At my mom’s previous job, she would travel a lot for work. She would go to Pigeon Forge often, and one of her favorite places is The Chop House. So on our trip back last summer, we ate dinner there one evening.
All tagged 2022 Fun
Sweet Frogs
Back in May and June of 2022, we went to Pigeon Forge to visit Dollywood. During our trip, we found a cute ice cream/coffee shop on our daily drive to Dollywood from our cabin in Sevierville. The ice cream portion is called Sweet Frogs. It is a traditional FroYo place. But connected to it was a coffee named Smoky Mountain Espresso. It is located on Veterans Boulevard connecting Sevierville to Pigeon Forge. They did have a drive thru, but we went in each time. We literally visited daily. I loved that they had a dole whip flavor!
November 2022 Fun
My lack of posting the last month should be an indication of how busy our November truly was. Our free time was super limited, so journaling and blogging were not high on the to do list. But I am getting back with it. With that said, let’s dig into all the fun we had in November!
Dollywood Family Trip May and June 2022
I am going to update this page as I blog about our trip to Dollywood in late May/early June of this year. I wanted to keep everything in one place to make it easier to find!
Pumpkin Patch 2022
This year we planned ahead a Saturday that was ideal for us and the Owen group to visit the Pumpkin Patch. I was a bit nervous with it being “peak” weekend, but to my surprise it was truly the best day. The weather was great, and the crowds were actually low. We didn’t have really any lines to wait in for food or “rides”, and we were able to accomplish most things.
Carnival Cruise April 2022
Follow along as I update this page with all of my blog posts about my cruise back in April!
September 2022 Fun
September was busy as we were back in full force with school and extracurriculars. Brad also traveled some for work, and Melody got to experience her first field trip at school. I am so happy at all the “normal” things coming back to this school year. She was even able to have her grandparents come eat lunch with her for grandparents day too. What I assume is due to COVID happening in 2020, they have also implemented several “e-learning” days. It was actually really nice, and I look forward to the next one. I hosted a bridal shower for my cousin, and Melody got to try on some flower girl dresses for the wedding coming up in November. We also got down most of our Halloween decor, so Melody is having a blast trying to scare us with fake spiders! October is setting up to also be a highly busy month. Stay tuned!
Aubrey's Restaurant
When we went to Dollywood earlier this summer, we stayed in Sevierville, TN in a beautiful cabin. I did some research into some restaurants in the Sevierville area for us to grab dinner at after our days at Dollywood. We really didn’t want to deal with the crowds in Pigeon Forge proper every night if we could avoid it. One of the places I read about was a placed called Aubrey’s Restaurant. So that was a place we kept in our back pocket for when we needed it.
April 2022 Carnival Cruise Day Four
Our our fourth day of our cruise, we had a day at sea. This meant we would not be docking at any port. Instead there was a day full of activities throughout the ship for us to explore and do.
August 2022 Fun
August was a busy month and full of a lot of change! Melody started FIRST grade earlier this month. We tried to enjoy the time we had her at home outside of school, so we have enjoyed the library, pool, games, and cooking. Melody started cheer and started back at gymnastics. We celebrated both my dad’s and Brad’s birthdays, and we simply had fun!
American Girl Birthday Party
Back in June, we visited the American Girl store in Franklin, TN to celebrate both Melody and my niece’s birthdays. Their birthdays are one year apart but two dates apart (May 25 vs May 27). So this was their birthday present from my mother in law. I recently wrote a post all about our hotel experience of this trip. Now I want to share the party part.
July 2022 Fun
July came and went, and we had a lot of fun soaking up what little summer was left. Melody finished swim lessons; we started getting out old Lego sets to put together; we celebrated the 4th of July; we finished gymnastics for the summer; we celebrated my mom’s birthday; we got shaved ice; Melody got her first planner; we saw Paw Patrol in theaters again; Melody rode the carousel; Melody had her first sleepover at my parents then with her cousins in Memphis; Brad went to his 20th high school reunion; we went to Let’s Play; we went to High Point; and we went to the Kiddie Carnival!
April 2022 Carnival Cruise Day Two
Our second day of our Carnival Cruise in April was a day at Nassau. We have been to Nassau many times, and we really had no desire to go this time. With the COVID restrictions, it just didn’t seem like it would be much fun. So we decided to spend the day on the boat and hopefully enjoying a mostly empty one at that.
Forbidden Caverns
During our Dollywood trip, we had a break day from the parks and decided to spend time enjoying the cabin. My dad had noticed signs for a place called Forbidden Caverns not far from where our cabin was. He thought it would be neat to take Melody there. So we drove about 15 minutes from our cabin to get there.
American Girl Hotel Experience
Back in June, we got to take part in the American Girl Hotel Experience at TownePlace Suites in Franklin, TN. It was in celebration of both Melody’s and our niece’s birthday, Caroline. Their birthdays are one year apart but two dates apart (May 25 vs May 27). So this was their birthday present from our mother in law. We also celebrated at the American Girl store, but I will speak to that later. Today I want to share all about our hotel experience.
Getting on the Cruise Ship April 2022
Mom and I went on a cruise back in April. I wanted to share a little bit about our experience getting on the boat. I don’t have many pictures since it was a fairly quick process, but I did take a few.
June 2022 Fun
It is hard to believe summer is over halfway over! We spent June staying super busy.
July 4th 2022
We spent the 4th of July at my parents house this year. We got there after lunch and spent most of the day swimming in the pool. After some pool time, we had dinner. Then once he got a bit dark, we decided to shoot fireworks! My brother goes all out on fireworks. We had a lot of fun! Melody really looks forward to the fireworks every year.
Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo 2022
We attended the Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo back in April. It was fun, but we did not spend as much time there as we have in previous years. We opted to go just one day instead of the weekend. We used our Halloween costumes and dressed as character from Butterbean’s Cafe. Melody loved getting to take pictures with different cosplayers as well!
Soccer Spring 2022
We decide to let Melody try soccer this last spring. What sold us was that the only time commitment was one hour on Saturday mornings for 8 weeks (1 week we knew we would miss due to Melody’s dance recital). It was fun, and Melody does want to do it this fall, but I also don’t know if it is for us. I think Melody had more fun cheering than running for sure. She did get better as the season continued, and nearly made a goal a few times. I just don’t know if we are ready to commit to a game plus practice (or even multiple practices) a week along with our current extracurriculars. But we will see!