Field Trip with Luke!

Making a craft

The finished product

"Fun" class picture!

I was so glad I was able to go with Luke's class to Traveler's Rest today.  It was a beautiful fall day which was perfect for being outdoors.  The kids did great.  I actually learned a lot.  I went to Traveler's Rest when I was in school but, of course, I had forgotten the story behind it.  The kids got to learn a dance from the 1800's, make a doll like the children would have had back then and got to eat some food popular in the 1800's. We all packed a sack lunch that we ate before heading out.  Luke got to leave with me instead of going back to school.  It was a fun day!

Ballerina in the Making?

Katherine is still hit or miss with ballet class on Mondays.  The parents aren't allowed to watch them practice because it is too distracting.  As the recital gets closer her teacher said they will start letting the parents in so the girls get  used to performing in front of a crowd.  

Silly Girl

We have had some cool days around here lately.  Katherine got out he owl hat and mittens.  She is pretty stubborn when it comes to putting on her cold weather gear.  I am hoping she will get so excited about all her different hats and mittens that she won't fight putting them on every morning!

Southern Living Dream Home

The house was gorgeous!

Loved this decoration!

The Southern Living Dream Home is in Nashviile this year at the Fontanel which is the former home of Barbara Mandrell.  I have been wanting to go since it opened and was afraid I would miss it.  Kristen and I planned for about a month and finally found a day that worked for both of us.  We had lunch at the restaurant on the grounds and then leisurely strolled through the main house and the numerous guest cottages. I really thought I took more pictures, but apparently I didn't.  We both loved the style.  We both like the farmhouse/ cottage look.  We got lots of ideas but mainly just enjoyed hanging out doing something fun!

Tourist Trap

Moving the world...

Luke got a kick out of shooting the gun with Andrew.

We went into Gatlinburg this afternoon.  It really is a tourist trap but is very entertaining.  It is a great place to people watch for sure! We hit a couple of moonshine places.  That is the big thing up there now; they are going up everywhere.  We ate lunch and walked around to see all the sites. We went back to the cabin for the night and played games and some got in the hot tub.  No one is really ready to leave in the morning.

To Get a Perfect Picture...

We rarely have our picture made together

We spent most of the morning trying to get the perfect picture for everyone's Christmas card.  The kids did really well with all the different poses. I am hoping to do a different shot for our card if I can get it worked out.  If not, these will be a great back-up.  After we spent the morning doing that we got changed and went to Gatlinburg for the rest of the afternoon.

Knoxville!

House Divided!

Luke and Uncle Andrew

That is the back of Johnny Majors!

We were six rows from the top!

Trying to get to our seats

It was freezing!!!

We headed to the mountains for a 3-day weekend.  This is Andrew and Mandi's year to spend Thanksgiving in Florida so we decided to get together before that. We rented a cabin in Gatlinburg and met up there last night. We decided to let Luke experience his first college football game at Neyland Stadium.  The game was an early kick-off so we had to leave the mountains early to get to campus. It was so cold!!! We probably weren't dressed warm enough.  Even though it was early, there were plenty of people out tailgating.  We were able to visit with some friends before the game started.  Jon and Kristen were there with some friends. Paul sat with them in the UT section while Luke, Andrew, Mandi and I sat in the Auburn section.  Truth be told Luke is a pretty die hard UT fan at this point in his life.  He wore a UT shirt and one of Andrew's Auburn visors.  The game was pretty much a blow out.  Auburn is pretty good this year which has been a bit of a surprise. Despite the blow out it was a good experience.

About the time the game was over the sun decided to come out and warm things up a bit.  Katherine stayed at the cabin with Mom.  They had a good time cooking, playing, watching movies and taking a nap. They had a yummy lasagna supper about ready when we got back.  We spent the rest of the night hanging out and watching more football!!!

98 Years...

Luke and Katherine helped her open presents

She was able to blow out her candle

Family photo

Today we went to Gallatin to celebrate Kitty's birthday!  Her actual birthday was on the 30th but today is when we could all get together.  She knew it was her birthday but kept saying she was 100! It was a little sad when she got there and asked if she had ever been in that house before.  We reminded her that she had been there lots and that she and Doc had built it years ago.  She seemed to remember a little better then. We just celebrated with cake and ice cream and a few gifts.  I think she was glad we were all together for her birthday.

After that we meet Mom so she could take the kids home with her for the night.  We spent the rest of the night at Memaw's house going through things.  All of the Alexander grandkids were able to be there so we could make some decisions and speak for things we would like to have from her house.  There won't be a whole lot that needs to be done to it before it goes on the market. It is a great house it just needs a lot of updating.  It hasn't been touched since Memaw and Pepaw built it in the early 90's.  Hopefully everyone can pitch in so we will be able to get it on the market soon.  When everything wrapped up there we went to a sports bar to watch some football with Jon and Kristen.  It was nice to unwind a bit before coming home.

A Belated Halloween

Doc is on the job!

Halloween got delayed here because of the threat of serious thunderstorms yesterday.  A lot of neighborhoods and towns officially changed trick-or-treating to tonight.  We had a lot of trick or treaters at our last night.  The weather ended up not being as bad as they had predicted.

I rushed to get out of work at a decent time and get both kids picked up so we could go trick-or-treating in a neighborhood close to us.  For whatever reason Luke did not want to go or put on his pirate costume. After much convincing he agreed to ride in the car so Paul and I wouldn't have to miss out on Katherine's night.  She had so much fun! She loved and it has no fear when it comes to scary Halloween decorations. We ended the night at Mom's.  By that time Luke had perked up some, and was in a better mood.  He didn't seem to mind missing out on all the candy though.