Surprise!

This has been the year of the birthday trip.  In January for Noah's birthday we went to Savannah to the Round House Railroad Museum and rode home on the Amtrak.  In February for Micah's birthday we took some friends to the circus.  Since we had not been to the mountains in a few years, we decided that a fall trip to NC would be perfect for Jonah's birthday.  If the look on his face in this picture is any indication, he thought it was a perfect trip as well.

We set out Sunday after church and drove to Maggie Valley, NC.  The leaves on the trees were beautiful.  We got to the hotel about 7:00 and I took the older boys for a swim in the pool.  We got up early Monday morning and found ourselves under a severe weather advisory.  (Oops, forgot to check to see what the weather would be like!)  Anyway, about 10:00 the weather cleared and we headed out to Cherokee.  We took the kids to pan for gemstones and Noah found a "diamond" for Grammy.  After panning for gemstones we had lunch at the Oconaluftee Park and then headed out to the main attraction of the day...SANTA LAND!!!  The kids all had a blast riding rides, feeding animals, paddling paddle boats, and watching bears. We closed down Santa Land and headed back to the hotel for another swim and night's sleep before heading out for home this morning.  It was a fun, fast paced, short trip...and I am already looking forward to the next one!