Gatlinburg

Let me begin by wishing a happy birthday to Grandma Seitz on January 6th and Matt's brother Rob on January 19th!  We hope that you both had great days!

On Saturday, January 14, we traveled down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to celebrate the long weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend) with Matt's extended family.  We stayed in a giant chalet on the side of a mountain that boasted something like 8 or 9 bedrooms, large living areas with televisions, Pac-man, two hot tubs, and other amenities.

In front of Cataract Falls

On Saturday we enjoyed eating at Mr. Gatty's Pizza Buffet and making a trip to the outlet mall in Sevierville.  On Sunday morning we went hiking on a couple different trails within the Smoky Mountains National Park.  Afterwards we enjoyed a great meal of barbeque pork, chicken, etc. at a local BBQ restaurant.  That evening, we explored the little shops in downtown Gatlinburg and prepared a large family meal of tacos with all the fixin's!

Matt found Nemo!

On Monday we sadly had to say good-bye to our cozy weekend home, but after check-out Matt, his parents, and I went to brunch at the Pancake Pantry restaurant and then spent several hours at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies.  I was afraid that the aquarium might be a little hokey because downtown Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge has a lot of Ripley's attractions like mirror mazes, museums, wax museums, and arcades that seemed a lot like tourist traps from the outside.  However, the aquarium turned out to be wonderful!  The best part was a long moving walkway (like the ones at the airport) that takes you through an extensive acrylic tube, allowing you to be immersed in the underwater environment with sharks, stingrays, and lots of cool fish!  Oh, and I of course loved the penguin exhibit, too :-)

Cue the "Jaws" theme

When I went to my dance class the next day (Tuesday) I was pleasently surprised to learn that there are four new students in my adult tap class, bringing our total to 7 people!

Dad will volunteering at the NFL Experience event in the "Superbowl Village" in downtown Indy during the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.  The event will feature numerous music acts on multiple stages, opportunities to kick field goals and play games, and ride an 800-foot zipline high above the action of the Village.  Unfortunately, the zip line sold out before Matt and I were able to get tickets but my parents and Eric got theirs in time so I am excited to hear what they think of it!  As a volunteer, Dad got a couple of free tickets to the NFL Experience and he has given them to Matt and me so next Tuesday the 31st we will get to see all the excitement of the Super Bowl within downtown.  We are really looking forward to it!

Speaking of the Super Bowl (which is also Eric's 22nd birthday!), I have to work that whole weekend so I will see very little of the action.  However, seeing as the Patriots will be competing in our city for the Vince Lombardi trophy, the only thing I care about is that they LOSE.  Oh, and I believe that the child in the video below echoes my sentiment:



That is all for now!  This post has taken me entirely too long to write because I am trying to type around this:

Ever tried to type with a 16-pound dog in front of your face?  Not easy.


Until next time,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor