Early to Rise…

We were presented with a unique opportunity this week: a whole day's pass at the Wilderness in the Smokies waterpark resort and a chance to be on television—with filming from 5 a.m.-9 a.m. So my kids don't care at all about being on TV, but a whole day at the waterpark with their friends? They were more than willing to get up at 4 a.m. in order to make the drive over there. It's the second time we've been invited to promote the resort on TV; the first was when it opened a couple of years ago. You can read about that event here.

As it turns out, we were able to get a room at the resort, thanks to our friend who was organizing this insanity. Below is the view from our balcony, showing part of the outdoor portion of the park, which actually doesn't reopen for a few weeks.

He also informed us that we didn't have to be there until 6 a.m., which is somehow much better than 5 a.m. Putting on a swim suit at that time of the day is just strange.

Anyway, we all made it through. About 35-40 friends showed up, and the kids were all moved from spot to spot—slides, wave pool, surf rider, play area—and played in the background while Mitch from the CW Network's "The Daily Buzz" did his thing. We moms in bathing suits lounged on the deck and tried very hard avoid the cameras. I did see one short segment. Mitch was talking on live, national TV, and there is my son, climbing up a water slide behind him, with his butt crack showing.

After our duties were over, we were able to enjoy the waterpark for the entire day. Normally, the park is open only to hotel guests, so it was a treat. The kids spent the day going on waterslides and fighting waves in the wave pool. We moms spent the day in the outdoor hot tub, discussing important things, like how old does a teen have to be to go on a car date? We like to go for the light topics.
We actually only stayed until about 1:30 p.m. The kids were worn out after seven hours of non-stop activity. When we got home, Duncan crashed on the couch for about 3 hours and still went to bed at his regular bedtime. And I got a nice start on my summer tan.

If you can afford it, I absolutely recommend staying at Wilderness in the Smokies if you're coming to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area for vacation. Check out the link. They run special deals throughout the year. And you don't have to get up at 6 a.m. to enjoy it.