Gobblin' Up the Miles

Happy Thanksgiving!  This year our whole family ran the annual Turkey Trot at Greg's work, and when I say "ran", I mean that Greg ran the 4-mile course, Ella ran the 2-mile course, and I cajoled, pushed, and dragged a reluctant Natalie (that's a nice way of putting it) for 2 miles.  Despite the fact that she out-ran her sister in a lap around our block a few days before, on the morning of the big race she was complaining of sore feet before we'd even left the rec center parking lot.  My conversation with her at that point went something like this:

Natalie: My feet hurt!

Me: No they don't.  Keep running!

It was a proud moment.  Here we are before the race:

Greg was the fastest registered runner and as such won us a turkey!  Ironically, Natalie also won us a bird through the raffling off of the very last one.  She was SOOOO proud!

Halloween: I Know What We're Gonna Do Today!

Ah, Halloween!  The silliest of holidays.  That morning my seminary class was invited to dress up, and some actually did!  (Please note Joseph's "Facebook" costume.) 

 We played Scripture Mastery Trick or Treat and had a Halloween buffet o' treats:

Around here we are BIG fans of "Phineas and Ferb", so we decided to rock the 104 days of summer vacation as Agent P, Doctor D, Lindana, and Candace Flynn-Fletcher:

 "A platypus?  PERRY the Platypus???"

Red Hot Cousins

In November 1994 my cousin Madison was born.  Oh, we were so excited!  Her parents had been waiting and waiting and WAITING for her, and her arrival was cause for major celebration.  Here I am holding her for the first time:

Despite our 18 year age difference, we have always been pals.  So imagine how thrilled I was when she came to visit us in San Antonio!  She is a big fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and had tickets to see them here in Texas, and called to see if I might be interested in going to the concert with her.  Are you kidding???  Me??? Concert???  For the record, I am nearly always up for a concert.  So she booked the flight and came on down, staying just under 24 hours.  We only had time to show her the essentials, like the Alamo:

 And the Riverwalk:

 Back home at Casa Willden, we made time for a game of Apples to Apples, a Cousin Madison Classic:

And, of course, we went to the concert.  What a kick.  I hadn't been to a huge arena show like that in years.  I had, of course, seen the Chilis once before, at Lollapalooza '92.  You know, two years before Maddie was BORN.  Good grief.  She put on her new t-shirt and I donned my oooooold one (that has been acting as PJs for many years now) for a photo op:

Thanks for the fab 24 hours, Maddie!  Please come back again when you can stay a little longer!

Back to School 2012

It's now March, and I, of course, am only 6 months behind here on the ol' blog.  Let's try to fix that today, shall we?

It was mid-July when we returned from our cross country trip so we had weeks and weeks of summer stretching out in front of us...  Well, some of us did.  I sprained my foot instead, taking me out of commission for the three weeks before my scheduled surgery on the same foot.  So much for the rest of the summer.  Fortunately for everyone my mom came to take care of everyone while I convalesced post-surgery.

I was still hobbling around in the wretched boot when school started for the girls, and Seminary started for me.  Here's Ella, sun-kissed and ready for the 4th grade:

 Natalie started preschool at Ella's alma mater, University United Methodist Day School:

And Seminary started up again in our front room, every week day from 5:50am to 6:40am:

Here's to a great start!

Across Tennessee: Elvis, Pandas, and The Creepiest Motel 6 on the Planet

After we left Gatlinburg, we were definitely on our way home.  However, we had a few days left and a few new places to see.

We didn't spend much time in Nashville, and it rained the whole time we WERE there, but we did manage to walk around Broadway, aka Honky Tonk Row.  I had read about Hatch Show Print and really wanted to see it.  It's this old print shop on Broadway that still screen-prints posters for all sorts of events.  It was old and funky and really cool to visit:

I kept my eyes peeled for a glimpse of Keith Urban (he and Nicole DO live in Nashville, after all) but the closest I came was a ginormous handbag covered in photos of him.  It was a bit much, so I passed, but I DID buy a guitar-shaped spatula that I now refer to as my Keith Urban Memorial Spatula.

Our hotel messed up our reservations (which was fine, because it was a pretty skeevy place) so we decided to drive on and see how far we got.  We made it all the way to Memphis, ready to find someplace cheap to sleep for a few hours.  Mission accomplished!  We managed to find the creepiest Motel 6 east of the Mississippi.  (I think they had a plaque.)  As if the rent-a-cop guarding the property weren't enough, our "non-smoking" room reeked of smoke and had an ashtray on the dresser, for our convenience.  You know you are scraping the bottom of the barrel when you are just grateful there is no hair in the sink.

However, after we woke up and got out of that room as fast as we possibly could, things could only get better, and they did.  After treating ourselves to breakfast at Cracker Barrel (pancakes, finally!) we headed on over to the Memphis Zoo:

 (We're walking like Egyptians, can't you tell?)  Now, you know I am a fan of zoos, and I can generally find something good to say about any zoo, but believe me when I say that THIS zoo is truly spectacular, one of the best I have ever been to.  I am sure it helped that the weather was cloudy and blissfully not hot, but weather aside, this is just a beautiful zoo with a terrific variety of animal exhibits and interaction programs.  The top priority for me at this zoo was the pandas, Ya Ya and Le Le:

I fell in love with the pandas!  They are one of only four pairs in the whole United States--the others are in San Diego, Washington DC, and Atlanta.  We got to watch them eat their bamboo, have a drink of water, and do a lot of sleeping.  They were enchanting.

We also got to feed a giraffe named Kenya, which was a hoot:

We also fed budgies:

All of the animals at the Knoxville Zoo were either asleep or hiding (or both) and while all the animals at the Chattanooga Zoo were awake, there were only 3 or 4 of them, so it wasn't really the ultimate zoo experience.  But Memphis Zoo, oh, Memphis Zoo was definitely worth the price of admission.

After the zoo we went downtown and rode the vintage streetcar to Beale Street, where we ate lunch and browsed through all manner of Elvis souvenirs.  Then, on our way out of town, we drove past Graceland:

With two tired kids in tow, Graceland would definitely NOT have been worth the price of admission.  (FYI, it's really expensive.)  So no Jungle Room or gold Cadillac, just the gates.

And then we were on our way home!  After one last motel, where all the crickets in Texas go to die (but at least there was no smoke OR hair in the sink), we made it home:

The Wheats made us a fab banner, which as soooo nice.  I took a picture of our trip odometer just to prove how far we had gone:

Hoo-boy!  What a trip.  I am so glad we went.

Great Smoky Mountains: Birthdays, Bears, and Waterfalls

I had long wanted to see Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It's the most-visited National Park in the nation and contains some of the oldest ecosystems on the planet.  The Appalachian Trail passes through it, and the park is chock-full of waterfalls.  What's not to love?

Gatlinburg TN bumps right up to the park border and is composed mostly of hotels, so I decided that would be the most convenient place to stay.  After two days of driving the Blue Ridge Parkway nearly all by our lonesome we entered the park in the dark of night.  (The Parkway ends at the North Carolina entrance to the park.) Peaceful Parkway gave way to dark Park, and it took us about and hour to drive through to the other side.  The MOMENT we left the park and entered Gatlinburg, our senses were assaulted by flashing lights, traffic, multiple Ripley's attractions of dubious interest, hotels and motels, fudge shops (?), and a ridiculous number of pancake houses.  It was horrifying.  Greg called it Hillbilly Holiday Heaven.  I didn't even have the desire to buy a postcard there, and I LOVE postcards!

Our motel, Carr's Northside Cottages, was a good deal, spacious and clean.  It was a two-bedroom apartment and was decorated in a style I can only describe as Early BYU Dorm, but it worked.  Natalie turned four years old while we were there:

(Note the lovely curtains.)  We found My Little Pony cupcakes at a supermarket in Asheville NC, and she was VERY excited about them:

We spent a couple days in the Park, hiking to every waterfall within a reasonable distance:

We bought Natalie her very own walking stick in hopes that it would make her a more enthusiastic hiker. (Nice try.)  It rained quite a bit while we were there, which is apparently par for the course in the Smokies, but we still managed to do and see quite a bit.  Greg took a nice run that covered part of the AT, and one morning I got up really early and rode the Cades Cove Loop:

It was stunningly beautiful, and chock-full of wildlife.  I saw deer and wild turkeys, and yes, a black bear!  I turned a corner and met a group of riders standing stock-still on the trail, staring off across a meadow.  There at the edge was a black bear, trundling towards the trees.  It was one of the highlights of my trip.

All the rain caused the waterfalls to swell considerably, and the last one we hiked to, Laurel Falls, was so full that it was surging right over the bridge.  Of COURSE we had to go stand IN the waterfall:

The water was freezing cold and really powerful.  Natalie loved it, but it made Ella cry.  (We made her stand there for a picture anyway.  Such good parenting!)  I've got to say, it was really cool.

We did not visit any Ripley's "attractions" (although I hear the aquarium is actually pretty amazing), nor did we indulge ourselves in any of the abundant dinner theater options (the Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud, for example, or the Lumberjack Feud, and no, I am not kidding), nor the 10+ go-cart establishments lining the highway through Pigeon Forge (proud home of Dollywood).  We didn't even eat any pancakes, or fudge!  So, it can probably be said that we did not have the quintessential Gatlinburg experience, more's the pity.  The park, though, was a great time.

The Blue Ridge Parkway: The Top of the World

It took most of two days, but we drove all 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, starting west of Charlottesville, VA and ending at the south entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.  It was the most amazing drive.  It follows the ridge line of the mountains and many times as we drove there were breathtaking views both to the left and right of the road.  The turn-outs were plentiful, the rest stops clean and well marked.  We ate dinner one night in Mount Airy, NC, where Andy Griffith was born--there was a vintage black-and-white police car a la Mayberry in front of every other business.  We took a detour to visit Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, NC--the oldest general store in the country.  It was all sloping floorboards and creaky stairs--loved it!  We would have gone to the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest point on the Parkway, but by the time we got there the mountain was experiencing a very localized and rather fierce rainstorm, so we took a picture out of the car window and moved on. We spent two days on top of the world with very few other cars or people.  It was so, so beautiful.

Charlottesville: TJ, Canoeing, and Sketch

About a year ago I got it in my head that I HAD to see the Schills.  If you read my last post, you know that I met the Schill family 15 years ago when I was a missionary in Seattle, Washington.  They invited me into their home and their family, and I fell in love.  I got to see them several times after my mission, but then they moved to Virginia and I was in Texas having kids, and suddenly it had been 8 years since we had been together.  Their oldest daughter, Annilyn, returned home from her mission in Siberia (seriously, Siberia--and she TOTALLY wanted to got there) in December, and daughter #2, Erin, would be leaving on her mission over the summer, so I decided that Summer 2012 would be one last chance to see most, if not all, of the family together.  It turned out that Lynnie stayed in Utah for the summer, so I didn't get to see her, but everyone else was home.  And we had SO MUCH FUN!

The day before we were to drive from Knoxville to Crozet, VA (where the Schills live in an honest-to-goodness holler) I got a phone call from Mary Ann saying that due to a huge storm, they had no power and were not likely to get power for several days.  Well, too bad, we were coming anyway.  I did NOT drive all that way to NOT see the Schills--they were the whole reason for the trip!  Luckily they were completely fine having guests in a no-power situation as long as were okay with it, and we were.  It was hot for a few days, but Texas is worse.  We had hats and deodorant--we were good.

Mike Schill is a professor at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, so our first stop was The Lawn.  We were told that Thomas Jefferson (aka TJ) is alive and well in Charlottesville--he is referred to in present tense, and his wishes are consulted in all city and university planning.  He did found, plan, and build the university, after all.  Here we are standing in front of TJ's Rotunda: Erin, Emily, Mary Ann, Stuart, Mike, Katie, Greg, Ella, Aimee, and Natalie down front.

After a tour of the campus (we saw the room Edgar Allen Poe lived in, and also Katie Couric's room) and a yummy lunch at Bodo's Bagels we returned to the holler.  (I kid not--they live on Sugar Hollow Road.)  We were not a little hot and grimy, so we drove up the holler to the swimming hole.  As we drove, Erin, Stuart, Emily, and Aimee tutored us on what, exactly, defines "sketch".  It was something they talked about a lot, and we were intrigued.  The word itself paints a pretty good picture, and it is applied to all things pertaining to redneck mountain culture--drinking, swearing, guns, you get the picture.  Stuart said you have to be careful with the swimming holes closest to the road because, and I quote, "Sketch doesn't hike."  When we reached the swimming hole the kids surveyed the area and declared it safe--there was only one car, and it appeared to be a family-type vehicle.  We walked down to the water and Erin turned to me in half horror and half hilarity--there was a gun sitting on a rock right by the water.  We cracked up and discussed, in hushed tones, what its purpose might be--to shoot fish, perhaps?  Shooting fish is definitely sketch.  We had a fine time at the hole, though, and nobody even got shot, though we were at one point visited by a sketchy old mountain man, wearing only swimming trunks and nursing a beer.  Here are Ella, Natalie, and Aimee, searching for tadpoles:

One day we went for pulled pork sandwiches at Blue Ridge Pig, right at the top of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We're making piggy faces, see?

We picked peaches at an orchard near the Schills' house and they were soooo delicious:

That night for dessert we had fresh peach ice cream:

We spent a whole day canoeing/kayaking down the James River, which was AMAZING.  The water was warm and so clear that you could see the fish swimming by (I saw a gar) and the beer cans on the bottom (sketch).  The Schills' boats are named Perrier, Frommage, and Baguette--Mike and Mary Ann both served French-speaking missions.  We paddled upstream for a bit until we reached a nice rapid, which we went down a couple times in our life vests before taking the boats down.  ON the first run, Ella somehow ended up being the first one through, and it was a wild ride.  I came through to see her fighting tears, it was so scary for her.  Then Natalie came down with Greg and immediately said, "I want to do that again!"  So we did it one more time--even Ella!  She was really brave.  Then we paddled downriver to a big rock, perfect for jumping.  It was a really, really great day.

We were all so sad to leave the Schills--we had SO much fun!  I got to catch up with my dear friends, Greg got to really understand why I love them so much, and my daughters made some new heroes.  (The Schill girls played ENDLESS games of  "The Little Mermaid" with Natalie.  Heaven!)  It was well worth the drive.  In fact, I am already planning another one in a couple years.  Greg makes fun of me mercilessly, saying that this time we'll go by way of Seattle and return by way of the Florida keys.  Very funny.  Although, some of the country's best wooden roller coasters are ONLY in Indiana, which is basically on the way to Virginia...

We love you, Schills!  Thank you SO MUCH for everything!

I Love the Schills!

Before I continue posting about our trip, I need to pause to pay homage to the Schill family, as they are the reason I planned the trip to Virginia and back in the first place.  As way of introduction, here are some actual journal entries from my actual mission journals, interspersed with photos that don't necessarily correspond, but it's the best I could do, okay?

Tuesday September 9, 1997

            "Sister Schill paid me such a huge compliment the other night when we were at their house for dinner.  We had waffles.  It was so fun!  I love their girls (Annilyn, Erin, and Emily).  I read them Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle one night when we stopped by.  Sister Schill said that Brother Schill had been saying that he looks at me and sees his own girls on missions.  Could they pay me a higher compliment?"

 Tuesday September 23, 1997

            "We visited Sister Schill and I don’t remember how we led into this, but she said that Brother Schill had said a couple days ago that Hna Childs and I are two of the best sisters he’s ever worked with, almost up there with sister so-and-so who apparently is the epitome of missionary work.  That made my day!  That’s an excellent compliment in and of itself, but coming from the Schills it means even that much more."

 Monday September 29, 1997

            "I got to read yet another bedtime story to the Schill girls tonight.  They are so cool.  We caught up with them as they were on an “adventure hike” in search of the Liahona (ie the pictures of the apostles in the high council room).  Emily was clumping along on plastic high heels.  She cracks me up."

 Wednesday January 7, 1998
            "It has been fun to surprise everyone.  The first people we visited were the Schills.  Brother Schill is off interviewing and having a hectic life, while Sister Schill is home with the girls, having a hectic life.  It was nice to be back there, talking to her.  She said I remind her of a companion of hers who was always sent to the armpits of the mission but was the best sister in the mission.  The Schills have a way of catching me off guard with the most sincere compliments."

Sunday February 22, 1998

            "The highlight of the fireside occurred after it was over, while standing and talking with the Schills and the Bakers.  All of a sudden we looked down to see Emily with her diaper down around one knee.  Sister Schill looked down and instead of being embarrassed, exclaimed, “Well, MIKE, this must be YOUR child taking off her diaper!”  I was laughing so hard.  Brother Schill removed the offending diaper and discreetly hid it in his coat, then picked Emily up and tried to keep her bum covered."

The Schills were my family while I was on my mission.  They took care of me, fed me, made me the most fabulous Washington birthday cake (see above), taught me how to play The Great Dalmuti, lifted me up when I was down, let me be a part of their family, and loved me.  After my mission, they introduced me to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, danced at my wedding, let me come visit multiple times, and even drove across the country to see me.  I am having a hard time writing this without crying, I love them so much.  Since I met them, I have aspired to be them when I grow up.  I have always wanted my family to be just like theirs, and have adopted (okay, blatantly stolen) many of their family traditions.  Now their oldest daughter, Anniliyn, has returned from her mission in Russia and their second daughter, Erin, is just starting her mission on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  It blows me away that they are now where I once was, and my fondest wish is that my own girls will someday be where the Schill girls are now.  I love you, Schills!