Happy Birthday to . . . ME!!!

My birthday week has been crazy to say the least . . . flooding, snow, heat waves!!!  Yes, it is definitely March!!!  I am sooo thankful that my actual birthday was amazing!!!  The weather was perfect!!!  My wonderful mom and niece were super sweet to visit me with a huge Great American Cookie Cake (yes, they are my favorite -- extra fudge icing please)!!!  In case you're wondering . . . yes, it says, "Happy Birthday Nicole & Yogi" because my dear husband was born 359 days before me -- not to be confused with six days after me - hahaha!!!  We spend the week (at least) celebrating our birthdays, so more to come next week.

 Then, my fabulous hubby took me up to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park!!!  It was perfect!!!  Such a beautiful day, and with all of the crazy rain we have had, the rivers, creeks, and mills were stunning!!!  We had lunch at the adorable Miss Lily's Cafe, and I have to tell you -- the food was amazing!!! 

And even more exciting, behind Miss Lily's was a super fun swinging bridge!!!  And yes, I bounded across it =)  The river was just gorgeous after all the rain!!!

The sky was blue and the mountains were just what I needed!!!!  We walked back to the old John Oliver Place (he lived on this land in the 1820s).

And LOOK!!!  There is SNOW on the tops of the mountains!!!!  It was 68 degrees, but there was snow on the mountain . . .

And then we discovered tons and tons of Daffodils!!!!  I would like to take this moment to give a disclaimer (yes, I'd rather be behind the camera than in front of it); my sneaky husband insisted on taking pictures of me, which I am certain was his evil ploy to avoid having his own photo taken every 10 feet . . . but I was spending the day in the mountains and had zero makeup on, soooo . . . but just look at those daffodils and that snow!!!!

We didn't see any bear on this trip . . . I think I met my bear quota in the mountains the last time I went hiking, but since we saw tons and tons of dear, I'll introduce you to my favorite!!!  It was Bambi and his Mom!!!! 

We headed over to the mill, and  just couldn't get over all the water!!!  It is sooo much more fun there when there is actual water pouring through everything!!! 

We had sooo much fun and ended the evening with dinner at one of my favorite Italian restaurants (where of course I enjoyed chocolate filled vanilla ravioli in a raspberry sauce)!!!!  I had a perfect day!!!!  I would like to take a moment to thank my fabulous mother who gave birth to me on March 12th (we'll just omit the year) and my amazing family and friends and clients who wished me a Happy Birthday!!!!  You all made my day incredibly special!!!!