Surviving the Smoky Mountains

The vacation was coming to an end and we needed to finish seeing the last few tourist attractions in Gatlinburg.  We began the day with something the boys had been looking forward to since the first day we arrived…Lazertag.  We dropped Bob, Landon and Carter off at the Lazertag building.  Maw Maw and I went shopping on the boardwalk shops.  When we went back to pick up the boys they were full of stories of shoot-outs from lazertag. 

After lunch and a family nap, we were off to Ripley's Believe it or Not Aquarium. This place was super cool.  There was a huge glass tunnel where you stood on a moving walkway and watched creatures swim above you.  We enjoyed looking at the sawfish, sharks, and turtles.

 There were quite a few touching pools with creatures to touch.  Our first stop was the horseshoe crabs. Bob went to pick it up and poked it in the eyes.  He was worried it might be angry and attack.

Nolan had so much fun.

There were a few aquariums that you could crawl up inside.  This was so cool.  Carter loved getting inside and telling us all about what he could see.

Another touch pool was touching jellyfish.  I was a little worried about this because I thought we might get stung but the brave boys still were curious and wanted to touch the jellyfish.

 Landon's favorite animal of all time is the penguin.  We save this exhibit for last because we knew he would love it.  To get close to the penguins you could crawl through a glass tunnel to the middle of the penguin habitat.  I was the only brave adult but I was excited to check it out too!

In the middle!

An attempt at snagging a brotherly photo…end result…not perfect but exactly how I picture in my mind.

We had a super great time on vacation!  It's always about spending time together as a family and creating memories we will never forget!