Dollywood LumiNights and Mom's Birthday Month Kickoff

Have I mentioned that I love this time of year? It's no wonder, since my mom's birthday is October 20; I was raised that good things happen in the fall, from her birthday to Halloween, and then rolling right on through to Thanksgiving and the holiday season. My parents went to Dollywood last fall for the first Great Pumpkin LumiNights experience, and loved it. The park is full of thousands of carved pumpkins aglow in all kinds of displays, and we thought going back again this year would a great way to kick off Mom's birthday month, so we did just that.

We brought the whole family along. Yes, we are crazy dog people.

We rented a mountain cabin just a few minutes off the Parkway in Pigeon Forge; close enough to be convenient to all the attractions but in just the right spot for peaceful, beautiful views.

Doo, doo, doo, lookin' out my back door (no really).

It seems like someone else liked it, too. 

I put up a few birthday decorations to make it more festive, and we brought cupcakes and gifts. Your birthday only comes once a year, am I right?

I didn't get a picture before we dug into our dozen cupcakes,
but here are a few that managed to survive.

Man cannot live on cupcakes alone, so after enjoying the afternoon walking around downtown Gatlinburg and relaxing at the cabin, we headed to the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant sits on a large property that also contains an apple orchard, creamery, Applewood Grill, and a cider mill. In other words, apples, apples, everywhere! 'Tis the season, after all.

How about some apple fritters, apple butter, and apple juleps to start?

I'm so glad that calories don't count on the weekends, because we enjoyed everything from turkey and dressing to macaroni and cheese, fried okra, chicken and dumplings, and banana pudding for dessert. It was so delicious that we may or may not have gone back again on Sunday for brunch!

We spent Saturday in the Dollywood theme park, riding roller coasters and rides and enjoying all the Harvest Festival and decorations. If you have never been to Dollywood, believe me when I tell you it is the cleanest, nicest, amusement park you will find. And when it comes to this time of year, they really go all out; there were scores of pumpkins and fall decorations every single place we looked. 

Oh my gourd, the decorations!

Clint, showing off his lumberjack skills. 

The shirt says fab-boo-lous. And it was. 

We took a much needed break and retreated to our cabin to watch a little college football, soak our tired feet in the hot tub, enjoy the porch and the views at the cabin, and then headed back out for dinner at another favorite of our family's Huck Finn's in Pigeon Forge. We got more than our fill of seafood, hush puppies, coleslaw, and white beans with ham. In case you didn't notice, going hungry is not something that our family does. After our yummy meal, it was nearly dark and time to head back to Dollywood for the main event: Great Pumpkin LumiNites! The event doubled in size since last year, and it was an amazing sight to see.

Ready, set, glow!

Dollywood's logo is the butterfly (Dolly Parton's favorite animal).
This one is made entirely of gourds.

How about a pumpkin-filled guitar, that lights up and plays music?

She's normally not a fan of spiders, but this one was pretty impressive.

Mom taught me everything I know about choosing the right accessories.

How about this guy, just lounging around?

This 40-foot pumpkin tree was the centerpiece of the event. It was amazing!

This huge scarecrow was perched on the roof of a building.

A pond full of pumpkin frogs, with glowing eyes and "ribbit" sound effects.

How cute are these guys?

Thriller dance, anyone?

This pumpkin couple is cutting a rug...look at her necklace swinging!

We oohed and aahed our way through all of the amazing displays, and the only disappointing part was that eventually, it was over and time to leave the park. On our way out, we decided to cap off our night with a seasonal pumpkin spice funnel cake. It was the perfect way to end our evening.

The cake batter was pumpkin pie filling, and it was sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar and topped with a maple pecan syrup. It tasted even better than it sounds.

We definitely made the most of our mountain weekend, and it is safe to say that a good time was had by all. Our family gives the Great Pumpkin LumiNights a "glowing" review!

Happy Birthday Month, Mom! Off to a pretty fantastic start!