I can't believe our last home leave of the year is already over. I went to Collegedale on Wednesday afternoon after a marathon day-and-a-half putting together Highland's calendar. Ryan and Jaclyn left for Charlotte on Friday afternoon for their shower there on Sunday. Ryan and Ryan got in some tennis before they left.
See Jaclyn's blog for the whole story of this tree down in her yard. It was a potentially scary situation. Now she just has more sun on her living room!
We went to church at CA on Sabbath for their Alumni Weekend program. I find that it's much more enjoyable to just attend one than to plan one! We got to see my mom's cousin Ruthie and her husband Stan and my 4th and 5th grade teacher, Richard Knapp.
Aaahh!! I just had a dove land on the window ledge behind me and the reflection scared me half to death! I'm ok . . .
After church we grabbed Grant and Hollie and took off for Lookout Mountain. It was a perfect day to hike to Sunset Rock, even after all the rain the day before. We even got to drive under a flaming telephone pole on the way there. Grant spotted it smoking and we saw it burst into flames as we went by.
The trees aren't quite green yet when you look from above. We definitely saw signs of spring with all the new leaves coming out, flowering trees, and wildflowers along the trail. It was a much more pleasant hike than last February in the snow and ice.
As always, we met some other people from Southern and CA along the way. We even got to see a guy rappel down from the top as we were getting there. It's a little unnerving to see them swing over the edge. I always stay far enough away that if I trip (which is pretty likely to happen), I won't fall over.
It was windy at the top, so you'll have to excuse our hair. I know Grant really had a problem with this!
Here we are holding down our hair for a picture. Don't you like Grant's hiking clothes?
More pics from the top. This is me pointing at myself because I wasn't sure what Ryan was focusing on in the picture.
Good thing Grant and I were there to hold up this rock. Who knows what would have happened!
One of the pretty flowers along the way. I don't know what these are, but they have 5 petals and look related to the apple/rose family . . . any guesses?
It was a really fun
break. Exactly what I needed. Other great things were that we found out the electricity is installed at the Goliath Wall, we got the guys' clothes for the wedding figured out (minus Ethan), and got the invitations printed, stuffed, labeled, and ready to send.
I woke up with a sore throat on Sunday morning and it progressively got worse throughout the day. By Monday morning when I went over to view our calendar proof at College Press and hit the road, I felt pretty sick. I spent Monday morning driving back, worked that afternoon, then went to sleep at 7. I came back home Tuesday morning after Ad Council and slept until lunch. I'm feeling a little better now and can halfway breathe. I'm headed back to Collegedale tomorrow afternoon for Jaclyn's shower there on Sunday.
Ryan's here for the weekend and we enjoyed the more relaxed parts last night and today. I know this isn't the greatest picture, but I like it because we're being silly. Ryan befriended Bobtail by feeding her bits of orange rolls left from breakfast! We saw a black snake in the path on the way to Don & J.P.'s and Ryan wouldn't let me catch it, so it got away. :(
Carson started off tonight's Gymnix homeshow. Don said he did this with Nikie the year she was born for their homeshow at Fletcher.
Can you read the theme? Their costumes were pretty interesting and varied, to say the least.
The Newmyer brothers demonstrate death-defying (well, not really) feats. Bradley balances the ring and Tyler jumps through. This is part of their "circus" routine.
Wide view - Ryan and I watched a lot of the show from up in the back of the gym. Best seats in the house!
