Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Cosby, Tennessee

Next stop on our trek was Cosby, Tennessee.  We had the most amazing wonderful pleasure of going to my brother Scott and his wife, Edy's cabin in Cosby.  A cozy little cabin at the foothills of the Smokey Mountains.  Just 15 miles or so from Gatlinburg.  The plan was for us to meet the family there for visit before we headed west.  Well, life happened and things came up all over and my brother Scott and sister Cyndi were the only ones that were still able to meet.  We hated all the others were not able to make it, and missed them terribly, but we had a great time regardless.

We arrived at the cabin earlier than we planned so Momma came up with the idea to take a quick road trip to Atlanta to see Shannon & Shelby.  It didn't take much convincing for Daddy and I to jump on board to make the trip.  Although it was only a few hours that we got to spend with them, it was worth it.  Knowing we won't see them for the next year, it made the visit even sweeter.

Momma is going to tell you all about the fun we had with all of the meals during our family retreat - trust me - it's great, so I won't steal any of her thunder and let her share about that.  So many times I laugh because her brain IS PINTEREST!  She has no need to go there for ideas....Love how she can come up with such great things that will be forever memories!!!


Daddy is going to share about the day away that him and Scott had, meeting some of the locals and seeing some great views.

Now, I get to tell y'all about our excursions to Gatlinburg and Waynesville.  The girls decided we would have a mother daughter day, do the touristy thing and hit Gatlinburg.  We had such a great time. We wanted to hit the Artist Loop, but didn't make it in town early enough, so we just hit the strip, which is always fun regardless.  No doubt we were the tourists there, we stopped to take pictures at every cute little decoration, store front, or carved bears that we saw.  We were just enjoying each other laughing and cutting up, as we always do when we are with each other.  We ended our fun outing with coffee, tea and a smoothie just talking and sharing.  It was a great day for sure!

Our other outing playing tourist was the day we went over to Waynesville, NC to check out some of the really cool shops.  It was just the girls and Scott. Daddy was sick that day, so unfortunately he was home in bed.  We got to Waynesville and how cool, a craft festival of sorts was going on, we got to spend the beautiful afternoon strolling through the booths and the shops, all while getting stories and history lessons from Scott. He is a great story teller, if you know him, you know what I mean. It was really fun, he made the mountains, the towns and the neighborhoods come alive. I'm not sure how he remembers it all, but I loved it. (Even if some of it was "filler" it's ok...I love his stories!!!)  The four of us had a great day, from sampling toffee, eating fudge to hitting a survivalist store (that was a really cool stop), we did it all.


Taking a serious picture with
these two is really tough!
We got really good at
taking "group" selfies!
All and all, the outings were great, but it was just being together that made it so wonderful, the time at the cabin is really what I will remember the most. At one point after dinner one night we got tickled about who knows what, we were all laughing so hard we were crying, it was a total hoot! I LOVED IT!!!  You know, when we were back home, we were always so busy getting to the next appointment or so wrapped up in our own lives, we never stopped and truly enjoyed each others company for more than a couple of hours.  Well, at the cabin,  we stopped, we heard each other, we really enjoyed our time together. That weekend we shared with Scott and Cyndi, we just stopped!  I know one thing for sure, I will cherish these memories the rest of my life!

Bob here -
Kristi, Carol and I met Scott and Cyndi at Scott & Edy's house in Cosby.  What a beautiful place with two creeks running by.  Carol, Cyndi and Kristi went one way and Scott and I went on a road tour of the area.  It was beautiful to say the least.  He took me down a little winding road that opened up to what he called a million dollar view, and it sure was.  We met up with several of his local friends and enjoyed talking with them as well.  It was great hearing all of the stories and seeing all the sights.  I sure wish Greg could have been there, but he wasn't able to get the time off from work.  We had a fantastic time together.  Whether  we were eating or sitting around the bonfire we just enjoyed each other and the laughs.



 
 
My turn  :)   (Carol)
All summer I looked forward to our family weekend at Scott's place in Cosby.  All the family didn't get to come like we'd hoped, but what a wonderful time we had with Scott and Cyndi.  Something Scott said on one of our phone calls started me thinking about the weekend.  He said, "We are really going to miss your holiday cooking".  So I decided to do my "holiday cooking".  Thursday I prepared a complete Thanksgiving Dinner.  Even decorated with fall pumpkins and squash and a big sign saying "Happy Thanksgiving".  We, of course, did the traditional saying of what we are thankful for this year. 

Friday, down came Thanksgiving decor and up went the Christmas tree and presents with a Merry Christmas sign.  Christmas Dinner was delicious. Can you guess what we did on Saturday?
That's right.....New Year's decorations and good ole black-eyed peas, rice, and cabbage.  It made this old Mama's heart fill with joy having them around the table enjoying the food and laughing, recalling the fun family times in years past.  So wished Greg could have completed our family circle. And we certainly missed the spouses and our grandchildren.  

Sunday was to be "left-over day" cleaning out the refrigerator.  Instead, Scott surprised us by taking us out to Texas Roadhouse in Gatlinburg. It was a celebration of Kristi and my birthday.  They had us sit on a saddle and have a Texas Roadhouse Happy Birthday. The best part....a big hot fudge sundae for us birthday girls.   It was a very special week in our journey.  Hoping to have them visit us again along the way. 
 
We did have a very special visit from a very special cousin and her hubby.....thanks Lark and Charlie for taking the time to come visit. We will always remember the "Johny on the Spot" experience....lol.


Kristi again!!!
So as you can see, we had a great long weekend together.  Cherished memories, laughs and love that will last a lifetime!! 

Keep us in your prayers ~
Love you all,
Kristi
Carol & Bob
Galatians 6:9-10
Visit with Shannon and Shelby

GATLINBURG AND WAYNESVILLE



JUST PICTURES FROM THE WEEKEND!
Scott fixing our leak we found!!!





Scott telling one of his stories! :)





My other favorite pic from the weekend!
My Big Brother!!!
One of my favorite pictures..
My SEEESTOR and I!!



OUR YUMMY HOLIDAY MEALS


Hope you enjoyed the post!





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