Christmas at Dollywood

Let's face it--we do not need any more toys in our house. So to help this problem a bit this Christmas, we asked for Dollywood passes from Ryan's grandparents instead of more toys. (Thanks, Betty!!) In the words of Cousin Eddie, "It's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year."

So we went up with Ryan's parents (for the first time ever) last Friday!

The lights were gorgeous:

My girl was stylin' and profilin' and ready to ride her first ride:

Which was pretty fitting because we call her a piglet all the time the way she eats!

Gavin loved everything. Especially the Bee ride where he kept smiling super big every time he went up in the air:

Gavin and Henley rode the ducks together by themselves:

I think Henley was a bit traumatized by it:

Ryan, Gavin, and I rode the Veggie Tales roller coaster. I'm not gonna lie--it was a bit scary. :) Much faster than I was anticipating! Gavin agreed! He said, "That scared me!"

Gram and Henley bonded since Henley couldn't ride as many rides or do as much as Gavin could. So nice to have her and Papaw there to help us out with the kids!

We tried so hard to win the Abominable Snowman in the background, but no luck. Gavin was 1 cup away!

Gavin did love the fishing though...

...and won a dolphin that is his new favorite (and currently asleep with him in his bed)!

Ryan and I took the kids walking around while Gram and Papaw stayed in a very long line for some very-delicious-and-totally-worth-the-wait-Kettle Corn. We saw a live nativity show going on and Gavin flipped out. He saw live what we had been talking about all Christmas season and it was AWESOME. The wise men walked right by us (like we literally had to get out of their way) and Gavin was mesmerized. I want to always remember the look on his face when I could see him connecting what was happening to what we have been learning about!

My sweet sleepy girl that refused to nap in the car on the way up there like she was supposed to:

Enjoying Kettle Corn and Hot Chocolate and watching the Christmas parade:

Love this:

Gavin requested Papaw take a picture with him here. He already appreciates his Irish routes apparently:

Last activity of the night--the train! Who is the most excited in this picture?!? Papaw LOVES trains!!

No flash out the train window just for fun:

Such a fun night! We can't wait to go back during the day and spend more time riding rides!

Christmas on the Hilltop

For our first Christmas ever, we are staying home on Christmas day! We always travel with both sets of parents out of town, so this is a big and exciting year to start our own tradition of waking up and opening presents as a family on Christmas morning.

So we had the Hughes family Christmas early this year--this past Saturday to be exact. Here's Gavin and Henley loving their presents from Gram and Papaw!

This is my favorite present that Papaw made for Henley just from looking at a Pottery Barn Kids picture! It's obvious where Ryan gets his handy skills from!

Aunt Amanda and Cole's new Christmas present: Pixel the puppy!

Sweet Dakota was so patient with her!

Playing tug-o-war with a bow:

After a yummy steak dinner (a Christmas tradition that I hope will never be broken! :) ), we loaded up and headed to Christmas on the Hilltop:

Gavin's favorite part: a hay ride out to the "North Pole"!

My favorite part: live reindeer!

There were 8 reindeer...of course!

And where did they get them from? Knoxville!!

Who knew Knoxville has a place that raises reindeer?

Papaw and Gram with the bundled up kiddos:

Cole and Aunt Amanda:

Last year's reindeer antlers!

I of course wanted to hold them even though I probably wasn't supposed to touch them!

(Wow, I look so crazy here!)

...and wear them:

Inside Santa's Workshop:

Ryan and Henley watching the reindeer:

Tractor ride back home:

Last year we did the Polar Express, and this year Christmas on the Hilltop.

Wonder what fun we will do next year??

Sunroom: After

I have so much to post of more construction weeks, but I wanted to reveal our NEW ADDITION!!! We were able to officially move in (and decorate) last night because we had electricity for the first time! We've had a pretty much finished room for a little over a week now, but couldn't move in without power! I searched for some old pictures to compare...

Before:

After:

(Door gone--just framed opening)

Before:

(This is a picture with the sunroom gone and natural light coming in the kitchen for the first time ever! It made me want to not put an addition on...but I'm obviously glad we did!!!)

After:

(Lost a set of cabinets and window so now I can see the kiddos playing inside and outside!)

These are pitiful and from my phone, but hopefully you can see...

There's not a lot of furniture out there so it looks quite bare! More to come soon!

Santa at the Zoo

Unbeknownst to me, Santa comes to the Zoo every year!

And what's the best part? It's FREE!!!

We went to the Mall last year and it's crazy how expensive it is to get a picture. So this will be a new tradition for sure!

We tried to get a group together, but apparently December isn't the optimal time to bring kiddos to an outdoor event :) so Kim and Rev joined us and it was so fun!

Rev was not a fan of Santa!

My favorite part of the day was when Kim said, "This is such a fun memory!"

Oh, Rev, you know your mother will pull this picture out in the future like any good Mom would! :)

Henley was also terrified of Santa.

Ter-ri-fied

But Gavin did AWESOME! He even ran up to him to give him a hug!

Henley did a little better when I held her, but she still wasn't too sure about the big man.

We played indoors most of the day. Henley was fascinated with the rats. That's my girl!

At one point Gavin was nowhere to be seen. As I started to panic, I hear, "Hi Momma!" and see him waving from the tunnel window. First time he's ever ventured up there! I love that he enjoys something new every trip to the Zoo.

Because lunch is usually hectic with so many Moms & kiddos, I was able to snap a quick shot this time since it was just the 5 of us!

The kiddos' first time playing in the kitchen section. Gavin LOVED it.

And of course we had to see some animals while we were there!

Kim brought a Zoo book (this is why you are my friend, Kim Alexander! :) ) and pointed out the animals on each page:

We really had the place to ourselves. The kids had a blast on the truck:

My big boy hauling Rev:

The penguins (who I guess love this weather) were right up next to the glass. And they pooped right in front of us! Ha!

And they weren't the only ones with some bodily functions! George the Chimpanzee peed right when we got up to the glass! With Gavin potty training (have I mentioned that on here??), this was pretty appropriate to see! :)

Such a fun day! Thanks for joining us, Kim and Rev!