Chattanooga

On May 22, Chris ran a marathon in Chattanooga, TN. It was in the mountains and the entire race was on a trail. (crazy!) We had never been to Chattanooga and have always heard great things about that city so we decided to drive and meet him there after his race.

The day before, Chris had just gotten stitches taken out of his knee where he had gashed it open. I can't believe he was even up for an afternoon of walking around. :) We all had such a fun time and started with lunch and the Creative Discovery Museum.

Brooklyn thought this "floating ball" was so cool!

Lauren, making a design out of rubber bands.

Katie & Lauren, inside the tunnel.

Lauren, Chris, Brooklyn & Katie, making music!

Brooklyn (pink), Katie and Lauren all playing in the kitchen. We were here for a LONG time! The girls all loved this part.

Lauren at the sink.

Katie in the tree.

Brooklyn really LOVED this car! She played in it most the time and had a hard time sharing it with the other kids until we showed her the kitchen. :)

Next we took them to Coolage park. It is a park downtown, next to the river that has fun water spouts and an old fashioned carousel. Katie jumped right in. She is so sweet and makes lots of friends wherever she goes. It took a little convincing for Lauren & Brooklyn, but once they got in, they had fun.

Fun in the water!

Brooklyn and her very cute "cheesy" smile.

Katie sitting on the Lion statue.

Daddy & Lauren (before she was brave enough to go in)

We also took the girls on a carriage ride. Our horsey, Snowman, took us around the block. The girls loved the co-pilot, a dalmation named Clarabell.

Katie, Brooklyn, Lauren

We finished the night with a movie, Shrek Forever After! This was Lauren & Brooklyn's first movie! They spent the first 45 minutes quiet with a tub of popcorn. They got a little restless in the middle, but we brought in blankies and the both fell asleep before it was over. Katie, Chris and I really liked the movie!

The next day, after sleeping in and a big breakfast, we went the the Aquarium.

Lauren & Brooklyn, amazed by the alligator.

This is the alligator the girls were staring at. It swam back and forth right in front of them a few times and then sat up with its head above water, just like we usually see from regular land. It was really neat to be able to see what he looked like underwater too.

Of course we had our bad moments too!

(Brooklyn, mad she is not being held)

Katie and the fishy's.

Playing outside the auarium. Good jump Katie!

Next we went to Rock City. I had seen the pictures and advertisements on the side of the interstate many times as we have traveled to Florida and back, but never really knew what it was. This was, by far, Chris' and my favorite part of our trip. It is on top of Lookout Mountain with massive ancient rock formations and gardens. You follow a beautiful path to the lookout point where you can see 7 states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennesse & Virginia.

Mom & the girls

Walking along the path

Brooklyn, Chantelle, Lauren & Katie

Lauren & Daddy

The girls patiently waiting for ice cream. :)

We made it to the top! We had such a great time with the girls and Chris and I are really looking forward to more trips with them. This was the first trip we have been able to take with no port-a-cribs, no bottles and no diapers! It was a success.