Kissel Vacation in Gatlinburg

I am so behind on the blog!

Jake and I vacationed in Gatlinburg two weeks ago with his side of the family. We drove to TN from PA on Friday, unloaded the truck on Saturday morning (Thanks for all the help Dad, John, Zach and Caleb!), and then drove to Gatlinburg for a week of fun. We had suitcases packed and set aside for vacation, so we didn't need to worry about unpacking boxes or settling in before vacation.

After we settled in at the resort and spent a day at the pool, the women took the kids into Gatlinburg while the men went golfing. Our resort had a trolly to take us in and out of town!

Our family vacation consisted of 9 adults and 7 kids! It was so good that we could all be together for a whole week.

While we were out, a random lady asked if we were on a day care field trip...I laughed and told her we are on a family vacation!

Savannah and Alma

I don't remember what they were looking at in this picture!

Guys playing cards in our condo

Lillian laying in our bath tub...it was huge!

All of the kids except for baby Mallory. They were hanging out on our bed before dinner when it was our night to cook!

Each family took a night to cook dinner for the entire crowd. I'm so glad we did this because I only had to cook one night and it was very relaxing. This picture is after dinner in our cabin...just hanging out and visiting!

We celebrated Savannah's 5th birthday with cake and ice cream



 Grandpa John and Mallory

Hiking in the smoky mountains

 

The kids did so well on the hike!

Savannah and Josiah holding hands...so cute!

Josiah pulling up his pants! Hehe...

Jake and I enjoyed the views from the sky lift in Gatlinburg

Andrea just happened to be vacationing with her family the same week, at the same place as us! We were SO excited to reconnect after not seeing each other for a little over a year! We had no idea we were both in Gatlinburg until we sent some text messages back and forth. So glad we didn't miss an opportunity to catch up!

Jacob and Jake

Jojo and Uncle Zach

Lillian wanted me to get some pictures of her face painting. She loves cats

Silly Lillian eating breakfast

Jake, Grant, John and Zach

PA Going Away Party

Jake and I are so glad we got to have one last get together with some of friends from FUSE (sunday school group at Faith Church). The Meeker's hosted the going away party for us and we had a great time! Thanks for the pictures, Audrey and Andrea!

Elissa, Andrea, Margaret and I

Sam, Jake, Tyler, Ben, Andy and Jarrett

Cute cake and so appropriate for moving to Tennessee!

Jake wanted to reenact cutting the cake from our wedding...

With Tyler...

Dave and Elissa...friends and neighbors! Love them!

Most of the group!

Crazy boys!!

A frame with all of the states Jake and I have lived in together...Ohio, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and now Tennessee! Such a sweet gift!

Wrapping Things Up in Pennsylvania

Once we made the decision to move we immediately started packing up the house one box at a time and putting the packed boxes in the garage so they would be out of the way. Packing actually wasn't that bad! We also got rid of a lot of stuff that we didn't need.

We took a break from packing to enjoy the beautiful weather out on the lake with our friends Kim and Dave and their cute son, Logan. 

We grilled and had a delicious picnic dinner while the sun was setting over the lake.

Out with Andrea and Elissa!

We took another break from packing to be outside! Jake and Tyler golfed as Margaret and I relaxed in the golf cart!

I just found this picture! Dinner with the Meekers and the Capeharts at Youell's Oyster House in Allentown a couple months ago. This was a belated birthday dinner for Jake and Jim who both have February birthdays!

Saying goodbye to my office at Lehigh University!

Enjoying one last Saturday morning breakfast on the deck...

 

SO thankful for all of the friends who came to help us load the truck the night before we left. Don't know how we would have done it without you!!

 

Definitely going to miss these two! Love the Nelson's!

Marg and Andrea helping me clean out the fridge! Those little bottles were so great for cooking with wine!

 Alice is ready to go! I'm so glad she likes riding in the car...

Pulling out of the neighborhood! Jake drove the truck and I followed in the 4Runner.