Sure to be Anticlimactic...and Certainly not Brief

Well, the time has now come. I have downloaded the pictures (all 700+ of them...I'm not exaggerating). My husband is OUT OF CONTROL with the pictures. The 700+ pictures include pictures from our trip and Richie's last Tball game of the season. Probably half of those were of the Tball game, so I will do a post with those soon, too. You're gonna love those!

Below is a picture diary of our trip to Tennessee.

The trip was long, we did it over two days so that we would not all go stir crazy in the car together. As a bonus, we were able to stay in a hotel and swim which is the epitome of excitement for a 3 and 5 yr old. When we arrived in East Tennessee we stayed one night with Rich's brother before we headed to my Papaw's house where met up with my parents and attended a reunion with family from my Mom's side.

This is a picture of my Papaw's living room (it is never used). Isn't it a pristine throwback? I don't think it has changed a bit since the first time I saw it (when I was 4 years old). I love the fact that it hasn't changed. It's comforting and brings back sweet memories from my childhood (and one really bad one when I made a very poor choice and picked the green turf off of his back porch...it is a SUPREME understatement when I say that my parents were NOT HAPPY with my choice...that may have been where all of this rule following started).



This is a picture of the boys with my Papaw. I'm ashamed to say this is the first time they have met in person. Papaw was a big hit, and I think Papaw kind of thought his great grandsons were pretty special, too. He was very patient throughout this photo shoot. Will kept moving and making the picture fuzzy.



The day after the reunion we spent visiting with Papaw and taking a short day trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina. What a beautiful place! I'd love to go back sometime when we have more time to explore. These pics are of the boys having some fun at the park we found right in the center of town.





I forgot to mention that on the way to see my Papaw we took a drive through our alma mater. I was planning to go back when we had more time to snap some pictures, but it didn't happen. Here is an aerial view I found on the college's website. The building in the middle is Seeger Chapel (where Rich proposed). I wish I had a picture of the inside to show you.



The rest of the week we spent hanging out with family, both mine and Rich's. We also got to meet up with some old friends from college. Please forgive us if you are reading this and we didn't get to see you. We had limited time and wish we could have spent time with everyone!

Okay, I better speed up this process or we'll be here all day.

Here are some more highlights (with less commentary). I figure if I'm getting tired of writing it, you must be getting tired of reading it. And anyway, a picture tells 1,000 words, right?

Huggin' on...

Aunt Linda (my aunt)



My Mom's Cousin Robbie



Aunt Angie (a tireless hostess)



Mamaw (you know she is LOVING this!)



Reading stories with Nana...



Goofin' off with Uncle Lee (I mean Uncle Mark ;-)



Lawn Darts with Papaw (I'm not sure who had more fun...Papaw or Richie)



Strolling on the dock with Papa



(Here's what Papa looks like from the front ;-)



And last, but not least we were able to visit with some college friends.

We did not get any pics of Chris, Ali, and Isabel, but we had such a good time visiting and catching up with them! I hope you guys didn't pay too dearly for missing naptime ;-)

We did snap this one of Corey, Dianna (my roomie), and their little girl Eliza. Is she not the cutest thing? I think she might give Will's "girls" a run for their money!



Oh wait, I forgot to mention cousin Rueger. Actually Rueger is a dog. Janelle, I'm sure you can imagine the theoretical debate that ensued with my oldest child when Uncle Lee (I mean, Uncle Mark) called the dog their cousin. Anyway, I somehow failed to get a picture of Rueger with the boys, maybe because they were both (Rueger's still a puppy) laughing, running, and squealing whenever the dog was around. The boys LOVED Rueger.

Okay, I've got to stop. There is so much more I could share, but I think I've gone on long enough. If you are still reading this, it means you have read this entire post. Wow, you must really love me!