Dollywood

Ryan was able to take the day off on Friday (woohoo!) so we drove the scenic route through Wears Valley and headed to Dollywood!

It was so fun this time because Henley could do so much more than last time. We split up and started on the Ferris Wheel. 

It was a bit terrifying for me because she didn't realize she couldn't wiggle, especially at the top. And wanting to turn around look at her Dad. Oh my! I had a good grip on her though, no worries.

This is Ryan taking a picture of me...

...taking this picture of Gavin and Ryan. Ha!

This boy loved all the rides. And because I did it one time, he thinks he must wear his roller coaster shirt to Dollywood every time. That's my boy! :)

 Ryan's panorama on top of the Ferris Wheel:

From the top, we saw the 50's cars that I've always heard about but never been able to find. So we headed there right away! Henley wasn't so sure about driving. :)

 

We split up into separate lines and were able to drive together! That's Gavin and Ryan behind us:

We then went back over to the Country Fair and all four of us (even Henley!) rode the Shooting Star! I couldn't believe she did it! And loved it!

And her favorite of the day I'm sure was riding the elephant ride with her Daddy. Elephants are by far her favorite animal these days.

And not just any elephant. A purple one! Purple is her new favorite color. She thinks all colors are purple. If she sees a rainbow, she says, "Purple, purple, purple, purple, purple, purple!" to all the colors. Sweet girl.

Gavin loved the elephant ride, too, because he could push the button to go up and down the whole ride.

We went to the little rides thinking Henley would do it, but nope! Not even with me riding because we tried the pigs by herself first. Bawling her eyes out before the ride even started. So yes, this is me and Gavin on the bee by ourselves. I barely fit!

 Of course we always spend a little bit of $$ on the arcade games, but thankfully Gavin didn't win anything this time. We don't need any other stuffed animals in our house! :) But it's such a good teaching opportunity that we don't always win! The kids loved throwing either way:

The kids were asleep within 30 seconds in the car. No exaggeration. I took this picture and sent it to our parents from the parking lot!  Ryan let me shop for a little bit at the outlets while they snoozed and we took the scenic route home again. 3 hours later, we had to wake them up!! This is why we love Dollywood! :)