Dollywood without Dolly Dollars

It seems we don't have much money to spare these days, but we were blessed with FREE tickets to Dollywood. WIVK, a local radio station, was giving away FREE tickets to be used on Labor Day. As soon as I found out about the promotion, I called my friend Tracie and we both took the kids to stand in line for tickets at McDonalds! We were able to get tickets for everyone in our families!

Well, Labor Day finally arrived and both of our families trekked to Dollywood together! We had a wonderful day together and the children had a BLAST riding all of the rides. This was another day I was sooooo thankful to be married to my wonderful husband. He was more than happy to ride the rides I wanted to avoid...as you will see in the pictures below. Here are some highlights from our day!

Waiting for the tram to take us to the gate - the only family shot of the day!

The first ride of the day was the Ferris Wheel. Oh, my! That was enough speed, height, and scariness for me! My stomach was so queasy! I kept telling myself, "This won't take long...You'll get off soon...No, this won't break...No, we will not fall off from the top!" It freaked me out a little! Whew! I felt better once my feet were back on the ground!





Do you see why I was a little freaked out? I got to ride with Braden and it was high!
Mason was tall enough to DRIVE the Bumper Cars! He is growing up!
Avery and Weston rising the Busy Bees together! Sweet!

Braden on the Flying Ducks!
After the Ferris Wheel, I stayed off the swings. However, Franklin and Mason loved being swung through the air!

The BIG RIDE of the day was the Dizzy Disc. Weston, Reid, and Tracie were the only ones brave enough to try it. Reid sat next to Weston and as his face turned paler and paler, Reid caught his attention into conversation so he wouldn't focus on the ride! Actually, when Weston got off, he said he LOVED it! The reason he LOVED it was because "he got to ride it with his Daddy." Precious!

This picture in front of the sign was taken after the ride was over! Both of them have full color in their faces! Yeah!

Another ride I avoided was the Roller Coaster. Okay, honestly, most of you would not classify the "Veggie Tales" Roller Coaster at Dollywood a true roller coaster, but it was enough for me to say, "No thank you." Everyone else rode it together. My job was to watch all of our belongings and take pictures. Ha!

Braden and Addie didn't really like it - a few tears of fear came down their cheeks.

Aidan and Braden "wet and wild!" Becoming best buds!

Firing the water pistols!
Aidan and Mason sporting their "skunk-skin" caps. Whatever happened to "coon-skin?"
Riding in the antique cars with Braden. Our car was pink, and Braden didn't really like that too much!
Mason, again, tall enough to drive on his own!
Thanks again to Reid for riding the "Shooting Star" with the boys. Braden and I enjoyed watching!

Tracie and I in front of the "No Smoking" squirrel. Yes, Reid chose the background. It's still a cute pic though!


Braden the Bear!
What a wonderfully fun day shared with our precious friends! Smiles and memories to last for a lifetime!