The girls and I have been able to go to Splash County for the summer, but I have been a little apprehensive to go alone with them and not know what to expect. I was so pleased when Robby was able to go with us. We learned a lot about our girls and water parks.

• Everyone loved it!
• I can take them by myself now and will.
• Emily loves wearing her life preserver and Julia does not. I think Emily learned that she felt safe in the pool with it on and was able to do a lot. She was given a couple of opportunities to take it off and she always chose to leave it on. Julia hated being restricted by it and fussed non-stop when in it. With Emily safe in one it wasn’t as big of a deal to leave Julia out.
• The girls think sliding is fun. There was one slide Julia could do by herself and one she could do with a parent. For Emily her options were seemingly endless. Sometimes the slide required being spattered with a lot of water to get to it and those she wasn’t as excited about.
• Julia could take a nap on a lawn chair if she is tired enough. Emily on the other hand was not able to sleep, maybe she wasn’t tired enough.
• You can apply enough sunscreen to a kid all day long to allow you to stay at a water park all day. The only spot that got too much sun on Emily was her nose and it wasn’t even that red. Julia didn’t get any red spots. Now the parents on the other hand both missed spots and didn’t reapply enough.
• Julia can sit still long enough on a lap to ride around a lazy river.
• The wave pool was a little too wavy for our little ones.
• Emily was brave enough to ride the one “big” ride with her Daddy. When she was done she informed us that it was a little scary. (Daddy says: She also informed us that she said, “ahhhhhhh” all the way down the ride.) Since that day she has asked to ride it again though.

We spent one morning of our vacation at the aquarium in Gatlinburg. The girls were interested in looking at the fish in the tanks for a few minutes each tank. The tunnel was fun to move us along and also give us the vantage point of seeing the bottom of animals. Emily wasn’t sure she liked seeing the teeth on the sharks, but the sea turtle was pretty cool. Neither of the girls were brave enough to touch the hermit crab, but both seemed to enjoy crawling into the small fish tank cubbies. Julia loved being able to move around and explore. They even looked at the camera a few times and gave us smiles, cheesy ones sometimes. When we left the aquarium the girls were tired, but they got to bounce in an inflatable bounce room. I don’t think they would have ever come out except for being thirsty.

I was so proud of Julia who rode the bumblebee ride at Dollywood all by herself.

We took Granddaddy to his annual baseball game. The attendance was light that evening and it made for a very enjoyable evening. It was a hot day that spilled over into the evening, but for part of the game we had a breeze that made it bearable. The girls were great for the whole game. They enjoyed eating, swapping laps, walking around the outfield, listening to the fun songs, and watching the between inning entertainment. Emily sitting in Grammy’s lap was so sweet. They were discussing things going on around us. The day we went had cheap food so we were able to feed the girls popcorn, hot dogs, and ice cream in different innings to keep them occupied. In the bottom of the 5th inning Robby, Grammy, and the girls went for a walk around the field. They found the playground to play in for a little while. The evening ended just right with a win for the Smokies and us staying in a hotel close by.

The girls and I had a playdate playing in a fountain and eating snacks on a HOT day. We took advantage of some coupons to get fun free snacks. The girls enjoyed eating Italian ice and a cupcake. Emily fed Julia some of the Italian ice which was funny to watch. She was good to take a spoonful herself and then share the next one with Julia. The fountain was very refreshing. We met Elena, Maeve, and baby Lincoln to play. The big girls did funny things like trying to ‘sit’ on the water. Emily enjoyed having me swing her feet through the water. Julia liked running the length of the fountain. They played so hard that Julia was asleep in her carseat before we even left the parking garage. Emily gave in to sleep not long after.

We had a play date with our friends at a bounce play house. I loved playing with the kids in the bouncy equiptment. Emily and Elena were busy playing on everything. Julia liked playing, but needed a lot of help. Her favorite was sliding. Aiden went through with Julia and I on one adventure and wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue or go back when we reached the mid-point. He finished it out, honestly I wasn’t sure that I could get out going backwards. All the kids enjoyed checking on baby Natalie.