50% Done With Finals...Yeah!!!

Thanksgiving and the lead up to finals

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with Mom and Tom at our house this year. We had a lot of fun with all the food and a friendly game of Risk...world domination at its best. Josh spent a lot of time studying for the upcoming finals, the first of which he finished earlier today. We are 25% through the fall final season...not long now!

Time's Flying By

Josh just got his cap and gown order form this past week. It's hard to believe that the time for graduation is just around the corner. Granted, there are 2 more final's weeks and the BAR, but still, he is so close. I'm just so excited for him! May 2009 here we come.

Cranfest '08

The great celebration of the cranberry harvest came around once again this year in WI. Cranfest '08 was filled with as much food, festivities, and of course CRAFTS as always. The village of Warrens typically has a population of about 290, but during this festival, it's reported that it swells to over 100,000. Imagine that many people and over a thousand booths crammed into a town that typically only holds 290! I took this photo of one of the streets in '05 and it seemed there were even more folks there this year.

Friday was the big day at the fest with Mom, Shelly, and Mikayla. Our littlest 'fester stayed at home with the guys awaiting our return. WI surprised me this year - it was HOT. People were still in shorts and there I was with a jacket on. Needless to say, that came off pretty quickly. We had a lot of fun and food, but one day was enough this year. So on Saturday we spent some time piddlin' around town at some of the shops before we went to dinner. Tyler met up with us for a bit that day to say 'hey' and look around and Alex, Mikayla, and Jordyn hung out with us that night at the house. It was another really quick trip to WI, but I'm really glad I was able to make it. I love seeing everyone and being around all the love....

Mom, Jordyn, Mikayla, and Shelly having fun at Mom's house. Jordyn is 18 weeks here - 95th percentile! Mikayla is 8 already! Shelly and Mom are.... well, guess I shouldn't post that info here...

Alex and Mikayla watching Shrek 3D in Shelly & Brian's new van.

While I was in Wisconsin, Josh was busy with friends in Memphis. Mark stopped by one night and Caleb & Anna were in town too. Josh really enjoyed visiting with everyone and couldn't stop talking about how big Bryson has gotten! I wish I could have been here to share the good time, but can't wait until the the time rolls around again so I can join in.

Smoky Mountain Retreat

With all the craziness going on, we decided to take a minute for our first vacation with just the two of us since we got married - almost 4 years ago now. We thought a nice secluded cabin in the Smokies was just the trick, so off we went for 5 days. I didn't answer my phone the entire time and for those of you who know me, you know that was a miracle itself!

I LOVED the mountains. We spent the first day in Cades Cove and hiked on a bunch of the side trails to get away from everyone else. It was awesome and I felt like an adventurer exploring new territory (yeah, I know, thousands of people have done the same, but still, I'm charting new territory here. Give me a break!). Everything we did seemed like it was just the two of us. Perfect.

On that first day we saw 5 bears. One crossed on a trail we were on just 20 feet away. Later in the day we saw a momma and 2 cubs down in a narrow valley. It was just amazing. Sorry the video is sideways, but I can't figure out how to turn it the right way. So, if you're using a laptop turn it on it's side and, if not, best wishes getting yourself turned on your side!

We spent a couple of hours in Gatlinburg doing touristy things like the old-time photos and the Ober Gatlinburg Tram, but the rest of the time we spent relaxing in the cabin or the mountains. It was exactly what we needed to prepare for the upcoming school year - a 3L already - and for returning to the daily grind. I can't wait for our next trip!

On our way home we stopped in Nashville for a few hours to say "hey" to Josh's Mom & Rudy, and his Dad and Patty. It always makes me wish there was more time in the day and more days in the year (that could never be intruded on by work or school). While the time was brief, it was as heart-warming as ever to see everyone's face and share some time together.