Smokey Mountains

Well it made it to Tennessee and back with no troubles:)
Brad and I had the best vacation we have ever had together. It was an 8 hour drive there, which turned into more like 9 after getting lost on a dirt road going strait up a mountain, probably more scared than i have ever been in my life, but we finally got turned around and made it to the cabin in one piece. We had rented a 4 story cabin with my grandma and 3 of her friends, my step mom, dad and brother, and my aunt and uncle. We were alittle worried about getting some time for just me and brad to relax and spend together with so many people in the house but it all worked out perfect.
The first night there we played some games down in the game room with my brother, then Brad and I went out to the hot tub on the 3rd floor balcony that overlooked a mountain side. It was so pretty and so perfect! It was a great way to start our vacation!
The next day everyone went zip lining except for me and brad, we stayed back to do our own things for the day...we went on a walk trying to pick another cabin to rent next year, took a bubble bath and had a bottle of wine at noon....







that's a big deal for us, never in 8 years of being together have we done that lol, took about a 2 hour nap then went into a town called gatilenburg for the evening. They have shops every where so we just walked around, went to eat and sampled everything we could (mostly moonshine and homemade wine:) Before we left we went up the sky lift over the side of a mountain, i was alittle nervous at first, i really don't like to do things that i think may kill me but I'm so glad i did, the view was amazing and just sitting there with brad watching it all and relaxing made our trip worth it.

The next day we woke up early and went to an area on top of the mountains where my grandpa used to love to visit and we all spread his ashes over the side of the mountain. I really have never agreed with being cremated but after watching us all do this and just knowing that instead of a body laying in a casket it is over the side of the mountains that were always visited while he was alive, i think i understand now why some people choose that

Afterwards we went over the mountain into north Carolina and did some shopping. We got both kids a shirt that says smokey mountains and we got caiden a bear claw necklace, he is really into things like that, and we got hailey a dream catcher, she has had a couple bad dreams lately and has been afraid on and off so once showing her it and explaining what it was it put her at ease:)

We ended up just going back to the cabin that night and all spending the evening together since brad and i were leaving the next morning...it was really a night to remember! We played games most of the night, me and my brother on one team and my dad and brad on the other, those two were hilarious and had so much fun, everyone couldn't stop laughing at them...in a good way! I liked to see it because we never really spend much time with that side of the family and i think for the first time ever brad and my dad really connected. Brad is very caring about me and always has my best interest in mind and i think my dad really saw that and really appreciated him for it. There are many stories about that night to tell but i wont embarrass anyone (brad). Lets just say we all know how to have a good time together.

I absolutely loved the mountains, I've never felt more relaxed and happy with my life and my husband. Being there really made me realize how good i have it in life. I have 2 amazing children who i would do anything for but are now getting to the age that i can leave them alittle at a time to spend weekends with someone like my husband who is always there for me and has always been my shoulder to lean on. We have a great time together whether its on vacation, with our children, or just doing our day to day routines. But being in a place like this really makes you stop and think about how lucky you are sometimes. We have talked about going back and maybe taking the kids which i think they would love but then again i feel that this may be "our" place now.

I know my husband keeps up with my blog and i just wanted to send him alittle message:

I have never been more happy in our marriage or our life that we have built together. Every relationship has their ups and downs and we have made it through them all only to come out stronger in the end. We started out very young and very unsure of what our life together would be like but i think that we both knew that if we stuck with it, it would have turned out just like it is today. We have our children our home and each other and i don't think we could ask for more. You are all i will ever need in life. You encourage me to follow my dreams and always push to make me a better person. I wouldn't be who i am today without you beside me. You are my happiness and my true love. I Love You!