Sevierville

We took a family vacation to Sevierville, TN (it is pronounces Severe-vul)  for a week.  It was tons of fun.  We used my dad's timeshare.  There were 3 water parks at the timeshare.  We only went to 2 of them, but is was pretty awesome.

The first waterpark we went to was an outdoor park.  It was only open on the weekends when we went.  It had a wave pool and a lazy river.  We decided to rent a cabana since it was so cheap since it was considered off season.  I am so glad we did.  Anna was able to take a nap, and we had shade, a mister, radio, tv, and a fan.  Not to mention better towels and cabana service.  So we had a lunch break and watched some cartoons for a bit too.  We really enjoyed it.  Chris and I got a little sunburned, but it wasn't too bad.

We discovered that the blue tubes were double tubes with one side filled in.  So the kids could easily sit in that side without having to hold themselves up.  Also, all the water parks had life vest for the kids to use.

We went to Dixie Stampede.  We went to the one in Branson, MO last Thanksgiving and saw the Christmas Show.  So this time we saw the Buffalo Show.   We learned from last time that the kids don't really eat much of the food.  So we opted to not buy Anna a ticket and have her "Sit" on one of our laps.  Much to our delight, They didn't have chairs at this Stampede, but benches.  So we just squished in and it worked really well.

We also spent a day at Wonderworks.

"WonderWorks began as a Top Secret research laboratory on a remote island in the Bermuda Triangle. As legend has it, the world’s greatest scientists – led by Professor Wonder – were given the task of creating a man-made tornado and harnessing the POWER of it. During this experiment, something went awry and the power of the tornado was unleashed throughout the laboratory. This created a swirling vortex that was strong enough to rip the laboratory from its foundation. It was carried thousands of miles away and landed upside-down on the top of a theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Remarkably, all of the experiments remained intact and functional.

"When you enter the building, everything will be upside-down, so in order to participate in the fun, you must be inverted. Step inside the inversion tunnel and be turned upside–down to begin your journey. Once you are properly aligned for your adventure, Family Fun awaits with more than 100 interactive, hands on exhibits. At WonderWorks, the unexplainable will come to life and the unusual will be the norm."

The kids did not care for the inversion tunnel.  It was one of those spinning tunnels with a walkway through it.  It makes it feel like you are spinning.  Let me tell you... I didn't much care for it either after walking through it multiple times caring children.  Each time took me a bit longer than the time before.  But the rest of it was a blast.  There were so many fun things to do.  Chris took the girls in an Earthquake simulator and I took the girls on a hurricane simulator.  Although... I think they turned the wind down a bit for the girls, since it really wasn't blowing as hard as I thought it would.

 Kiah got to climb a rock wall.

She didn't make it too far, but I am proud of her for trying.  Where my kids got their fear of heights I am not sure.

This is me on the ropes course.  It is hard to see, but ti was a black light room.  Kiah started out with me, but got a little scared and went back down.  But I think she made it up to the second level.  I went all the way to the top and did almost all of the course.  A few of them I didn't try, but mainly because I had on really bad shoes and poor Chris was trying to wrangle all 3 kids by himself down on the ground.   Thanks Chris for letting me play!

It is hard to see Anna in the suit.

This was kinda cool.  The kids leaned up against this wall and then a light flashed and when they walked away their shadow remained.

Kiah on a bed of nails

This game was fun.  2 people sit at either end of the table with a special headband.  As you relax it moves a ball between the people through "brainwaves"  The more you relax the farther it moves from you.  When you get it to the other person's side of the table you win.  We all played it multiple times.  Kiah was getting upset because she kept losing.  I worked really hard and finally let her win.  I have no idea what the kid has going on in her head.... but she needs to relax!  On the wall next to the table you can see the brainwaves on a TV screen.

On another day we decided to go miniature golf.  It was kinda fun.  Eli isn't patient.  I just don't think he is ready for it.  Kiah was slightly better.  But it got HOT!

We also went to an Aquarium.  It was lots of fun.... even if there were a thousand school students on a field trip. 

So the night before we went to the aquarium Chris and I watched River Monsters on TV.  The episode was about Sawfish.  SO it was really uncanny when we went into the tunnel and the first thing I saw was the Sawfish!  It was also pretty cool to see the divers cleaning the tank.  2 were in cleaning and 2 were guarding the cleaners with batons.  I saw them bap a few sharks!

I love watching the jelly fish.  The display wasn't as big as the one at Monterey.

The penguins were super playful

Since we were so close to the Smoky Mountains we also wanted to see a bit of nature.  We stopped at one little parking spot.  It was a very steep ridiculous walk down to the river.  Chris said we shouldn't try it.  So I walked the kids down to a different part of the parking lot to see if there was an easier path down.  Pretty soon I saw Chris down by the river.  Apparently he changed his mind.  He was walking along the river trying to get to where we were and then walk up, I guess.  But pretty soon I didn't see him,  figuring he couldn't get through and turned around, I decided to do the same.  I was able to walk the kids down to a little ledge and let them sit there for a bit to look at the river.  Pretty soon I hear Chris behind me saying something about how he wanted to leave.... now!  We didn't want to leave, but he kept insisting.  SO I finally asked him what the heck was wrong.  Apparently I couldn't see him anymore because he fell in the river!

Here is a picture of the river.  You can sorta make Chris out.

We also went to the indoor water park at the resort.  They had a Surf Rider and Kiah and Eli LOVED it!  It was neat to see how the lifeguard got them out of the water too.  He kinda walked along the edge of the jet and it slowly moved them out of the jet flow.

  

There was a fun climbing gym with water slides and hoses.  All sorts of things to do.  And every few minutes this would happen

Kiah riding one of the tube rides solo!

  Chris and I enjoyed the raft ride the most.  Thankfully you didn't have to carry that up yourself.  But this does give you an idea as to how high the rides were.  I really couldn't believe Kiah climbed the entire way carrying her own tube!

The Kiddie area.  There was also a seesaw that spouted water, and a fountain that dumped water every once in awhile.  I loved the fact that it was a gated area, so no escapees.  Also, the wall around it was just high enough that the kids couldn't see out to see what they were missing, but adults could see out to watch older kids if they need too.

 They also had swings in the little kids area.  

The kids also loved the wave pool.  Here they are waiting for the waves to start 

Here is a bit of wave action.   Usually Anna was running straight into the waves, but I think she was getting tired at this point.  Kiah liked to go into the really deep water.

Kiah got some mints from somewhere.  The girl loves these.  Alway has!  Apparently she likes them a lot!

 We stopped and got a few treats before we headed back home