A Little Get-a-Way to the Mountains

I got to spend the week in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN last week with my parents.  It was somewhat of a birthday present/getaway for all of us. 

We stayed in a cabin outside of Pigeon Forge.  Our cabin was amazing with about 10 rocking chairs on the porch and back deck.  I had two beds in my room, one of which was bigger than any king bed I have ever seen. I think it could have been two doubles put together.  

 We got lots of opportunities to rest and just enjoy cabin life.  

 In the middle of the week, my dad took me on a helicopter ride over Pigeon Forge, with a great view of the Smokies.

 The views from our cabin were stellar!  All of the ones above were taken from our cabin at different points of the days.  The stars were amazing. I don't get to see those very often in the city.

I was uber spoiled with relaxing in front of the couch, great meals out, and shopping with the parents.  I feel sad I have no pictures of my mom but she was totally there and enjoyed her time as well!

I hope you enjoy the pics. Today is my birthday and will have more pictures to share tomorrow or wednesday of my fun day with my bestie!

Labor Day Link Up - Weekend In Pictures

 This weekend was chalked full of fun moments.

I spent Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon at a Leadership Retreat for the church I attend/work for.  We went to Trout Lake in the Poconos.  It was on a lake.  It was absolutely breath taking.  

These were from our first night!  They were taken from the lawn just outside our cabin. 

After our first session on Thursday night we made s'mores!  They were delicious. 

The next morning, after not getting much sleep, I decided to get up to see what the sunrise situation was. Boy, was I glad I did.  These were taken Friday morning around 6:15am.  The mist that was coming off of the lake was stunning.  Was so glad I brought my camera.

They had a rock climbing wall with a zip line.  So we tried that out. I was all for it, no nervousness until I was about 4 feet up the wall and realized I had to go all the way up on my own strength and balance.  About half way up my legs started shaking so badly I was afraid I'd fall just because of the shaking.  I made it up. The zip line was a piece of cake after the wall.

After that we took the canoes out onto the water.  Needless to say my arms were worn out the next day. These are pictures of my roommate/bestie.

 I just thought I'd throw this in. Its two of my most favorite people!

These were taken the next morning.  I woke up hoping for a repeat of the mist but it wasn't there. Still the morning was stunning and I was happy I woke up for it!

The retreat was amazing.  It was full of blessed moments and sweet revelations for myself and my church!  I am so thankful for the weekend far outside of the beauty we saw.  

On the way back we stopped by Sonic, a treat I don't get often as there are none in the city.

We had to leave the retreat a couple of hours early to get our service ready.  Of the 6 parishes ours meets on Saturday nights at 5pm.  We got back just in time to change and get to the church to set up.  The service was beautiful and God was definitely moving!  On top of many rich blessings, we got the opportunity to worship with Rickey, a friend of ours who was involved in an accident 5 months ago. Rickey wasn't supposed to live, much less walk or even talk.  God has brought so much healing in his life. It was such a blessing to see him this weekend. 

 Monday was truly a day of rest. We decided to see a movie, "The Odd Life of Timothy Green." It was adorable. I definitely recommend it for people of all ages!

Afterwards, we were planning on lounging in the park but due to an overcast and windy day we ended up changing our plans.  My roommate's heart was broken.

 Instead we stopped by one of our favorite diners on the Upper West Side!  

An ice cream truck was outside our building so we decided to stop by since fun in the sun wasn't in the cards for today.

Speaking of cards... Then we came home where I beat my roommate at cribage twice :)  This was my last hand of the first game! Its a 24point hand.  Fairly rare!  For me at least

The rest of the day was relaxing.  I made a homemade pasta and sauce while my roommate cleaned.  

I am sad to see this lovely weekend end!  All weekends should be like this!

What did you do this weekend?  I'd love to hear!

Link up below to your Labor Day Post.

If you didn't get a chance, stop by the 3 days of Giveaways

Labor Day Giveaway Day 1
Labor Day Giveaway Day 2
Labor Day Giveaway Day 3

Have a great week!