Tennessee River and a Mountain Man!

We took a little vacation trip to Signal Mountain, Tennessee which is just outside Chattanooga. We flew up on Thursday the 1st of February and came home on Sunday the 4th. We had a great time visiting with the McCreary's who graciously let us stay in their home. Scott is a friend of Matt's from way back in the day ;). Scott and Phoung have a son, Jake, who is only 9 months older than Kolton. They played and fought together...as you would expect two 3 year olds to do!

The day we arrived it was snowing and there was snow on the ground. It was completely unexpected for us but we were very excited. Kolton got to see and play in his first snow! Matt and Tom (Scott's brother) went out on the 4-wheelers on Thursday (in the snow). Neither of them have ever been riding in the snow...recipe for disaster right?? Well, not quite a disaster but Matt did manage to flip the 4-wheeler and roll down the mountain but he came out unscathed. Luckily for him, Tom is a firefighter...he's trained to rescue!! Seriously it wasn't that bad...they seem to have had a great time.

Kolton and Jake played in the snow that first day for quite a while. They took turns throwing snow at each other and at the dogs. Kolton likes to fall down...so he slid all over the place and got his jeans soaked. He had a great time though!




Friday we decided to take a trip to the Tennessee Aquarium. I really enjoyed the layout of the aquarium...I didn't feel like I was going to lose Kolton! We got to pet stingrays and sharks. There was a butterfly garden where the butterflies would actually sit on your fingers and hands and even let you touch their wings gently. How cool! The aquarium had a salt water side and a fresh water side and we managed to see both.





That afternoon Kolton and Jake stayed at the house with Phoung and Scott, Tom, Matt and I went driving around to see the area. We parked and hiked to a waterfall...it was awesome. It was also freezing and I had boots on with NO traction. I would like you to know that I did not fall...not even once!




Saturday was eventful too. We decided to go to Rock City and I am so glad we did. I haven't been there since I was a kid so I didn't remember it too well. It was a great hike through the rocks and boulders. Kolton did an awesome job keeping up...he never stopped! He was able to see some white deer in the deer park...fit through the needle's eye and fat man squeeze...and stood at the top of Lover's Leap. He wore his sunglasses the WHOLE time...even in the caves. We went into Fairyland Caverns...it was full of rocks, quartz, gnomes, waterfalls, and nursery rhymes. It was pretty cool to see!


(A $10,000 swing that you can't even sit in...I kept sliding off!)

Scott broke off an icicle for Kolton...and Kolton ate the whole thing...he had little red lips afterwards :).





That afternoon we decided to go 4-wheeling since it was no longer snowing and some of the snow had a chance to melt. What does melted snow make in the woods? MUD! Matt, Kolton, and I all rode on one 4-wheeler. Scott and Jake were on one and Tom and Carrie were on another. We had a great time on the trails that led up to a bluff with a fantastic view. I think we were gone at least 2 hours if not more. Kolton kept wanting to hit ALL the mud puddles and he wanted to go faster! He had "so much fun"! I didn't take my camera on that journey since I knew it would be rough terrain! I did manage to get a few shots of Kolton on the 4-wheeler before we left the house though!