Tennessee Getaway

Chris and I were able to getaway for an anniversary weekend in TN to attend the wedding of a girl I babysat through college. Her family means a lot to me with how much they took in this CO girl out in FL on her own during college. I stayed with them one Thanksgiving weekend and Dr. Bruce played "dad" when I was needing to put my foot down about the mustard colored car the dealership was trying to make me lease. It was great to see the Bruce family again and enjoyed getting to know Noah's family that we sat with at the reception. 

We were completely confused on our drive when we suddenly saw a "Welcome to Georgia" sign. Both of us learned that GA is a bordering state to TN. Who knew???

We stayed in a cute one-bedroom cabin!

They had a fun bike track at the campground.

We drove a little further to be able to see my friend Sarah from college. They were on their way to FL for a beach week so it was a brief visit but felt great to see her again...as if no time had passed!

We took a hike to see Bridal Veil Falls. It seemed appropriate :)

Chris always enjoys exploring off the trail.

The waterfall didn't flow into a stream or river...it ended in a SINKHOLE! It was so bizarre and a bit disconcerting!! 

We ate lunch at a place recommended by Allison and Noah. It was clearly a favorite among the locals based on the line! We enjoyed their free popcorn while we waited...nicely...

Watching brides dance with their dads makes me cry these days...especially these two! 

It was sweet of each member of the family to take time out to chat and catch up with us! It was touching to hear them retell what they remembered of me during those days even though it was over 20 years ago!

On the way back Sunday morning we stopped at Rock City Gardens to check out where you can see 7 states at once. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us so we didn't take too much time but we did enjoy the cool geography of the area and a lot of the architectural details. It'd be a fun place to visit again with the kids some day. 

The pathways were pretty cool! Definitely not "one size fits all!"

SPCA time!

We continue to enjoy volunteering at the SPCA weekly for canines and monthly for felines. Owen and I have our regular duties when we walk dogs. He carries the treats and poop bag and opens the doors. I get the dog ;) Sometimes there aren't as many big dogs available for the trail so we'll get a puppy to bring to the Meeting Room. Sometimes puppies have too much energy for Owen and he doesn't like when they're mouthy or come bolting for him. It just reemphasizes to us the importance of them getting out of their kennel to play for a bit! There aren't evening hours available for felines so we get whatever Saturday morning shifts that we can. Unfortunately those seem to get double-booked sometimes, so we've come in to already find a volunteer (or two!) there, which makes it hard with only one extender to use. 

Annie

Asteroid

Sometimes cats are a bit anxious when they first come to the shelter. Hopefully Owen reading to Benji helped him get used to the shelter and people!

Biz

While we shouldn't have "favorites," Brillo definitely holds that spot for me! She was so anxious when we first tried to walk her in April that she wouldn't even let me get her harnessed. A few times after that I'd have to get a staff member to coax her out. I was so excited the first time she came out for me without anyone else there! By June it was hard to get her harnessed but this time it was because she'd roll over for belly rubs! We loved walking Brillo! She had a great nose and would sniff out treats that we hid for her. Every time we'd walk by a spot where a treat had previously been, she'd sniff again, just in case. They added a few more enrichment activities while she was there, including a snuffle mat which she loved! She took until mid-July to be adopted and our hearts burst and broke at the same time. 

Ginger

Ivy was another anxious dog that took us a while to be able to walk. "Walk" is used loosely though since she was a sporadic puller! I was always grateful to make it back to the shelter in one piece without a broken wrist or ankle! I don't have the video but will never forget a sweet video posted of Ivy and Brillo playing together. Usually the shelter dogs don't interact with each other so it was extra sweet to see two previously anxious dogs be totally relaxed and happy together! Ivy's new owner also sent in a video of her playing with her new dog siblings and running around in her new backyard. It makes me so happy to see them happy in their new homes!

Ivy

Luanne

Mack

Mika was at the shelter faaaaaaar longer than he should've been! He was such a sweet boy and just wanted to be pet! We were so happy to see him adopted!

Mika

Nat

We've done a few "Pup of the Game" hockey games. While Owen dislikes mascots, this one didn't give him a choice. He pulled off a pretty great smile for the picture!

Ralphie

Owen loooooved when this dog jumped into his lap unprompted! He remembers and talks about it months later!

Skylar

Some cats aren't able to be played with when they're overly anxious. That was initially the case with Thumper but clearly she was ready to play when she kept batting at the books Owen would read to her!

Thumper

Valentino

Owen and I were recognized as "Top Dog" volunteers at the appreciation banquet!

Well, I had 119 pictures and narrowed it down to 19! Not bad! Here are a few favorite videos!

Camping: Pipestem

We enjoyed our 3rd annual camping trip to Pipestem in WV. We love having such a fun place with so many entertainment options within a 2 hour drive! And it always excites us to have a chance to eat at Chilis, although they've now added one in town. 

Kim somehow always remembers to bring the extra fun things, like glow sticks and sparklers! The kids enjoyed playing games, riding bikes, and taking off on the hiking trails on their own. 

Saturday morning we headed down the tram to the river. We remembered water shoes this time so the kids could get in the water. The kids enjoyed building a "raft" though they would need to hone their skills in case of emergency! We also tried volleyball for a while but didn't have too many volleys...

They set their raft to sail and it...didn't...  What did sail was Hannah's flipflop! 6 times to be exact ;) On the 6th time Willow was able to grab it about 20 feet downstream. 

We biked and played games before heading down to the lake in the afternoon. We knew rain was in the forecast but when you're wet in the lake anyways, it doesn't really matter. Unfortunately there were 2 evacuations due to lightning but thankfully they were pretty short. The water seemed warmer than in the past, so that was nice. The kids enjoyed a couple of new inflatables and Willow successfully launched Hunter off the blob once with no tears! 

Poor Chad grilled burgers in the rain with an umbrella then we crammed into the Caldwell's camper to eat and play Headbands. 

Unfortunately we had a bad window leak, soaking the kids' sheets and cushions. Thankfully Chad had a large tarp to prevent any further leaking and they were willing to let Willow sleep in their camper. Owen slept diagonally between wet spots (sigh). 

The rain calmed down to enjoy sparklers before bed!

This bird sure felt comfortable eating Chris' leftover muffin off his wrapper!

Sunday morning we headed out for a zipline adventure. Hannah and Hunter met the weight requirement minimum to participate but they (and Owen) needed to be "rescued" on multiple of the 9 zips. Thankfully our guides, Collin and Mattoc, were good natured and patient! It was supposed to be a 3 hour trip but took us 4.5 hours with all the rescues. The poor guides were late getting back for their next group and had to scarf down their lunch. We were sure to tip them well! We'll wait a few years before trying it again ;) 

The longest zip went over the river, which was pretty cool! It was the only one that made Owen a bit nervous!

The GoPro didn't work after the 2nd zip so I had to practice living in the moment instead of always capturing it ;) Here's a video of the 2nd zip which included a nice view of the gorge!

One of many "rescues:"

Here's a quick Instagram Reel of the highlights of the weekend!