Dollywood

The day after Thanksgiving we took a trip up to Dollywood to see the Christmas lights. The weather was absolutely perfect, even if the crowds were dense. The Ludwigs and Pop Pop came along too.
We've been to Dollywood so many times now that this really doesn't even deserve a blog post, except that I like the pictures. The Christmas decor was enjoyable. We always typically leave prior to dinnertime to feed the starving animals, so waiting for dark to be able to see all the lights was quite the challenge. Several others incidents with people and their moods also occurred on this trip. And I momentarily thought I'd lost Nathanael in the mass of people. Those moments are always the most stomach-dropping, heart-stopping, terrifying moments imaginable. He was headed for a little play area, with me and the other two kids following behind. He ran ahead, I got distracted, and then he was gone. I could not see him anywhere. I thought he must have run past the play area, thinking he knew exactly where he was going, but heading off who knows where. And there were so many darn people, where would I even begin to look?! Thankfully, it didn't take terribly long to find him, in that play area after all, hidden behind some play structure.
Claire perfected this look after making it for us every time the piggies went around. She's such a goof.

Not a daredevil, Nathanael still wanted to ride the baby rides too.

The girls are the daredevils. Poor Tessa is too short to ride alot of things, but they joined me on the scrambler and they laughed their heads off as they got slung around.

We waited in line for the Ferris Wheel for hours (seriously, it had to have been over an hour)!!! I'm not sure I'd say it was worth it except it afforded me some time with Sammy. I love the picture I got of him and his genuine laugh.