Rock City!!

Chattanooga - PART 2

Our second adventure in Chattanooga was Rock City (this is our FAVORITE). We couldn't find the "real" gnome this time, but we had a photo-op with the cardboard gnome (yes, I'm wearing my retainer.....don't be jealous). :)

Rock City offers something new every season, and this time, they were all decked-out for fall. So pretty!!

Getting ready to enter the "city:"

I kept talking about the beautiful views.....

So, Josh gave me a "view" of his own.... :)

The girls love all the little rock trails....

Checking out the gnome village:

The mushroom rock:

The birdcage:

Fun on the trails:

October is breast-cancer awareness month!!!

We decided AGAINST the swinging bridge this time.....we took the nice, sturdy-rock bridge across the mountains this time :)

Can you see the farm wayyyyyyyyy down there??? That's our next stop (stay tuned...)

Ella feels a little "too high up"....:)

....but she got over to watch the waterfall. 

Me and my big girls (still in my retainer....smokin' HOT!)

Daddy and his little-est girl....along with the 7 flags of the 7 states that you can see from the mountain.

Though we didn't find the gnome, we did find this groovy troll.....

My goofies in the birdhouse....

Entering the "fat man's squeeze:"

Checking out the albino deer:

Rainbow room!!!

Such beautiful views from the mountain....

As we entered the Fairyland Caverns (the girls' FAVORITE part of Rock City)....

Clairy started to get a little tired....

But, she perked up a little when we entered. I can never get enough of the "glowing" Fairyland or hear the girls' excitement as they travel around to look at each one. The pictures really don't do it justice....

I'll leave you with my favorite little nursery rhyme that my Grandmama ("Mammie") and my mama use to sing to me all the time (I still catch Mama singing it to my girls from time-to-time....it describes them PERFECTLY!!)

Cheers to gnomes and stones!!!

See Rock City!!!

The Lost Sea

Chattanooga - PART 1

This weekend, we had our "Fall Break" (which was really just a long weekend compared to our 9 DAYS OFF we had last year.....but I won't complain). We headed up to Chattanooga to spend a few nights and see what we could get into. Our first stop was the Lost Sea!! We had never been before, and it was really cool (Daddy REALLY loved it):

 The big girls goofed-off in the gift shop while waiting for our tour to start...

 But finally, it was time to go in....dun,dun,dun....

 Ella started freaking out a little (and pretty much stayed freaked-out the whole time).....can you tell by this smile??

 When we got inside the cave, the first stop was the "bacon tavern" :)

 Josh thought it was neato :)

 So did Nora....

 She kept touching everything she could....

 Ella....not so much....she was "sca-yerd."

 But she did stop whining for a split-second to strike a killer pose:

 We went for a boat ride in the Lost Sea...

 Check out all those FISHIES!!!!

 Daddy and Claira thought the boat ride was groovy (side note....Claira had lost her bow at this point. What's new? And since she was wearing a cute little BLUE Halloween shirt, she got called "a cute little fella" at least 40 times. Oh well, I guess it's my fault for not having a back-up bow. You would think the pink pacifier would hint that she's a GIRL, but apparently not).

 On the way back up the cave, we had to stop frequently for a break. It was a steep walk, and Mama ain't as young (or as fit) as she once was!!

 The girls wanted to touch the lucky stalagmite (or stalactite??? Whichever one it is that grows from the ground). Supposedly, if you touched this one, you got a year of good luck!!!

 Once we exited the cave, we headed straight for the Sweet Shop!!! What else?!?!?

 My sweet "little fella" waiting for some sweets....

 Since they were having a sell on ice cream, Nora got an ice cream cone + a bowl of sherbet. WINNING!!

 As Ella ate her ice cream, she talked about "how awesome" the Lost Sea was......YEAH RIGHT, kiddo!!! You whined your way through the whole thing and yelled that you were "sca-yerd" a bajillion times!!! That's my Ella. Love her to pieces.

 Clairy got in on the good stuff, too!!

 I opted for the "spoon lovin' FUDGE!!" Yummmmm.....

 Before leaving, the girls ran around.....

 ....and mined a little more.

It was such a fun way to kick off our Chattanooga adventure. Many more Chattanooga excursions to come!!

Cheers to caves and discount ice cream!!!

Foxhall Family Festival!!

You may have seen from our last post that we attended the Foxhall Family Festival this past Saturday. It's a HUGE festival that includes every school within the Douglas County School System. While I worked the Beulah Booth (and Grandmama provided shade for Claira to nap), the big girls and Josh took off to explore the field. They had a BLAST!!!

Clairy only stayed awake for about 20 minutes. 

The big girls were anxious to play the games.....

 ....and hula-hoop..... 

 ....and win prizes....

 ....and putt-putt.... 

 ....and play soccer.... 

 ....and toss bags....

 ....and face paint.... 

 .....and do spin-art with friends.... 

 ....and slide....

 .....and jump....

It was such a great day for many reasons (though it was very HOT for October)!!

Cheers to fall and festivals!!!