In April we took a nice little weekend trip to Knoxville. We had such a good time. Staying in a hotel is such a nice break in an of itself, but we also visited the zoo, art museum, candie factory, downtown Knoxville, and the Olive Garden restaurant. Plus the hotel had a pool. Yay. It was our first "vacation" with all five kids. And we felt so proud to have pulled it off successfully. The kids kept saying it was the best weekend ever (of course, they say that for ever new adventure. I love that about them).

In case you don't know already, the Knoxville Zoo is pretty awesome! It has got some GREAT exhibits. Their new Black Bear exhibit is just WAY cool. We took lots of pictures of the rhinos. The kids seemed to like them the best. Maybe it's because they are so funny looking. The zoo had a really cool place for little kids to play, so we spent quite a bit of time there. That really helped with the babies who could only take so much stroller riding.

Anyway, we had such a great time re-connecting with Dad (Dennis doesn't get much time off from work). Somehow the money didn't run out, and we were financially fine when we got back too. :-)

We are blessed.

The rhino. Rhino "butts" are funny to kids.

Not sure you can see the bear from here.

In the hotel, getting ready for the pool.

Downtown Knoxville after the Candie Factory.

Posted by quietcajun

Looks like fun...

Posted by MySmokyMtnHomeschool

and great pictures. I'm glad you got to spend some quality time with your family.

We haven't been to the Knoxville Zoo in a while. It seems the only 2 times I've been I was very pregnant and it was very hot outside. LOL. I remember 1 time it was so hot, the blacktop melted the tires on my dd's stroller.

What did you think on the KMA? I took the kids last year, and I was so disappointed. I was raised in Cincinnati, and the art museum there is awesome! They have old paintings, Egyptian art, and more.

Thanks for sharing your pictures. :-D

Blessings,
Amy Beth <><