Dollywood and Fathers Day!

We are finally caught up on our rest from our little getaway to Pigeon Forge.  The kids really had a great time at Dollywood.  Here are all three kids on the hobby horses with GG and Pops.

This picture makes me belly laugh because David is finally old enough to drive his own car in the bumper cars!  I could not drive my own car for laughing at him.  He clogged up all the traffic but he had a ball and he was so proud of himself!!!

Here is wild man coming off of the huge waterslide at the hotel.  The kids loved where we stayed-it had a waterslide, lazy river, putt putt, and a great pirate ship playground. 

Kyle was such a great encourager to David to go down the slide and he even waited at the bottom for him.

Here is Kyle helping him get on the waterslide-it was really big.  Not only did David do it, but little Miss Hope did it too!  She shot out of there like a cannon.  Pops even tried it but he got scared:)  My kids certainly love the water and swimming.

At the hotel they also had this log thing.  You are suppose to walk across it without falling off.  David loves the show wipeout and he kept jumping off yelling wipeout!!

It was HOT and humid which made my camera fog up!  Mike was not with us so I had to be a brave Mommy and ride all of the roller coasters with Kyle.  YIKES!  I was proud of myself and I even texted Mike that I was so brave that I smiled for the cameras on the ride.  That Eagle rollercoaster at Dollywood is awesome!

This little girl loved driving the Ole Timey Cars.  She would laugh and laugh and it was so much fun watching her drive.

Amazingly we literally ran into my cousin Matt and his family our last day at Dollywood.  They live in Knoxville and they had come down to enjoy a few hours at Dollywood.  My kids loved seeing their cousins, Emily and Brandon. 

David and Brandon on the cars waiting to drive. 

Hope is not old enough to drie by herself so Kyle volunteered to go with her. It was hilarious because you are suppose to be 16 to ride with someone this little. I guess Kyle is getting so tall that she did not question his age:)

Yesterday we celebrate Hope's fourth birthday at home.  She had already had her party, so this was just the five of us at home.  Mike cooked her some hot dogs on the grill and we had some cake for dessert.  I cannot believe she is four!

This weekend is also Father's Day weekend.  I am a blessed to not only have a great father in my life, but to parenting these kids with Mike. 

Mike is a devoted Dad who is never too busy for his kids.  He has an enormous job that takes a lot out of him, but what he has left after a busy day at work, he gives to his children.  He is an amazing provider who gives everything he has to these kids.  I hate being reminded of how sick David was after his big surgery to remove the kidney that had been taken over by cancer, but this picture makes me want to cry.  Mike's heart literally broke into a million pieces when David was diagnosed with cancer. 

Mike loves these kids and takes his role of father very seriously.  He preaches constantly to the kids to "do the right thing always" and I am so thankful that he takes his biblical role of training up a child seriously.  We are very blessed that Mike Robinson is the head of this household. 

This picture also makes me want to cry. This is my Dad with David in the hospital during an inpatient stay for chemo.  Dad was my right hand man while we were in Cville.  If Mike could not be with me, then my Dad would come down to be with me and David.  He and Dave have a special little bond.  Happy Father's Day Dad!

This is also Mike's first year without his own father on Father's Day.  That has been a very hard situation for lots of reasons and today I am sure he is thinking of his own Dad. 

We have a busy week ahead with Governor's School for Kyle, All star practices starting up, therapy appointments for David, and gymnastics for Hope.  Happy Father's Day!

 

*** Since I posted this I have had several emails/texts/messages asking where we stayed.  Click here www.governorscrossing.net  for info about the hotel.  We stayed in a one bedroom executive suite which was super nice.  We actually cooked in the kitchen one night and it was great to have laundry in our condo and a full kitchen.  For the price, it was a great place to stay plus tons stuff at the hotel like an outdoor and indoor waterpark, free putt putt (9 hole tiny course), pirate ship playground, shuffleboard, and an arcade.  It was really a great value for the price.  ****