UPDATED BELOW

Hello Cuties! Our Tennessee trip continues…yesterday Dalton and his 2 boys along with Caleb, Taylor and their 2 children went into Gatlinburg to Ripleys’s Aquarium and to Wonderworks, the upside down house. The women were supposed to cook the sides when they got back and the men grill. When the above group came back after lunch, the kids wanted to get in the hot tub and Taylor went to bed. Caleb said she wasn’t feeling well. I told him when Ashley’s family came back for lunch and in between their zip lines and horseback riding, Nora wasn’t feeling well.
Eva really liked flying through the air, she told Papa. She also liked her horse and would have taken him home if she could have. Gus liked the riding bc he was behind the guide leading the way and on a horse by himself!
We had to buy a pit bc the pit they advertised was included with the rental of a house for 25 people was inadequate. We would have spent too much time trying to grill 20 Boston Butt steaks. So Richard grilled while Marsha cooked her rice dressing, I cooked Taylor’s bacon and green beans and Ashley did both a pasta salad and a green salad.
Last night before we went to bed Avery started with her coughing and choking on phlegm like she does. I was sitting nearby and jumped up to suction her but Grayson had heard and he ended up finishing. Ashley was taking her bath. We gave them the first floor bc of Avery and the wheelchair, but after we had gone to second floor we heard her choking again. Marsha was the only one still up with Grayson and Ashley but she heard us moving around in our room so she came to us. She said it makes her nervous when Avery gets like that and I told her that’s why I always make them bring her suction pump when I keep her.
This morning Richard, Marsha, my hubby and myself got up before daylight so we could get over to Cades Cove early. Ashley and Grayson’s alarm sounded and we heard the snooze go off about twice more. When they eventually got up, Marsha or me said we knew they didn’t get much sleep with Avery. They said no they didn’t sleep much bc they were up and down all night suctioning her.
When we got to the cove we started seeing Turkey and deer right away. We shopped at the gift shop and went on all the side roads before we saw our first big black bear. There were 4 Rangers there along with all the people but the bear stayed in the field, thank goodness and didn’t come where the people were. We were so glad we saw it and was headed out of the cove when my husband said there is another smaller bear. Richard pulled over and we were able to take better pictures of it. I told them it looked poor, not like the first bear. Marsha said well remember they’re coming out of hibernation and Richard said it was a young bear.
We returned to the log house and ate leftover BBQ for lunch. Then Ashley’s family came in from Clingman’s Dome and a trip over the mountain to Cherokee, North Carolina to Mingo Falls. When we had gone years ago and hiked the trails to the waterfalls in the Smoky Mountains my husband said his favorite was this was the biggest waterfall at NC and it was the shortest hike. After we ate, Marsha and Richard went to help Dalton with the boys at Dollywood. Caleb and his family went there too today. Then Ashley ask if we had anywhere we were going. If not then they wanted us to keep Avery so they could hike to a fall altogether, bc this morning the boys hiked to the falls while the girls kept Avery. Then Ashley and girls hiked while the guys, Grayson and Gus kept Avery. We told them to go ahead but we may go out to eat tonight.
Everyone is headed back now. I think Dalton and his boys are going to Dixie Stampede but other than that I don’t know yet whose going where.