Goodbye Kirby Bing

Kirby Bing was a good dog.
Rescued from the mean streets of Henderson, he was not a cute little puppy at Petsmart that day, but Aly and I saw a frightened dog that needed a family to rescue him. And even though Aly picked him out, he was Daddy's boy.
He was the king of the sammamammers, chasing them around the patio, and occasionally catching a tail. He was an escape artist and a runner - open gate, open door, he was out! He didn't mind the cats and put up with his baby brother Charlie's constant herding.
Now he's crossed the rainbow bridge, reuniting with Cricket and Snowy, with Scrappy and Nana. Be free, Kirby. Free of the sickness that was breaking you down every day. Free of the insulin shots you bore without flinching. Enjoy treats again! Run all over! Know that we will love and miss you always. Rest in peace, my friend.

You were a good boy.

Four Years Ago

Today, I had dinner with my daughter in these very few weeks between her last final as a college sophomore and her summer job in New York City.

Today, my granddaughter Cassie had corrective surgery on her eyes that will help her to see.

Today I got a random blurry snapshot of Zeke from Zak, who finally got his phone fixed and finally texted his mother 😉. 

Today, we gave our dog Kirby the first insulin shot for the rest of his life. 

Four years ago today, I lost my mom, on Mother’s Day. If she were here, she’d have gone to dinner with us. She’d have been hanging outside Cassie’s room. She’d have been visiting Zeke. She’d probably even learn how to give a dog an insulin shot. But she wasn’t here. She didn’t do any of those things. 

Cancer sucks. It doesn’t matter how hard you fight, you make it or you don’t. Sometimes the fight works. Sometimes it gives you false hope. 

How have we raised millions of dollars for awareness with no cure?  I’m pretty sure everyone is aware at this point.  Now what? 

How do we save the next mom, nana, great grandmother, fur mom, sister, daughter, aunt or niece from missing today?

I don’t think we can. But you can make sure you don’t miss YOUR today. Do those little things and cherish every moment.

If Things Were Different

If things were different, we'd be celebrating your 21st birthday tonight. Today, you celebrate in Heaven.

If things were different, we wouldn't have known the heart-wrenching pain of losing a child. Today, we have heartfelt compassion for those who have suffered that loss.

If things were different, Zak would have had a best friend no matter where we moved, and we would have had two boys, double trouble, growing up together. Baby Zeke would have an Uncle Zeke to hold him. 

But if things were different, we might not have the amazing, intelligent, and inspiring Aly. Nana wouldn't have had a grandchild already waiting for her at the pearly gates when she tried so hard to stay here for the others. And we wouldn't appreciate the fragile state of life here on earth.

So, happy birthday Isaiah. Thank you for the two weeks we had, and here's to our forever together.

Happy Anniversary

Twenty-four years ago today, I married my best friend. 
No words, no gift, no card can express the love and the loss, the happiness and the tears, the better and the worse, the sickness and the health.
Here's to the dad who cleans, shops, cooks, and raised our children all while moving three times for my job and driving me to the airport at 4:30am. Now he's still actively Dadding three dogs, three cats, our not-too-long-distance daughter, our grown-but-home son, and our granddaughter.
Here's to the husband who never comes home without calling to see if I need something (Saturday I NEEDED chocolate cake), who surprises me with puzzle books and all the Bumbles he can find, who takes me on driving "adventures" to get me out of the house on the weekends, who goes on beach vacations even though he's bored and hates sand, who understands migraines, chiari malformations, chronic daily headaches, anxiety, bipolar disorder and escalatoraphobia, and who waits in the car during my numerous "Pull over! I gotta go to the bathroom!" stops.
Here's to the man who lives his dreams. He's been in the press box during an NFL game, wrote articles for ESPN, wrote two books (available on Amazon, with two more soon to be published), received a Doctorate in Biblical Preaching (that's Dr and Mrs Edwards on the Christmas cards, people), pastored numerous churches and counseled hundreds of people, created a local community theater group, wrote and produced numerous plays (raising money for charity and giving regular people a chance to participate in the theatre), and now is the PA Announcer for the Evansville Jr Bolts hockey team.
There's so much more. He can't pass a fireman's boot or bell ringer without giving up his change. He tips the servers at Sonic. He will hold a door open for thirty-seven people. He always takes a cart from the parking lot into the store. He lets the lady with five things in front of him in line when he has ten.
And you probably didn't know half of this because everything he does for everyone else, he does because he wants to. He needs to. Not for the accolades. Not for the recognition. Just because that's who he is.
And that is why I can't think of the words that explain how I feel about him. That little jump in my heart when he kisses me at the airport or when he yells "hooooooney" when he gets back from the store.
I love him.
Just because of who he is.

I Keep Forgetting

Aly is home for the summer, and she's learning to drive. I can't believe my baby is so grown up! Mike took her out several times to the Middle School parking lot, but then he asked me to help since he is attending rehearsals for Shakespeare in the Park (hey, y'all go buy a ticket or something). Anyway, I've taken her out a couple of times and she is pretty good. A little fast on the turns, but Mario Kart doesn't require the use of brakes, so she's adapting.

We've ventured outside of the parking lot into neighborhoods with parked cars on the street and moving cars at stop signs. We've gone south of town in the country so she can work up some speed. Not Mario Kart, but getting there.

Yesterday, we were on the south side of town, and I guided her to the cemetery where I knew there'd be some sharp turns. "We can go visit Isaiah's rock," I said, thinking it might need some weeds pulled. There was a truck going the same way, so I carefully guided her off the one lane road so others could pass. Then I remembered....

Isaiah wasn't the only 'rock' to visit in the cemetery. In the row behind him and Grandma was Mom.
PHILLIPS engraved in the stone. Judy Kaye, August 16, 1950 - May 11, 2014.
I froze. "I forgot," I said to her. "I forgot Nana was here too." She didn't get out. I tried not to cry.

Yeah, I don't know what the big message is for this blog post is.

I just miss my mom.

We Got Skunked

No, I do not have a third grader that just got shut out in softball, soccer, or some other sport. My kids are grown up and they didn't play many sports anyway. Plus, I could fix that with ice cream. The kind of skunked I am involves two nosy dogs and something that LOOKED like a black and white kitty but WASN'T a black and white kitty.

Also, the border collie - er, long-haired border collie - made it in the house and onto MY bed before I could catch him. He also hit the dog beds, cat beds, couches, and assorted carpets before I coaxed him back out the front door to the hose. Dogs who have been skunked run around like psychos and rub their fur on anything not moving. The cats and the little dog took cover immediately. Luckily Mike answered my call on his way home and we tackled the problem in tandem.

My Facebook friends stopped laughing long enough to tell me to "run," "sell the house," and "google it." Thanks people, for being there in an emergency. I remember someone saying boiling vinegar was a good way to rid the house of smells. It helps. The Humane Society says if you don't have dishwashing liquid and hydrogen peroxide, dilute vinegar and add some baking soda to bathe the dog. The chemist in me paused before I dumped the box into the bowl Mike was holding. Yeah. Vinegar (acid) plus baking soda (base) equals chemical reaction. "We'll clean the floor later," he said.

Both dogs got a shampoo bath, then a vinegar/baking soda bath, then into the garden tub for one more shampoo bath. I'll officially never use that thing again, btw. I finally made it to the shower. My bathroom smells like vinegar, apple (shampoo), coconut (body wash), sugar (scentsy), and spring (Febreze fabric spray and room spray). And skunk. Lots of skunk.

And that is why I'm finishing last night's Moscato, straight from the bottle.

And why is this suddenly blog-worthy when I haven't posted in months and months? I'll tell you. One, it is funny -- or it will be in a few days. And two, because I was wallowing in self-pity today. I have a head cold. I've been traveling too much. I miss my mom. In fact, yesterday I even gave an ultimatum. If you are really watching over us, Mom, why haven't I heard from you? Why didn't you help us find Lucy? Can't you send me a sign?!?!

And then came the little black and white not-a-kitty. My sinuses are clear. I was home to live through the experience (I'm pretty sure Mike would have moved away by the time I got back if I had been on the road). And, what do I have to whine about in the grand scheme of things? Why do I think my mom would be in Heaven, helping me with menial tasks, when she's got rejoicing to do? If she's going to help someone, I'd be at the bottom of the list. She gave her girls the skills to live, and I haven't been.

So, yes, I do believe Mom is watching over me, just like I believe Isaiah met her at the Gates (mostly to give St. Peter the heads up). But I also know I should be doing, not asking. Seeking, not expecting. Living, not sulking.

So, maybe this gave you a laugh. Or maybe it gave you a message.
Get floodlights for your backyard.
Straighten up and fly right.

And maybe some ice cream would make this night a little better.

Pink can suck it

After spending time with my sisters cleaning out my mom's closets, we were all a mess. There was a pile of shirts, hats, scarves, and assorted crap with the damn pink ribbon on it. We determined there'd be a "pink can suck it" table at our next yard sale. What does pink do? Yes, local chapters say they provide mammograms for women. That can be lifesaving. In fact, some of Mom's medical bills were covered, after she died. But pink didn't find a cure. It hasn't in over 30 years with $2.5 billion. So what does it do? How can we NOT have a cure? How are there still hundreds of diseases with no cure, despite billions of dollars in donations and research? Why are we pouring this money into causes that make no discernible progress when people in other countries don't have simple antibiotics or clean water? When children in America go hungry at night? I don't know. And that sucks.

I think you'd ...

You'd be looking forward to your senior year. 

You'd play football, but you'd also be involved with drama. 

You'd look like your dad, but with hair. Maybe even taller than him. 

You'd love the pups and would take care of them, and the house, when I was away. 

You'd fight with your sister but protect her fiercely. 

You'd love math and science, especially chemistry. 

You'd go hunting and fishing with PawPaw. You'd still let Nana kiss you. 

You'd have a bunch of friends, in and out of the house, all the time. 

You might have a girlfriend. 

You'd still be my baby boy. 

I miss you, Monkey Face. 

Myrtle Beach

Back in June, we took our annual girl's vacation to Myrtle Beach.  I've added a few posts to chronicle our adventures.

On the Way There

Quotes from Vacation

Here's a summary of our week:

As far as activities go, we didn't have the best weather. If we had known what the rest of the week would be like we might have left the shopping for later in the week.
Anyway, we hit the outlet mall and the beach shops. They all have great specials to get you in the door. $1 seashells! Umbrellas $4.99!! Some stores even claim NOTHING OVER $5.99.  But be sure you read the fine print. This cracked me up till I nearly wet myself. Yes, nothing over 5.99. Special Section. Available only on items priced $5.99 and under.

 



We found a Chinese buffet for a late lunch/early dinner, and that was Monday.

Tuesday was rainy. We got the requisite wildlife shots.

 

 

More wild life.....

 





I've found there are few flatter photos of me being whacked by waves. This is the only one you are getting.

And this was the lifeguard at 8am. Our play in the surf lasted less than an hour before everyone gave up. 

But I rented an umbrella and beach chairs, darnit, and I was staying.  That rain would blow over.

Eventually.

Right?  Yeah, not so much. This was me by 9am.

I stuck it out for hours. Eventually I built a rain screen out of various towels, and yes, that IS a thirty-one About Town Blanket with the waterproof side facing out. I got a lot of reading done, but not so much sunning. There were fireworks later that night. We could see them in the distance, but no one was much in the mood to venture out.

 

Thankfully, by Thursday we had some sun. And we built our own sunshades in addition to our rentals.

 

 

Later in the afternoon, we hit the boardwalk downtown and had dinner at Dirty Don's Oyster Bar. The menu was a hoot and made us miss Jamie and Rylee. And PJ.

We hung out downtown till dark and got some great photos.

 

Friday was another great weather day. That head in the middle of the photo is me jumping a wave.

 

Finally, it was time to come home. We decided to drive straight through -- Mom helped with the driving, but unfortunately we hit some monster traffic that added three hours to our travel time. At one point we traveled only 10 miles in 90 minutes. We also made about 10 stops on the way home. Snacks, potty breaks, etc. It made for a really long day, and we were both happy to be home. I have a photo of the traffic, but blogger is freaking out over the number of photos in this post already, so you'll have to imagine.

 

All in all, we had a fantastic time. I miss the beach .... but I've only got a couple of months before I go to Jamaica, so I'll try not to complain in the meantime.

 

 

 

 

Quotes from Vacation

We started the week out strong, with a shark attack at First Street South, but thankfully, never saw one ourselves. What I did capture over the week were memorable quotes.

Sunday, we went to sit on the beach but it wasn't the warmest weather, so we didn't get full-on beach gear. We did get some quotable moments.

Nick, so excited about wildlife, thank you Kratt Brothers. On the beach, at TOP volume.
"PELICANS!! MOM, TAKE A PICTURE!"  The entire beach cracked up.

Mom, watching a guy with a kite (unbeknownst to me).
"He's jerking it! Get it up! Get it up!" I'm hoping other beachgoers knew what she was talking about.

It was early in the day Sunday when Pam had to admonish Katie....
"Quick licking the door."

On Monday, on the balcony. I can see where Nick gets it. Pam shoots out of her deck chair, screaming and pointing "DOLPHINS!!!!"

The next day on the deck, Nick struck again, as birds flew by.
"A blackbird. That's a crow. CAAAW!"

It was a really loud week.

On Tuesday, Mom was watching folks on the beach battling the wind with their tents and randomly says, "It probably is a good idea to take your top off."  Ahem, what?

And finally, after thanking Joe multiple times for cooking breakfast each morning, he finally says, "Hey, I'm just keeping Tonya out of the kitchen."  Thanks, Bro.

On the way to Myrtle Beach

Mom and I decided to stop on the way to Myrtle Beach rather than drive straight through. Google Maps didn't want us to have to go through Nashville, so we took county roads to bypass it. Thank goodness for my MiMi. (ed note: MiMi is my phone with GPS. When Mike is lost on the road, he calls me for help and I look up where he is and give him directions from Google Maps. So instead of a TomTom, he has Me-Me. So that is what I named my phone.) Unfortunately MiMi wasn't quite as clear as we expected, and Mom might have called her a few less-than-pleasant names. This became a problem later when I tried to voice-text Mike regarding our activities. MiMi didn't exactly translate what I was saying. The conversation (via text) went something like this:
Mike: How are Thelma and Louise doing? Because we were on a great adventure and that is one of Mom's favorite movies.
Me (to MiMi): We are good, but we passed up Brad Pitt.
MiMi: We are good, but we picked up Brad Pitt.
Me (to MiMi): PASSED UP! PASSED UP!
MiMi: Shut up! Shut up!
Mom: Cackles like a pteradactyl
Me (to MiMi): We DROVE BY him!
MiMi: Joe Biden!
Me (to Mom): Stop it! MiMi doesn't speak pteradactyl.
Mom: sounds like a flock of pteradactyls needing an inhaler
Me (to MiMi, in tears from laughter): MiMi has gone crazy.
MiMi: MiMi has gone crazy.
Mike: Sounds like she's not alone.

Well, we did finally make it to Knoxville. I used my Starwood points to get us a room at the Four Points by Sheraton. Since I'm a gold member, they upgraded us to a junior suite. But that wasn't the best part. We were tired, but not so tired we couldn't order room service for breakfast the next morning. We just left our order on the doorknob, and at 6:00 am (yeah, that was 5:00 CT), it arrived.  Mom had never had room service before so it was a Kodak moment.

I love me a full American breakfast, and the charge in Knoxville was about half what I'd pay in DC so we went all out: bacon, eggs, potatoes, toast, juice and coffee. And yes, Mom took the little baby bottle of ketchup with her. We got an early start on full bellies, promised to play nice with MiMi and headed to Myrtle Beach. Since the CD player in the new car didn't work, I bought a cord to connect my iPod and loaded up a "Nana mix." We sang at the top of our voices:  Blondie; Johnny Cash; Elton John; Neil Diamond; the best of the 60s, 70s and 80s; Elvis; and classic country: Rose Garden, King of the Road, Stand By Your Man, The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A., The Gambler, He Stopped Loving Her Today, 9 to 5, and my personal favorite, Harper Valley P.T.A.

 

After a stop at the Great Smokies Flea Market at exit 407, we were back on the road. But not for long. Just off I-40 is a great little town Mike and I discovered on one of our many trips to Gatlinburg, Waynesville, NC. I originally looked this up because the artist who makes the Sonshine Promises figures has a studio here. Her studio is only open by appointment now, but the town itself it adorable, with great shopping, restaurants, and a charming Main Street. Mom made a few new friends there.

We had a nice break, did a little shopping (got some great deals at a secondhand shop) and hopped back on the road. By the time we made it to the hotel, Pam already had dinner ready and we settled in for a movie. Thelma and Louise, of course. It was a great start to a great vacation.

 

 

Happy Birthday Rylee!

My niece's first birthday was an event to remember. I'm only sharing a few photos, but the decorations, the food, the fun ... wow! There was a hayride:


All the kids loved the ball pit. Thanks Uncle Joe and Aunt Pammie!


And the requisite shot of cakey-face


Such a fun fun time! Happy Birthday Sissypants!

At the drive-in...

We *love* the drive-in and missed it during our stint in Virginia.



Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to the drive-in without eating fried chicken in the back of a pickup truck.


And the boys liked sitting in the back of the van. And so did we, since it kept them busy for a while.


The little ones made it through the first movie, and the kids and I stayed with Nana through the second one. The weather was perfect. Even though it drizzled a few times, there was a great breeze and we had a great time!

Wing Party!

I finally scheduled the wing party at Show-Me's that we won at the Senior Center auction last November. It just so happens that it was yesterday and fell on Isaiah's birthday. He would have been a teenager. Yikes!
Anyway, most all of the family was there, plus my bff Sherri and her kids. The wings were the best I'd ever had, and service was good too. Just beware, the server's outfits are a little more risque than Hooters (if that is possible -- well, it is possible, I'm telling you).
Still, appropriate for the kids, and reeeeally yummy wings, so a good time was had by all AND the Senior Center benefitted too.

Happy Birthday Rydee Roo!

I can't believe Ryder is two years old, but then I look at these photos and think he looks even bigger than two! Still working on my fancy camera skills, I did get a few nice shots. I notice I'm taking a lot at an angle, like I did my favorite photo of Aly from our last Gatlinburg trip. Turns out it is a cool effect, but not on every freaking picture. So, I'll learn some balance.

First up, the obligatory "put the giant bow on his head" shot.

Then, I snuck in a photo of Nick.
I think this is the one that finally named him "photogeNicholas".
The kid cannot take a bad photo.
Look at those eyes, the skin. ahhh.



Another obligatory shot -- cake face. I love his finger in this one though. "What, do I have a smudge?"



And an "open the present" shot with Mom. Someone ELSE who can't take a bad photo. I also have a lot of pictures of Ryder wadding up all of the wrapping paper so it could be thrown away. A little OCD, so not posting those for fear that a future employer might find this little post and wonder about his sanity. Or his mother's. :D



Happy Birthday Ryder-man!

Christmas Dinner

As I mentioned in my before-the-holidays post, we went to the Black Bear Jamboree on Christmas Day. Below is a layout that Aly and I completed to showcase the photos, and the memories. I've since journaled in the large green box, and the text is included below. Supplies on this LO include papers and elements from an old Christmas kit (Basic Gray Fruitcake, I believe). This also begins to show my love of stickles, which don't show up very well in the photo.



Journaling now reads,
We've been to Gatlinburg lots of times, even in the winter, but we'd never been on Christmas Day. To celebrate, we went to the Black Bear Jamboree dinner and show.
It wasn't as cheesy as we expected, and the food was actually pretty good. Raggedy Ann was a little bit freaky - I hope that woman's voice in real life is several octaves lower.
After the dolls taught the grumpy bears the true meaning of Christmas, the cast (including someone closely resmbling our server) donned angel wings and assembled for the nativity scene. Knowing this had to be the final act, and hoping to avoid the long lines we endured on the way in, Mike asked if I was ready to leave. And Zak immediately replied ... "You can't walk out on Baby Jesus!"

Another Edwards family quote for the ages.

Happy Holidays!

The Phillips Family Christmas Eve was held at our house this year, simply because we can barely all squeeze into mom's living room now. Lots of food (I'm still eating leftover ham), fun (the gift exchange was a hit) and family. Aly and I made some yummy brownies, and we had the usual cheese and crackers, little smokies, chips and dip, etc.

Since we were leaving for Gatlinburg on Christmas morning, we surprised the kids a day early with their Christmas presents. Actually, the boy already took his driving lessons, so he didn't get a lot of things to open. Aly was very surprised by her netbook. I got a beautiful turquoise bracelet and moose sheets for the bedroom. LOL, I told Mike we are definitely an old married couple when he buys flannel sheets for Christmas and I love them. I got lots of other stuff too, and it was all thoughtful and fun. Our family does gift giving right, with love in our hearts.

Of course, before Christmas I got my new Canon camera. That means all of my photos totally rock. I took some great shots in Gatlinburg and have ordered 5X7s to see how they look. I'm thinking of getting some larger ones to hang in the living room. This one is from my trek (part of the way) up the mountain in Gatlinburg and one of my favorites. I'm thankful that Zak didn't have the camera as I slid down the mountain on my backside in classic Tonya fashion. Christmas Day we went to the Black Bear Jamboree for dinner and actually had a pretty good time. The food was great, there was plenty of it, and the show wasn't too corny.

The day after Christmas, we went to the Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community to Alewine Pottery for Aly to have a pottery lesson on a real pottery wheel. It was very cool. For $5, you can have a lesson and for $20 more, they fire the piece, glaze it and mail it to you. We should have Aly's bowl in about 6 weeks. We can't wait to go back again. I think we'll schedule multiple visits since Aly really did enjoy it. I got some great action shots, and we plan to scrapbook them together this week while I'm off work. {The partners gave us two extra holidays and asked that we take two vacation or floating holidays this week so the firm could be closed. Even on days off, many of us end up working, so to completely disconnect is really nice.}

Uncle Johnny came to our house while we were gone, to keep an eye on Lucy. We took Scrappy with us to Gatlinburg, but Lucy is getting old and can't do such a long car ride, or hang out in a place she doesn't know. Scrappy was in her element, sniffing everything she could get her nose on, and looking cute. Lucy was pretty happy too, snuggling with Uncle Johnny all week along with Graycie. Cricket was not pleased and let me know about it when we got home. Snowy, of course, went with the flow, although she did follow Aly everywhere for the first day home.

Plans for the rest of the week include catching up on magazine reading, taking naps, scrapbooking and watching movies. No big plans for new years eve, seeing as how I'm old and probably won't make it to midnight anyway. Here's hoping you had a merry Christmas and a great 2009.

P.S. Facebook let me make this cool collage of my 2009 status updates. It is a neat little snapshot of my year.

I'm not usually a wuss

when it comes to pain, but Daaaayaaaamm Gina, this muscle spasm is going to kill me. I am not sure what I did to myself, as the pain started gradually Friday evening. Since then, it has gotten much worse, so today Mike forced me to go to the doctor. I got a steroid shot in the buttom, which seemed to help a little, and a script for a muscle relaxer, which did absolutely nothing for me except put me to sleep. Which was nice because I haven't slept much starting Friday night.

So I just took another pill to see if I can walk without looking like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Wait, strike that. I'm not allowed to say "ND" in the house. I'm looking like Igor.

I will say that it seems a strawberry daquiri takes the edge off the pain. I had one at Pam's house last night while we played poker and scrabble and had pizza and strombolis. We're thinking it is a new Phillips Family Fun Night tradition.

In other news, I actually am *not* daring enough to travel to DC today, given the blizzard of '09. I canceled my Mon-Tues trip and will be working from home. Or whining from home should my neck hurt this bad again tomorrow. I am wondering if lugging that computer bag around DC last week was my undoing. I have a rolling bag but it is very heavy -- when I have to carry it up and down stairs at the airport. Maybe I'll break out the backpack.

And for now, I think I need chocolate. Or ice cream. Or chocolate ice cream.

Year in Review

I'd love to say that I create and send a yearly Christmas newsletter to our friends and family, but I can't even get store-bought cards in the mail. So, reviewing my blog, and our family calendar posted in the kitchen, gives us this year in review....

January
>A New Years Day movie with the family, and a bonehead move that gave us the first of our major dents to the car.
>I made some friends through Meetup.com and did some scrapping. Well, for a few months anyway.
>Zak turned 15. Yeah, that means 16 is now only a few days away.
>I was 17 miles from the Inauguration of Barak Obama. I wanted to go just for the historical importance. I didn't because of the zillion crazy people.

February
>Yet another basement flood. I don't miss those.
>We lost our beloved Buttercup.

April
>We spent Spring Break in Gatlinburg with Nana and Pawpaw!

May
>The van door shut on Aly's fingers and we hung out in the ER.
>We took some weekend trips and did lots of family stuff.

July
>As soon as the kids were gone to Nana's for a month, Mike and I both started traveling.
>We also started talking about moving back to Boonville.
>Then we did it!!

August
>We moved just before the kids needed to start school. It was an adventure.
>Moving back to Boonville means the travel stories will begin again.

September
>If there's school, there must be drama.
>If there's school, there must be germs.

October
>More travel, weekends with family and a road trip with my momma. Less blogging.
>Started homeschooling Zak. He takes shop class with Beau and Pawpaw, English and History with Dad and Math and Science with Mom. He is SO much happier.

November
>Mike and Zak decked the house with thousands of Christmas lights. I'm pretty sure you can see it from the air. You can definitely see it from the highway.
>Attended the Warrick County Senior Citizens Center fundraiser auction and bought some really cool stuff like a game table and a party for twenty at Show Me's.
>Went to a Tupperware party and had fun. Does that make me old?
>Thanksgiving at Nana's, the way it should be.
>Mike and I had a romantic few days in Gatlinburg after Thanksgiving.
>Jamie and Matt moved home with my neice and nephew!

December
>Zak took a driver's ed class and got his permit.
>Mike and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary.
>Mom helped me get some pictures and decorations on the wall. It's beginning to look a lot like a home!
>We have plans to spend Christmas Eve with family at our house this year.
>We are leaving Christmas Day for Gatlinburg. We have plans to visit the aquarium, the Black Bear Jamboree and various hiking trails. This might be our last family vacation since Zak is only tolerating us at this point.

So that's our summary. And we saved a tree by not printing it.

Trip for Two

The Twitter version of our romantic weekend:

6:36 AM Oct 24th Up at o'dark thirty. If you have to set your alarm, is it really a vacation?

1:26 PM Oct 24th almost to Gatlinburg with my honey

3:06 PM Oct 24th saw some beautiful foliage. Looking forward to a nice catfish dinner.

7:51 PM Oct 24th has a great view from a great room.

8:52 PM Oct 24th going to sleep with the balcony door open so I can hear the river all night. Don't worry, I've got the fireplace going to keep us warm.

8:10 AM Oct 25th Good morning mountains!

3:03 PM Oct 25th enjoying perfect weather in Gatlinburg

6:26 PM Oct 25th shopping for soovaneers souveniers souveneirs ... Tshirts.

8:46 PM Oct 25th in for the night. Going home tomorrow.

8:52 AM Oct 26th Up, showered and packing. Having lunch at "our" restaurant .. where we had lunch on our honeymoon and many times since. <3