Thursday, September 8, 2016 – Sunday, September 11, 2016
We went on an adventure to the Smoky Mountains for a family gathering of the 2911 (donor) half-siblings – or diblings as we fondly call them. A total of 9 families were able to join us this time. A few of the families made a trip to Chicago previously, but we didn’t make than one. After this trip, I think I’m fully prepared to travel with her. She’s a real trooper. She did GREAT!! I’m super proud of her. All she needed was a steady stream of favorite cartoons, and she was good to go. Both going there and coming home, she didn’t get restless until about 7 hours in.
As we headed into north Georgia, the kids started squealing about seeing the mountains. I think I caught a little bit of the spirit on camera.
The view from the cabin was beautiful. The kids were very good and didn’t climb where they shouldn’t or go outside without an adult. We could have used a whole lot more time just being outside, reading, going on walks, taking advantage of all the amenities, and resting. Three nights was great, but I would have gladly stayed longer.
Satie and Sebastian loved the cabin and all the kids. Sebastian was the oldest one there, so he didn’t have much trouble carving out a space with the toys he wanted to use. And he loved the theater room and all the kid movies playing throughout the weekend.
One night we went out (because I’m lame and forgot to get certain essential items for the guft exchange). We saw Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge at night and marveled at all the random people sitting along the main drag in folding chairs just tailgating for no apparent reason. There was an old car show going on, but it didn’t appear to be related to that. So odd…
The kids had glow in the dark sticks that kept them very preoccupied. We think Bastian might have confiscated these from all the diblings’ gift bags. They didn’t seem to notice… SJ had to have the purple one – apparently her new favorite color.
After a long adventure, we returned home with only one sleeping kid. And it wasn’t Selah June. It was a late night for sure. While the adults played Cards Against Humanity, we put the little ones to bed. I fell asleep with Miss Selah June and was down for the night.
Here’s communal eating experienced by the kids and then the adults.
This is Lily, one of the few other girls in the group.
On the last night, Jackie led the kids in a craft activity. SJ wanted to get into those “colors” SO BADLY!!!!
We asked the kids to say “cheese!” You can see Satie’s reaction.
One of the moms had the idea to get the kids to frame their little faces with the picture frames. SJ was on board, but coordinating that with saying “cheese” was a lot of pressure!
This is Willow, the last of the three little girls there. She was so sweet, and she seemed to be exactly at the same verbal place with Selah June. They sang songs to each other. It was too precious for words.
Here is the little artist hard at work!
The boys…
This was the only group shot we got of everybody. What a gang!
The lst morning we woke up to this view. Jess explained to Satie why they are called the Smoky Mountains. Really beautiful…
We got on the road early and made great time. Grammy’s DVD player for the win!! As long as SJ could hold it, she was content to ride and ride and ride. We discovered that we really like Dinosaur Train. We really really really like it.
And this little monkey is losing her front tooth. She worked it all weekend, and now it’s just a snaggly hot mess. We joked that she looked like a hillbilly zombie.
One of the funniest moments of the trip was after we made our last stop. The kids ate McDonalds, and SJ snacked on her french fries later in the car. About 10 minutes after her snack, I turned around to see how things were going. She got this glassy-eyed look on her face and then concentrated with all her mental and physical might. I asked her, “Are you pooping?” And she calmly and stoically said, “Yes.” We all bursted into laughter. So funny…