Girls Only

The day my post-planning ended, Mimi, Grace, Emma Kate, and I set out on a girl trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  This would be the last of our annual girl trips before it became girls + 1 for at 6 months pregnant, I don't see squeezing in another one before Reece joins us.

My favorite thing to do on a girl trip: shopping!  And with 3 generations of shoppers together, bargains will be found!

Exhibit A.

Before I had princess loving little girls, the Disney store got on my nerves.  Now, walking in and seeing that flip flops were buy one, get one free and t-shirts were half price made my heart go pitter patter, and the only question was which ones to get!  Grace and Emma Kate's prize find was a pair of Cinderella glass slippers that light up in the heels.  Fash-ion-istas!

The little girls favorite thing was a toss up between swimming and Dolly World.  These gals are like little fish in the water.  They love swimming, so even though we didn't get to our hotel until after dark, I had promised they could go swimming when we got there.  It was the only way I could convince Grace that eating is important and we did have time to stop for dinner.

We like this particular hotel because it has a splash pool, kiddie pool, and regular pool.  The only problem is the same problem we have every time we go swimming - getting the girls to leave!

Dolly Wood is an amusement park owned by, you guessed it, Dolly Parton!  The girls had a blast riding the ferris wheel (where Grace kicked off her shoe), a Veggie Tales roller coaster for itty bitties, flying elephants, river boats, and tea cups.  Do you know how many rides there are for pregnant women?  Zero.  Even the little cars that can't veer off their track for more than 6 inches and don't go over 15 miles per hour have the little sign of a stork with a big slash through it.  So, I was the designated stroller watcher/photographer while Mimi got to ride in enough circles to make an elephant dizzy.  She definitely took one for the team.

The only ride an adult couldn't ride on was the Veggie Tales roller coaster.  We waited anxiously at the first hill, ready to yell at the conductor to stop so our terrified girls could get off.  Instead, we found them giggling incessantly shouting "Again, again!"

Emma Kate, in full 2-year-old glory went back and forth between being her adorable, sweet self, to a hormone raging, fit pitching, fireball.  I am convinced that this is the peak of the terrible twos and it can only get better from here.  It doesn't help to have a sister who loves pushing buttons.  On the plus side, as a mama who's been through the terrible twos before, I can honestly say that it does not last forever, and in a year or so, I will be glad that I did not eat Emma Kate like I've contemplated.  No, not like "You're so sweet, I could eat you up."  More like, the concept of why some animals eat their young is not as horrifying as it was before I had children.  Yes, I'm only kidding.  Today.

Despite the heat, and the tantrums, and the bickering sisters that have become such a normal part of every day life, our girl trip was a blast.  I am so glad that we are able to make these memories.  I hope that Grace and Emma Kate remember these times as fondly as I do.