Our Weekend In Gatlinburg

Jason and I decided to trek down to The Burg for a weekend of fun...in celebration of his birthday, of course! We stayed in a really cool log cabin resort right outside of Gatlinburg. It was beautiful and I think we were the first people to ever stay in that room - it was so nice and new!! Enjoy the pictures!

Thursday night (Jason's actual birthday) we celebrated with his Mom, Greg, and his grandmother. We had dinner and birthday cake!

On Saturday Jason and I decided to go hiking all day...well, okay - I decided that it would be a great idea - and we had a blast. This is us at the trailhead of Laurel Falls in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park...this hike was about 3 miles, roundtrip, and very easy.

We later took a trip to Elkmont campground - this is us on the bridge over the creek.

After our hike, we drove into town for some lunch and stopped by the winery. Jason got some blackberry wine and I got some white muskadine wine for Suzie's visit next month!

Later, we drove toward Townsend and stopped along the way at Campbell's Overlook - this picture's for you, Dave and Jen!!

Next we hiked only half a mile up to Clingman's Dome. Only half a mile that almost kicked our butts! It was straight up and it's the highest point in Tennessee at 6,645 feet, so the air is a little bit thinner. Needless to say, I LOVED IT! Great hike! This is us at the top of the dome.

We hope you enjoyed! Until next time...

Jason's Birthday!

As most of you, who know Jason, know...he LOVES fish and aquariums. Well, I decided a few months ago that I would give him an aquarium of his very own for his birthday :) For those of you who have set up aquariums in the past, you know it is not an easy thing. So I decided I would take a day off of work and get all the supplies and set it up myself. Needless to say - that was TOUGH! Anyway - I got it all set up and when Jason came home from work Monday, May 5th - he got a HUGE surprise. I made him call me when he was in the driveway and then I made him wear a blindfold to walk into the house. I set the ambiance by playing Margaritaville, by Jimmy Buffet, in the background. It was awesome. And if you guys could have seen the look on his face! WOW! He was SHOCKED! He LOVED it! I was so happy - it's the best gift I've ever given anyone! Anyway - here are some pictures of it. I decided to go with fresh water for our first tank because of the expense and difficulty in keeping a salt water tank. We are going to keep it fresh for at least a year and then we might convert it to salt. It's a 50 gallon tank and it stands "upright" so it's tall. I went with this style because I knew it would fit better in the house and it also looks cooler - I think :) Anyway - when you see it - imagine little me carrying the tank, and stand up the stairs of the house to get in the front door - NOT pretty. But I did it. AND it was the first tank I've ever set up - and nothing broke and no one got shocked or dismembered - so YEA ME!!

Ok - check it out! Oh - and that's a ship wreck and a coral reef in the bottom - and some random plants. I got the ship wreck because Jason and I are Lost fanatics and that ship represents "The Black Rock" for those of you who follow the show. Also - the coral reef reminded me of a reef Jason and I snorkled over in Aruba on our honeymoon :)

And, of course, we had to get our "signature shot" with the tank in the background!