David's 9th Birthday Extravaganza

My sweet baby David turned nine last week.  We gave him the choice of having a "friend" party or picking anyplace he'd like to go in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky within a reasonable driving distance, and we could go for the weekend.  I was really, really hoping he'd pick option two.  His birthday always falls in conjunction with spring break and that makes parties (or the attendance at parties) difficult.  And making friends is still tough for him, if I'm being honest.  I couldn't handle having a party where nobody showed up, which is always my greatest fear.  He decided he'd like to go to Chattanooga.  We planned to go to the Creative Discovery Museum, Rock City, Ruby Falls, and the Incline Railway.  And, the top priority, to stay in a "hotel with a pool".

David was beyond excited.

We had never been to Rock City.  It was seriously like Mecca for David.  He talked the entire time and was so excited with every single thing he saw.  

Katie did amazing!  Rock City is not stroller friendly, and she walked the entire path.  She didn't want to be held once.  I promise you that was the most walking she's done in one shot in her entire life.

Rock City was a really cool place, and we'll definitely go back.  The kids all loved it.

David was seriously crazy with excitement.  He told me that he wants to move to Chattanooga when he "grows up" and he wants to work at Rock City because he loves it so much.

It was super foggy that morning, and I think that there would be amazing views if it wasn't like we were walking in a cloud.  That did not damper anyone's enjoyment, however.

I cannot believe this love is NINE.

These birdhouses are the trademark of Rock City.  We loved this one for taking pictures.  And took about 100.

When we got to this particular point, David stopped dead in his tracks and said, "WHOA!  Mama, it's a good thing you've been doing your exercising.  You would have NEVER fit through here before!"  Hey.  Thanks David.  I think.

After Rock City, we went to Ruby Falls.  Katie was d.o.n.e.  She was so tired from walking so much, so the boys did Ruby Falls and Katie and I took a rest in the car.

Uh, what are they doing?

One issue we may or may not have had was a lack of bathrooms. . . Ruby Falls is 8/10 of a mile roundtrip, underground.  The smallest child we have may or may not have had to go to the bathroom in the cave.  And may or may not have had to go when he came out of the cave.

The Discovery Museum was great.  

We will definitely go back there.  

They wouldn't reciprocate our membership to our local discovery museum, which made me irritated, but don't worry.  I'll write them a letter about it.  :)

This is Katie's new photo face.  Lovely, no?

Jack was not happy when it was time to go.  We could have easily stayed here for an entire day.  It was very, very crowded though and everyone was getting tired.

We ate lots of great food while we were there.  

Too much great food.

The kids were all great at the restaurants.  We do not eat out frequently, so I was apprehensive about how they'd do.  They were great.

Kat wanted to pretend to be sleeping...

This photo is horrible, but all three boys slept in the same bed.  In the morning, I could hear them talking and then heard Henry start singing, "I like big butts and I cannot lie. . . "  Thank you, Shrek.

Last, we did the incline railway.  There was a lot of waiting, but the kids even did well with that.  There were a few bumps and issues of impatience over the weekend, but overall they were amazing.

Katie loved the incline railway.  She said about fifty times, "Mama, choo choo.  Mama, choo choo."

We had an awesome weekend.  David kept saying, "This is my best birthday EVER!"  I'm so glad.  I hope we continue to do birthday celebrations like this, because we all had a great time.