Tennessee Family Reunion - Monday - Gatlinburg - Chair Lift & Bubba Gump's

Monday, we spent the morning and early afternoon in Gatlinburg. We went up the chair lift to a gorgeous scenic overlook, ate an amazing lunch at Bubba Gump's, and did a little window shopping.

Here's a great shot of the Gatlinburg Skylift from a distance.

Now we all arrive at the top, two (or three) at a time...

Amanda & Mel

Eliza & Susannah

Heather & Megan

Tammy & Lenna

Lauri & Matt

And Tim, me and Andy. At some point on this ride, Andy wondered out loud why he got stuck with us when he really wanted to ride with his best pal, Mel! Kids are so honest!!

Here's our group at the scenic overlook at the top of the Skylift. Check out the scenery behind us...beautiful!!

A gorgeous scenery shot from up there, looking down on Gatlinburg and out at the Smoky Mountains...

After safely arriving at the bottom of the skylift, we met up with the non-skylift-riders and had an awesome lunch at Bubba Gumps.

We had an awesome waiter to go with our awesome meal - he gave us the best Forrest Gump movie trivia we've ever had at a Bubba Gumps. I think he was surprised at how many of the questions we were able to answer! The girls had made a few comments about how cute our waiter was, so I believe it was either Nana or Tammy who suggested they gather around him and get a picture! I think Amanda was a little twitterpated being the one who got to stand right next to him and have his arm around her!

After waddling out of Bubba Gumps with our very full tummies, we had some time to kill so we walked around to some of the shops. I just love this picture, so I had to include it. This was just outside of a group of shops we went into.
I have to say thanks to Tammy for all the awesome pictures she took to supplement ours. I think all but one of the pictures in this post are from her and I'm sure a lot of the pictures in the upcoming posts from this reunion will be from her! Thanks Tammy!!!

Tennessee Family Reunion - Sunday - Family Pictures & Hike to the Falls

This year, June 12th through the 18th (2010), we had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Cross Family Reunion in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We had the most wonderful time. It's amazing how much a family reunion can renew relationships!! We all were able to stay in one big cabin - each family with their own room and bathroom. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy each other's company! I'm so grateful for the time we were able to spend with everyone! We love our family SO much!!! We can hardly wait for the next reunion!

The following pictures are from the first full day of the reunion - Sunday. After Church, we took family pictures in front of the cabin, which was a pretty hysterical experience trying to get that many people and all those little ones to stand still and smile long enough to get some good shots. I think we actually got quite a few good ones!!



After pictures and lunch, we walked some trails up to Cataract Falls & Laurel Falls in the Smoky Mountains. It was SOOOOO beautiful!!



I'm not sure what Megan is doing in this picture...
But Mel's arm still seems to be intact!! Goofy girls!!

Sunday evening, after dinner, we had a birthday party for those with June birthdays - Zach, Syra, Nana and Papa Bear. Zach & Syra had lots of fun being the center of attention and opening up all their presents!