I just want to start off by saying that we had a really great time. It was definitely a learning experience, but we enjoyed ourselves, and it was so exciting for us that Samantha got to see and do so many new things this week!
This picture was taken right before we left.
Day One: September 22 (Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary) The Chattanooga Aquarium
Around 6:30 I got up and got a shower thinking that Samantha would be up any minute. When I got out and got ready I was expecting to have to run and get her and put everything on hold. Well, it didn’t happen. Lol. I got dressed, got most of the car packed, and had her bottle and cereal made and waited on her to wake up. Around 7:30 I heard a squeal from her bedroom and finally got our day started. The drive to Chattanooga is only a couple of hours from our house, so it really wasn’t bad at all, and Sam slept most of the way. We got to the Aquarium, Patrick bought tickets while I fed Sam in the car and we were ready to go. We really enjoyed the river side. Sam especially liked the leafy sea dragons, long neck turtles, and big silver fish in the tank with the sea turtle and sharks (mainly because they moved so fast). When we got done with the river side we walked down the street to a BBQ place we like to eat at called Sticky Fingers, had lunch, and went back to the Aquarium for the Ocean side. We had a small hiccup when we got to this part, but it all worked out. We stayed in the butterfly garden for a little while and enjoyed all of the gorgeous butterflies, I don’t know what Sam thought about them, but she seemed happy. Her favorite part of this side was definitely the penguin exhibit. They were barking and swimming and jumping in the water. She was captivated! We just had to buy her a penguin (his name is Perry) and a new penguin book. By the time we got down to the jellyfish, she was ready for a nap, and because it is so nice and dark down there, she fell asleep in the baby bjorn. We moved her to the stroller and walked through the caverns enjoying some “alone” time on our Anniversary. Afterward we went and got ice cream and ended up meeting the nicest couple along with their 7 month old baby girl Sophie, and got to compare some stats. It was really great to talk to another couple with a baby the same age and around the same size as Samantha.
Happy 3 year Wedding Anniversary!
Samantha with the Penguins!
After the Aquarium and ice cream, we went and checked into our hotel, and let Sam roll around on the king size bed for a little while. We had just decided that we were going to go get some pizza when I got a text from my friend Amanda, letting me know that Similac had just issued a recall on their formula. We had decided not to bring our laptop on vacation with us, because we didn’t want the distraction (I have a slight nesting addiction). So Patrick called his mom hoping that she would still be at work so that she could look up the lot number from our box of formula, but she was already leaving. She tried looking it up using her IPod, but unfortunately the website kept crashing because of all of the people trying to get on. She did find us a phone number though, so I called it. We figured that we would go ahead and go to dinner and I called the number and waited on hold. I thought that surely they would get to me before we got all the way back downtown and walked over to eat. NOPE. I waited on hold for 30 minutes. It could have been worse, but still. I sat on the phone on hold, worried about what I had been feeding Samantha all day and possibly all week. What a way to spend the first part of our Anniversary dinner. It turns out that both of the cans I had just purchased were part of the recall, and the lady from Similac told me that they would mail me two FedEx boxes so that I could send them the formula, or what was left of it, and they will send me a check for the inconvenience. I was really upset; the recall was issued because of possible beetle parts being in the formula after one of their plants had a bug infestation. EWWWWWW! I really hope that this is more of an err on the side of caution thing, and that I haven’t been feeding Sam bug parts. This was the first time since I stopped breastfeeding that I felt guilty about not doing it for longer. We ended up driving up the road and finding a Walgreens and I bought Sam a new canister of Enfamil formula. We had tried her on it before, but switched to Similac because it was so much cheaper. Now that we are back in town we will try the Target brand Up&Up and see how she does on that. I’m not sure that we will switch back to Similac after this. I know it could have happened to anyone, but I’m leery to use a product that it took a week for them to take off of the shelves.
Sam with her new best friend Perry the Penguin
After a long and crazy day, we decided to let Sam sleep with us. Unfortunately I didn’t get much sleep, because little roly poly and her daddy took up most of the bed, but at least they were comfy and slept well. It was almost exactly how I wanted to spend our Anniversary, and as long as I was with my two favorite people I was happy! Happy Anniversary Patrick!:)
Day 2: 9/23 The Chattanooga Zoo
Samantha was up pretty early, which is good because it gave us a chance to get up, get ready, go eat our complimentary breakfast (I love Hampton Inns!) and pack up the car all a couple of hours before checkout time. We drove over to the Chattanooga Zoo, which we almost missed because from the road it doesn’t look like a zoo at all. I am used to the Birmingham Zoo, which is pretty large and takes several hours to get around and see all of the exhibits. We went in, used our membership cards for the Bham zoo and got in for half price, and of course Sam was free. :) Walking in, I was prepared to be disappointed, it seemed really small. However, I was pleasantly surprised. As we walked back we saw the Chimpanzee exhibit. Oh my goodness!!! I had never seen animals at the zoo this close, with the exception of the giraffes and a camel. Sam loved seeing the chimps and we stayed and watched them clean each other for a while. Then we got over to the Jaguar exhibit. Again I hadn’t seen many animals this close. It was amazing. The cats kept pacing back and forth, and one even got in the water and laid down. It was so neat! The rest of the zoo was very nice, and we felt like we had gotten our money’s worth just with those two amazing exhibits, and even though it just took an hour to go through the whole zoo it was nice to be able to go do something fun before we had to get back on the road to head to Gatlinburg.
Sam and the Chimpanzees
Me and Sam sitting next to the Jaguar
When we got to Gatlinburg we went and checked into our hotel, we had never stayed there before but really enjoyed the location, the view, and the rooms were pretty nice too. We unpacked and let Samantha roll around on the bed for a bit, and then headed out to get some dinner at Bubba Gumps and picked up a couple of donuts from the best donut shop in “The Village” for breakfast the next morning. We looked around a little bit, but decided it would be best to go back to the room for the night. Samantha actually slept in the pack n play all night, and gave me the sleep I needed to be refreshed for the next day.
Day 3: 9/24 Gatlinburg & visiting with friends
We got up early with Samantha, but just relaxed and enjoyed our morning. We went and shopped on the main street for a bit, then went back to the hotel to let Sam take a good nap with me. Our friend Sara lives about an hour away from where we were staying so she came and visited with her girls. Her daughter Madison is almost 4, and her daughter Tabitha (who I hadn’t met) just turned a year old. We haven’t seen each other in a couple of years so it was great to get to visit, and let our daughters have a little play date. We went out to lunch, and then walked around outside for a bit, and then went back to the hotel for a while to continue to let the girls play. After they left, we went back out to the Village and shopped a little more, and went to dinner in Pigeon Forge at the Apple Barn. It was a good but hot and tiring day.
Me & Sara and our girls 
Family picture!
Day 4: The Christmas place and heading home
Saturday morning we got up when Sam did, as usual around 7. We all got ready and got packed up, and headed to Pigeon Forge to do some outlet shopping. We got a few things for Sam, and some shoes for Patrick and headed to the Christmas Place. I love this place! It just screams happiness with lights. :) We got 5 Christmas ornaments for ourselves, and some presents for a few other people. The best thing is that they had a Santa Claus so we let Sam go sit with him. She was doing great, until she realized that I was taking pictures instead of holding her, and lost it! The pictures were cute, but I felt so bad. I am hoping that with this trial run that when it comes time to go visit Santa at Christmas time in a pretty little Christmas dress, that she will be her happy little self, and we will get some good pictures. Afterward, it was time for some lunch and the long drive home.
Sam with Santa
The first two and a half hours of our trip home, Sam slept so hard that she snored. When she woke up, she was pretty happy. I sat in the back seat the entire way home so that if she started getting fussy I could try to entertain her to keep her calm. It worked for a little while, but she needed a break, so we got out and grabbed a bite to eat, gave her a bottle and some veggies and a chance to move around freely. We only took about a thirty minute break because we didn’t want to get home too late, but in retrospect, we probably should have given her a little more time to not be in the car seat. Another hour on the road and she was unhappy, but not screaming or crying. I kept singing every nursery rhyme, church hymn, and Christmas song I could, along with lots and lots of clapping. About 45 minutes away from home, she became inconsolable! L We pulled over to get some gas, change her diaper, and just let her move around for a few minutes. I held her and bounced her and played, but we had to get back on the road. It was awful, she screamed, and cried, and scratched, and kicked for the next 30 minutes. She was fighting sleep, and even though her eyes were shut the whole time, she wouldn’t give in. My poor baby! When we got home, I pulled her out of the car, Patrick went and changed her, I got her a bottle and she was OUT for the night. I put her down in her crib, and it was official, we had survived our first family vacation, even though just barely for the last half hour.
Entertaining Sam with her glow worm
Overall, we had an absolutely amazing time. We enjoyed our time together as a family, and Samantha got to do see and do so many things for the very first time! We were so thankful to get to take this time together, and are looking forward to our next vacation, and are hoping that next time we won’t have as many hiccups. However, if we do, as long as we are together, nothing else matters. :)
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Dear God,
Thank you so much for everything that you do for us. Thank you for letting us celebrate so many amazing things this week. Thank you for letting us go to my old church’s 50th anniversary celebration last weekend, and for letting so many of my old church family finally meet our precious daughter. Thank you for allowing my old pastor bless Samantha at communion. It meant so much to me, that one of the most spiritually influential people I know was there and was able to bless her for you. Thank you for giving Patrick and I such a wonderful relationship and marriage, and for letting us celebrate our 10 year dating anniversary and our 3 year wedding anniversary this week. Thank you so much for reminding us that because of your love, and ours, we have our daughter who we care for more than we ever thought possible. Thank you for allowing us to take this vacation and for giving us 5 wonderful days together to do what we wanted to, and helping us to escape from the craziness that can envelop us in our everyday lives sometimes. Thank you so much for our amazing families and friends, and for their love and support. Thank you!
AMEN
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