My 40th Birthday Celebration

Well a few weeks ago I celebrated my 40th birthday. I was looking forward to the celebration because my hubby let me choose how and where I wanted to spend it. I chose to spend four days in Pigeon Forge, TN, one of my favorite tourist sites and not very far from our home. What made it even extra special was that my parents came up and spent the extended weekend with us too.

We (includes me, hubby-Terry, 2 sons-Aaron, Zach, parents, and wienies-Dinky, Toby) left Thursday morning, stopping for a nice lunch at Cracker Barrel, and taking the wienies in Petsmart for a new toy. They got a skunk that they love playing tug-o-war with and an alligator that has a funny grunt.

Toby and Dinky posing with their new toys.

We arrived in Pigeon Forge around 2 o'clock and ready to check-in to our cabin. We rented from Great Cabins in the Smokies which has several very nice pet-friendly cabins. Our cabin was Almost Beardise.

The living room.

The lower level bedroom.

Our bedroom upstairs.

Zach, Dad, and Aaron playing pool and air hockey upstairs in the loft.

Terry and Aaron enjoying the jacuzzi outside on the deck.

Our view from the cabin.

We got up early Friday morning in order to attend the Fall Heritage Day & Ole Timer's Festival. You can see what I had to say about the festival here.

Mom watching a little TV.

Terry and Toby snoozing in the recliner.

After the festival we came back to the cabin for some lunch and rest (my parents are in their late 70's). With some rest behind us we head over to the outlet stores to spend my birthday money. I bought an adorable skirt, sweater, and four pairs of shoes...lol.  Then we ended a great day with a fabulous meal at The Chop House.

Zach and Dinky enjoying some TV before bed.

Saturday morning was spent having a fabulous time in Pigeon Forge. We did a little more shopping and the boys enjoyed some go-cart racing. Then headed back to the cabin for lunch and to let the wienies out for a potty break. After lunch, we went over to Cades Cove see some wildlife. While there we seen 9 black bears. I haven't seen that many in all the years I have been visiting there. We also seen several deer, turkey, and plenty of squirrels.

Aaron and Terry go-cart racing.

Silly child.

One of the black bears at Cades Cove.

SQUIRREL!!!

My dad at the Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove.

This little guy is Moe. I just had to get his picture.

The beautiful Smokie Mountains.

When returned to our cabin around 9:30 that evening, we sadly discovered the cabin next to ours had burnt to the ground. The cabins are pretty close and I'm thankful that our cabin was not harmed. I'm sure my poor wienies were terrified with all the commotion going on outside. We found out the next day from a neighbor that all eight people who lived in the cabin got out in time, but sadly their two dogs and cat perrished in the fire. I had seen one of the dogs that morning while mine dogs were on a potty break. It looked to be a large schnauzer mix. They must have been locked up in a room because most dogs would run out with all the family going outside.

You can see the top of our cabin in the corner of the photo.

The fire even burned their van sitting to the right.

I had a great time on my birthday celebration weekend. I got to spend time with those I love, doing things that I really enjoy.

This is me a few days after my birthday...40 don't feel so bad.