Saturday, March 20, 2010

Favorite Vacation Memories

I was able to get away for a short whirlwind of a weekend and below are some pictures. It was a much needed break and, though entirely too brief, it was fun and the time with family was much enjoyed. We live, we love, we laugh.


BLACK BEAR BLUFF CABIN
Jon, Renee and Cara

Outside view


STEEP driveway and roads coming in

View from inside loft (and what you wake up to in the morning.) Gorgeous Sunrise!

Jealous yet?

The Pro-Pool-Players. (Notice Renee and I didn't make the photo shoot ;)

Breakfast

Cara wearing her new birthday sweater from Grandpa Dierking. (It sure was nice to spend time with Cara without being interrupted by someone claiming it was 'their turn'.)

Preparing for the Great Easter Egg Hunt

Searching

Hmmm....

Can you guess who won?

Going for a hike
IN GATLINBURG AND PIGEON FORGE FOR THE DAY
Watching a man make fudge
They have interesting shops in Gatlinburg ;)
We tried out the Ripleys Maze of Mirrors; thought it might be kind of cheesy and felt a bit stupid going in with a bunch of little kids, but it actually turned out to be quite the highlight. So weird and confusing and hilarious. You seriously get so turned around in there and are bumping into mirrors and you'll see an image but have no clue where it's actually coming from because its being reflected off this mirror, which is reflecting it off this mirror, from down this hallway and yeah....at one point you can actually see the exit but have no way of knowing where it actually is.
This is actually a mirror they are about to touch. (Though the goal is to make it the whole way through without touching/banging into a mirror)
Rachel got a pair of 3-D glasses to help make it more confusing but found she didn't need them. It was confusing enough! At one point, while sneaking around Rachel saw some people on a mirror and they were moving. She continued walking, saw them again and reached out to touch the mirror/person and asked "Are you real?" .... lol. The person responded. I think she took the girl by surprise and Renee and I were laughing hysterically at Rachel.
Ah! Good laughs...Good talks...Good times...Good memories.
I'm thankful for my family.

3 comments:

mike said...

You guys got lost in the maze of mirrors? Dare I ask who was the guide . . . or do some other family members share your sense of direction? =) It probably would have helped if they had added a "familiar-looking cornfield" to help you all find your way! lol

Looks like fun though, and I really am jealous of the veiw you had out of the loft window. I've built a couple houses with those big A-Frame windows and they always make me wish we had an exuse to put some in our house.

BTW, Jon, way to beat her in the Easter Egg Hunt. She's beat me in foosball a couple times and it's always nice to know of a few times when she lost so I can remind her of it occasionally!

Anonymous said...

Hey Chrystal! Thank you for emailing me about your blog. It is so cool! I do not think I really knew of any one who had one before you and Nicole. I might have to try it out well... someday. Anyway it looks like you had a lot of fun. You know what I was thinking? (yeah, yeah, I do think) I don't think it is fair,that you like get to have the cutest niece and nephew. I mean some of us have none, and it looks like it will stay that way for a while. So have you figured out who this person is, that is typing this terribly long and boring comment? Just think of the craziest, most annoying, person, who can not play v-ball if her life depended on it. Then there you have it.

Chrystal said...

Mike- Familiar cornfields or not, I don't think we could have done much better even if you yourself had been along. ;)

Anonymous- Ah! This must be Kate. It wasn't your hint of "the craziest, most annoying peron" that gave it away, but rather "the person who cannot play v-ball if her life depended on it" comment that tipped me off! lol. We'll have to play again sometime because I've been practicing up. Just ask Mike.. =)

Chrystal