Skeezix came home with , “SuperDog.”
Champ made, “Bolt Bear.”
Beau made “Rascal.”
And Angel made, “SuperBunny.”
After the kids arrived a played a little bit, they were invited to decorate a t-shirt.
After they went to play some Bibleman’s Scripture Slam, a/k/a kickball, the Righteous Warriors vs. the Scripture Sentries.
The Warriors and Sentries then headed over to the recharge station for food. And then we did the pinata.
What was left of the shark pinata made a great hat.
Skeezix ate and ate and ate all night. When she wasn’t keeping up with the boys! And of course, CAKE. And some goofy grins to boot!
After the kids arrived a played a little bit, they were invited to decorate a t-shirt.
After they went to play some Bibleman’s Scripture Slam, a/k/a kickball, the Righteous Warriors vs. the Scripture Sentries.
The Warriors and Sentries then headed over to the recharge station for food.
And then we did the pinata.
What was left of the shark pinata made a great hat.
Skeezix ate and ate and ate all night. When she wasn’t keeping up with the boys!
And of course, CAKE. And some goofy grins to boot!
Yes, we saw a few animals, too…
It wasn’t hard to find, as the theater was just a few driveways down from the road our condo was on. Each day we would pass The Miracle and see the Las Vegas style signage that advertised it’s presence. We were a bit put off by the gloss, but we weren’t TURNED OFF. The boys were so excited each time we saw it and Beau remembered me looking online at the website. He really, really wanted to go.
Wednesday evening, JB, Beau, Champ and I headed over. It was $34.95 for JB and I, but the boys were free. We then coughed up $14.95 before we even entered the theater, to pay for the boys to have a camel ride. It came with a “complimentary” photo. The camel’s name was Abba. We later saw him IN the play.
The showiness of the inside of the theater made me a bit uneasy. “What have we gotten ourselves into?” I wondered. We poked around the gift shop and had our photos taken again in front of a mural of an angel and somehow passed on the opportunity to own the 8 x 10 glossy finished printout. We were shown to our VERY, VERY good seats and looked on as some other people purchased flashing cross necklaces and light-up mugs the size of my head. I am not making either of those things up. I was figuring at this point that we had just spent our money on this lavish theater and what kind of money they were raking in. I hoped that we could make the best of it.
Then the emcee came out and as he shared, many of our reservations began to fall away. He shared about the theater’s goal of sharing the gospel and of the production’s history. As the musical started we were blown away by the cast, the music and the mechanics. The boys LOVED the angels sword fighting overhead!!
At the intermission, the same emcee [who played James and later the thief who didn’t come to accept Jesus] talked more about the mission of the theater and invited people to purchase half price tickets to donate to area nursing homes and children’s homes. We went out into the lobby where MOST OF THE CAST [minus Jesus and Satan] were working in the concessions! Seriously. Judas put the butter on our popcorn and Peter pulled our Coke off the draught.
After the second half [and about a gallon of popcorn] we were so glad we had not missed the chance to see this production. It was spectacular and Biblically sound. We were blessed.
If you click here, you can see a video. We had different actors playing Jesus and Satan, and they do change the musical a bit from year to year, portraying different miracles and parables. We’d definitely see it again, given the chance.
Angel out for a ride. A powerhouse on the pinata.
We even had the adults take turns… I should have posted those pics, huh? Preparing to sing!
TA DA. Today was her real birthday. The brothers were very big on making today her day. They reminded one another constantly that it was her birthday.
I can’t not kiss this joy-filled child. I should have been videorecording her the last two days. She exudes JOY. She is just so amazingly joyful.
Check out the progression of expression on these next photos.
Mommy didn’t have it in her to make another cake… so we ate the left overs from SuperCat.
Champ assessing his gifts.
He opened a few as we started to cook breakfast.
Our gang.
July babies.
Digging in.
Some fun books.
Zubber.
Skeezix.
They were trying to hit the drop lights hanging in front of the mirror and vase.
We spent a few hours at Dollywood, then back to the house for cake and ice cream.
Before we’d left home, we’d talked about the limits I would have in creating a cake. He asked if he could pick a shape. I said, “Sure.” He requested a cross cake; we own that pan, he knew. I explained it would be meagerly decorated. He was fine with that. I think it came out decent.
It was delicious!
We went back to Dollywood for a few hours before closing. We found you can get right onto rides easily at that time of day.
I can not think of one single negative about this water park.
Really and truly.
This is the nicest water park we have ever been to.
HUGE.
FUN.
Lots of stuff for every age and speed.
Lots of places to rest, shady or sunny.
This playthings are soft to the touch but so strong!
This area is called The Cascades and we had them to ourselves for the first 15 minutes on the first day we visited.
Pigeon Forge, TN in the Great Smoky Mountains.
My, how I wish I could pontificate about the great hiking trails, the majestic vistas, river fishing and the white water rafting we embraced.
Truth is, we went to visit Dollywood.
Yes, Dollywood.
Pigeon Forge is the hometown of none other than the lovely Dolly Parton. She bought an amusement park in 1986 and put Pigeon Forge on the map. In the mean time she has infused gazillions of dollars to this otherwise quiet area.
I don’t know if it is nature or nurture, but our kids are good with amusement parks, just like JB and I. None of us are all that keen on hiking or boating. Sure, we’ll try it for awhile… as long as we end UP at an amusement park or a swimming pool. 😉
We bought season passes and enjoyed three days at Dollywood and two days at Dollywood’s Splash Country. I’ll bring you some pictures from there tomorrow. For now – I managed to find 15 pictures to post from Dollywood… out of the 177 or so that I took.
For the record, we highly recommend this park. It really is built right into the foothills of the mountains. The terrain is hilly to put it mildly and you are surrounded by trees. If you find yourself standing in the direct sunlight it is only because you have a good reason for not walking five feet in any direction to get under a shady spot.
And while most adults understand that Christianity is sometimes just cultural in the south, my kids do not, and they openly enjoyed the atmosphere of “God Bless Y’All,” and “Bless Yer Heart.” I for one was tickled to see a Christian book and gift store right inside the park. I’m guessing the Disney people aren’t penciling one into Magic Kingdom anytime soon. And on another day I will post about the theater we went to, celebrating the life of Christ.
We highly, highly recommend this park. We are not so thrilled with the little road that is overbuilt and under-wide that leads into and out of the region… but when you get past that, it is awesome.
Thanks for looking!
Daddy and Angel being lumberjacks!
Mommy and the boys being ridonculous!
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Scramlin’ Nan and Skeezix.
Sitting JB and Aunt Betty.
Who wouldn’t want to pose with a weiner? 
CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT???
She thought she was on a bunny.
Skeezix is an excellent driver despite that bizarre look on my face.
This ride rocked, too.
I will tell you some other funny story soon!
Dayspring Disciples 
