House Full of Boys!

Okay so for some reason the blogsite wouldn't let me finish my post - I guess it was getting too long. So here is part 2. Thursday we went to Cade's Cove - a place where a group of people had settled and then they all died due to a flu epidemic. It was a very beautiful place in the mountains. We had a picnic and then went on to the Tuckaleechee Caverns. The cave was amazing. Upon entering you go down really steep stairs about 85ft, with only a knee high railing and nothing else under the railing. It was quite scary with all of the little kids we had with us. I had Eli strapped to me in a carrier and held Aidan's hand. When we got down the stairs the guide told us that we would walk 1/4 mile to the right then come back and go 1/4 to the left. So we started through the cave- there were many tight spaces that we had to duck to get through and many drop offs into darkness past the only knee high railing. I started getting very nervous about all of the kids we had with us. We...

We just got back on Sat afternoon from our vacation to Pigeon Forge, TN. We had a great time despite the really hot weather. We stayed in a cabin that had 7BR, 7.5bath. It was enough space for all 10 children and 9 adults. We left last Sunday and got to PF around 4pm and checked in to the cabin. We settled in and had dinner. On Monday the girls went to the grocery store while the guys entertained the kids. Later in the afternoon we went to the Aquarium and then some of us went miniature golfing and the others went to the Alpine slides. Later that day we had Family Home Evening and learned about missionaries as Uncle Ehren just returned from his in Brazil. Tuesday was the dedicated Daddy Day - where all of the girls watched the kids and the guys went out and did something fun. The guys went white water rafting and went to a swimming hole. The girls played play dough with the kids and took them to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. We later met up with the guys and took the kids to the river to pl...

So this week was exciting for Jared's family. His little brother Ehren got home on Thursday from his mission in Brazil. There were 3 nephews born while he was serving. The older kids remembered him but the little ones only know him from pictures and the babies - well they're just babies. Aidan was so excited to see Ehren but was really shy and it took him a good while before actually giving him a hug. Now today Aidan is so excited and is telling him all about Transformers and Star Wars. This Sunday we will be going to Gatlinburg, TN for a week with Jared's family. We are staying in a really nice cabin and have plans to go to Dollywood and Cade's Cove. The mommies and daddies will each get their own day too, without the kids. Not much else is going on here. Just packing for the trip and trying to get the kids to bed. Here is a picture I took of Eli yesterday after he fell asleep in the bean bag.