The Bristol Experience

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee has to be one of the most beautiful places in the country! And not only is it beatiful, but there's SO much to do there too! Our group of eight was Scott & Breanne from Chicago, Casey & Travis from Alma, AR, Dixie & Ryan from Rector, AR and Drew & myself. Brooke and Justin were originally supposed to go but they had too much going on at home to leave town. So a last minute phone call to Dixie brought them into the mix! We spent three days eating, exploring, laughing and having some great adventures :)

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This is the ad photo of our cabin.. I forgot to take a picture!

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another stock photo.. but this is where we spent our evenings playing games..

and laughing until it hurt :)

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the view from our porch.. so peaceful!

Most of us sat outside each morning and had our coffee

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Drew and Dixie goofing off in Gatlinburg..

we walked around and had lunch at a great mexican restaurant.

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Dixie made about 20 phonecalls to get us the best possible price for ziplining in Pigeon Forge :) A few of us were aprehensive (and downright scared at moments) but it turned out to be an AMAZING adventure!

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Group shot before the zipline tour began

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I waited until next to last to go.. I was really scared and shaking

until I went off the edge of the platform.. then it felt like I was flying :)

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No more fear.. I was having a BLAST!

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Drew's turn.. I don't think he was too nervous..

he HAS jumped out of an airplane before so this was "small potatoes" to him :)

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He was probably wishing it would go faster..

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Coming in for a landing!

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After ziplining we hit about five different go-cart tracks in town. These were not kiddie go-karts either.. These were 40mph, slick track, get your racing shoes on go-karts! We had some great competitive races and all of us got a little bruised up from ramming into each other but it was fun :)

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Sunday morning we left the cabin at 7:00am to make the two hour drive to Bristol, TN. It was so exciting to roll into that small town and see a huge motor speedway nestled in the valley!

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We had to check out the merchandise trucks before the race..

and make a quick stop in front of the Bristol Motor Speedway sign..

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Look who I found! My FAVORITE driver, Joey Logano :) Cute little #20

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Breanne chose a Denny Hamlin shirt, Dixie couldn't find a "cute one" but I found my #20

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and there he IS! Be still my heart.. The other guy is Trevor Bayne..

he is also a youngin' and won Daytona this year :)

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Kyle Busch (Drew's favorite driver) about to win after the final restart :)

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What an awesome trip! We had a blast! We were sad that our other buddies Brooke & Justin couldn't make it.. but we're already planning next years race... Back at home, Brett shows off some of his car skills:

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Good grief, son.. where are your pants?!

Reach Out and Run 5k

I started training for a 5k run about 6 weeks ago through the Couch to 5k running program. It was really tough to stick to the plan at times (I huffed and puffed on the treadmill and outdoors)but I did it and I'm so glad I did! Last Saturday was the first 5k that I've ever completed without having to walk throughout the race.. in 32 minutes! AMAZING!

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Brooke was the person who really inspired me to start training for the 5k. She started running last fall and it's really helped her get into shape and make healthy lifestyle changes.. so I jumped on the bandwagon!

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We did it!! Without having to stop OR walk!

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Drew didn't run so he was there to cheer us on along with Brooke's hubby Justin. Drew started running over 7 years ago and his level of fitness was so far above mine I didn't think I'd ever catch up.. BUT Watch Out Drew!! I'm chasing you now :)

Tulsa Zoo

A couple of weeks ago we took a short roadtrip to Tulsa, OK to visit the zoo! Angela, Justin and Turner came and so did Mark, Tiffanie, Tyler and Anna Lericos :) It was "40/29 Day" heehee!

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Little monkey loves to climb

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Sweet Turner loves to climb too!

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Anna and Brett looking at the penguins

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All of the kiddos.. impossible to get a good picture of these four!

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Climbing on the "rairoad crossin" as Brett would say

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Family picture! With a goofy Mark in the background..

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Riding the zoo train!

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Crazy face :)

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We had a great time with all of our friends.. Impromptu road trips are FUN!