.