Great Smoky Mountain Vacation, Part 1

For our end of summer vacation this year, we decided to road trip to the Smoky Mountains. We left town early Saturday morning for the twelve hour drive. 

Of course no road trip is complete without a stop at Buccee's! The kids were extra excited to get to hug Buccee while we were stopped. 

We arrived at our cabin for the week on Saturday afternoon. We unpacked and relaxed for the evening.

It's not the beach, but it's still a pretty great view!

The kids were excited to be out of the car.

They spent a little time in the hot tub. 

And we tried to get them to bed early. 

The next morning we were up early to visit Dollywood. 

Our first stop as Big Bear Mountain, and it was a crowd favorite! Smooth, fast, with several launches, that's our family's roller coaster jam. 

We also rode Wild Eagle. 

There were only two rides that Katherine wasn't tall enough to ride this trip. It's hard to believe our days of rider swap at amusement parks are almost over. She and I hung out while the rest of the crew rode Wild Eagle.  

Even though it was still August, there were pumpkins everywhere!

Our day at Dollywood was perfect. We never waited to ride anything, and we rode everything multiple times. That's our kind of amusement park day. Katherine was very excited to ride the carousel. I hope she never outgrows her love it it. 

During the heat of the afternoon, we explored the indoor, air conditioned Dolly Parton experience. None of us are huge fans, but it was a great way to chill for a bit before heading back out to ride coasters. 

Next to the giant roller coaster, Lightning Rod were these cute little old cars. We couldn't pass up driving them. So cute!

The kids convinced us to get soaked on the rapids. It's not a theme park day without the rapids. I rode once, but the boys went a second time. 

Later in the day, the kids spent a long-time riding rides in this carnival themed area. Matt and I happily sat in the shade and watched them run from ride to ride. Having big kids is pretty great sometimes. I'm not sad at all about not riding all the kiddy rides anymore. 

We paused for dinner and a break from the rides. 

That evening the park hosted a dance party before the closing fireworks and drone show. Katherine was adamant about attending and showing off her moves. 

The night ended with an awesome fireworks and drone show. We were all very impressed with the technology of the drone show. 

It was such a fun way to end a really awesome day.

Open to close- it's the Baugher way! 

Gosh, I love spending these days with these people.