Thanksgiving was spent a little different this year with us. We decided we were going to spend it in Tennessee. We left early on Thanksgiving morning and arrived in Johnson City around 4 pm, right as the free Thanksgiving buffet at our hotel closed….so…it was burgers and fries. I wasn’t going to complain about that!!
The next day, the boys were driving to Knoxville to the University of Tennessee while I visited with my friend Tina Wilson. I spent the day with her at her studio and on the road for a shoot. She has been so open and helpful to me in my journey to better myself both in photography and in life.
Saturday morning, we headed back to the studio for a little, while the boys went to the Hands on Museum across the street where I later met up with them. This was so great for the boys to be able to run around and experiment “hands on” all different science and life experiments.
Later in the day, Tina had invited us to her families annual Fish Fry. Our kids were able to run and play and Santa made a special visit with gifts for everyone. The food was right up my alley…everything was deep fried!! Yum!! I don’t think I ate anything healthy all weekend. Once everyone left, we headed to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Christmas light spectacular. This is miles of Christmas lights and displays wrapping throughout the parking lot, on to the drag strip and ending with a lap around the race track! We actually drove up one of the turns and I swear we were going to roll the van!
Sunday, after church, we headed to Gatlinburg to go to Dolly Wood. Amusement parks in the winter!! Woo Hoo! It was chilly, but the kids loved it. Tony and I took turns with Kobe on the big rides and then we took Braden on all the kiddy rides. We pigged out on more fried food…spiral cut fries dipped in chili and cheese….I can feel my arteries clogging… When it finally became dark, we waited patiently for the light parade. Dolly Wood was all decorated for Christmas with lights everywhere. It was so beautiful!! Then we headed back to the hotel because the boys were freezing.
Monday, we headed home. It was a long 8 hours, but was totally worth it. We needed this family time. This was a great way to close out the year.
Thank you Tina for letting us come down to your home and spend the weekend with you. It meant the world to me!!Our Thanksgiving dinnerThe boys trip to UT and Steve Spurrier Field.This was the most beautiful landscape ever!! Tina and I pulled off the side of the road just to shoot this. Amazing!Our new favorite fast food restaurant. Pal’s is awesome!Hands on MuseumFish fry, Santa and some log rolling!!Dolly Wood!I couldn’t believe someone wrapped this entire tree with lights….
