As you know from my previous 3 Tennessee posts - the fall foliage and weather were just so good (and my pictures do not even do it justice).
I wanted to try and get a few decent pictures of my boys with the beautiful surroundings...It is just so hard to get good pictures of them right now! And honestly - they barely combed their hair, were barefoot in most pictures and gave me about 3 minutes to capture whatever I could.
The good news - it was all just enough! Look how sweet...
We really did have a great time in Tennessee! The boys got along really well (for the most part) and it was just fun to relax, hang out, play games, watch movies and BE TOGETHER without our normal, everyday interruptions!
I mean - does this not look comfy?! I pretty much laid on the boys bed (a pull out sofa) with them every single night while we watched movies, football or regular tv shows (Nik was in a char right across from us).
There was a pottery shop that I really wanted to go look out but was nervous having the boys inside there. So guess what we did? We let them pull out the DVD players from the car and they laid in these hammocks outside the shop while we looked around - perfect!
After we did a little shopping we played some cornhole and then walked across the street to have lunch. I had the best chicken salad sandwich of my life there. No exaggeration - it was sooo good!
That night we attended the town's WinterFest. Again - it was the BEST weather! We walked the "Trail of Lights" for awhile before catching the tail end of a Veterans Show.
(it was hard to keep Zane on the actual trail)
On our last day guess where we went? BUC-EES! We spent more time than people should in that place - haha! It's just so fun.
After a week in Tennessee, we headed home. It was time - but our time there, together was just so good! Great memories!
We were loving Tennessee!
Did I mention how gorgeous the weather was? It was amazing. But on to more of our adventures...
One morning we went min golfing - look how fun!
We had to ride a train to the top of the course and then we worked our way down.
Do we look like a competitive family in the picture? I don't think so - but don't let looks fool you - ha!
Guess who won?
JAXEN!
I'm a little bitter because Nik told me I beat him, Nik, (by just a few) and so I thought I had won it all. Well, come to find out - Jaxen had me beat by a few strokes! (Told you we were competitive!)
After mini golf we made our way to lunch. I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich that day (not sure what anyone else had - but mine was so good)!
After lunch we looked around at a few more stores and then Zane and I played Chess (his made-up version) while Nik and Jaxen played cornhole.
We played lots of Uno. I taught Jaxen how to play Phase 10. And we also played a few games of Five Crown.
The boys spent A LOT of time in the hot tub and Nik and I even got a few afternoon naps in while the boys played on technology.
One of the mornings we hit up the Apple Farm - which was so fun!
Our first stop was for fresh apple cider donuts (boys), hot cider (me), cider slush (boys) and a fresh fried apple pie (me) for breakfast.
Then we walked through the store, bakery, candy shop and ice cream place.
We all walked across the road to this little river (creek?) and Nik taught the boys how to skip rocks.
A good lesson in life.
Our family took a week off and hit the road to Tennessee! We drove about 1/2 way the first day and stopped at a hotel for the night. We enjoyed dinner at Bob Evans before letting the boys swim out their energy in the hotel pool. Always a win!
The next morning we stopped at Metropolis…
We got settled in for the night and the next morning we woke up, ready to go hiking!
Before I go any further - just know... the weather was perfect (sunny and in the 60's), and the fall foliage was on point! We were a little late to see the reds...but the greens, yellows, oranges and even browns were beautiful!
I have tried to narrow down the number of pics from our hike...
After our hike (took a couple of hours) we went into town for some lunch and walked around downtown, looking in all the fun stores!
We were all wiped after our day! We went home, hopped in the hot tub, made dinner and lounged the rest of the night!
