Overflowing Hope.: Dollywood

Earlier last week, I realized that there was not a show at the theatre on Saturday and that we didn't have plans for the day. Brandon and I called to see if Lucas & McKenzie could go with us to Dollywood. McKenzie had been with us already and remembered enough about it to know that she wanted to go again. Lucas on the other hand, had never been to Dollywood, although he wanted to go, he didn't understand why I was so excited about it.

Saturday morning, Lucas came to my house ready to go - pack back and all. We loaded him in the car and went to pick up McKenzie. We got to her house and she met me on her porch with her bag in one hand and chocolate milk in the other, ready for a day at Dollywood.

We started the day off with the two having Rice Crispy Treats and Chocolate Milk for breakfast. It's the Breakfast of Champions, I know. As we entered the Parkway, we saw a few Elk, which in my vehicle, was something extremely exciting. We had to pull over, look at them, ooo and aaahhh, then we got back on the road. Lucas & McK talked all the way there...it was humorous to listen to their conversations.

We got inside the park, found the bathrooms and then got on a simulation ride, which was fun. When we came out though, it was raining. Ugh. We rode the cars in the rain. I was hoping the whole time that the rain would stop, however, even when we finished riding the cars, it had actually started raining even harder. :( We ate lunch at Red's Diner. After we ate, Brandon and I thought it would be best if we wait out the rain. So we put Lucas & McK on the hood of an old truck that was under shelter and we stood beside them and just waited. It was definitely getting hard to keep them occupied so I was glad to see the acapella group come under the shelter, where a crowd had already assembled. They stood right in front of where we were standing, so once they began singing, they had the attention of Lucas and McKenzie. I was thankful.

The group really interacted with the audience. One of the songs they sang to McKenzie, the next, to Lucas. I have tried to post videos of each. McK was great. She performed right along with the singers, however when he finished singing, she realized there were A LOT of people looking at her and she had a mini-meltdown as she busted out into tears. :(

A girl sang to Lucas and when she did, he grinned the biggest freckled face grin he could possibly offer. He was definitely proud.

Thankfully, the rain stopped and the sun came out. We were able to ride rides, eat junk, and have a good time. By the time we were back on the parkway headed home, both, Lucas & McKenzie were sound to sleep.

Here are a few pictures:

On the first "ride" the tram, from the parking lot to the entrance of the park.