We're #1! ...in Oolitic

I had a very relaxing weekend. My friend Mandy's dog, Lola, came to stay with us all weekend, so Maxwell has been very entertained. Saturday morning I went to Pygmalion and bought some watercolor paints and blank postcards so we can document our honeymoon memories via watercolor. Then I drove to Bedford and got an Annette Morris honeymoon pedicure special, followed by an appearance in the Oolitic Parade. The Funtime Band was in full swing, and mom and I rode on the back of the truck and played cowbell and tambourine and threw candy, and had a grand time. I got to pet a baby pig that was all wrapped up in a towel. We won a giant trophy for being the #1 float in the entire parade, and it was nice to see Sweet Cheeks so happy (see above photo with his parade day hair). I got a little nervous when Andrew brought the trophy home and put it on the mantle, but then I suggested that it go in Jim's china cabinet with all of the other Funtime awards, and peace was restored.

Never Order the Same Thing

Thursday I met with Kevin and Steve for our Every Second Thursday lunch. We are trying to switch up our locations, so this week we went to Roots on the square, which was deliciously earthy. I had the portobello sandwich with spinach and cheese and sweet potato fries. My first inclination was to order the black bean burger but Kevin and Steve already ordered it and I don't like to order the same thing as someone else at the table, so I can try as many foods as possible. In retrospect, I should have gotten that black bean burger. I decided from that moment on that I would stop living by my "never order the same thing" rule. Andrew and I went to La Cha last night and I wasn't ready to order but I was starving so I pretended I knew what I wanted so the waiter wouldn't have to come back. I just ordered what Andrew got because it sounded pretty good, and then we decided that was ridiculous that we had two burritos, two quesadillas, and two orders of beans between us. I have reversed my decision.

The Smokies

Andrew and I went on our 4th annual Labor Day trip this past weekend. It seems like we have been doing this every year, because we have grown so close to our group of friends. Each year we try to go somewhere different, but we like to keep the cabin/woods/antler chandelier theme consistent. This year we went to Gatlinburg, which I like to refer to as "the Smokies." There were nine of us this year, and we both agree that this was the best cabin trip ever. Andrew and I arrived at about one in the morning on Friday. We dropped Max off at my parents house and headed south, stopping for only one detour at a Yelp-recommended Taco Tico establishment in Lexington. The first day, I third-wheeled it on a hike with Peter and Emily and we saw a BEAR! I chatted it up and watched the bear with another hiker who happened to be holding a bag of Captain D's food. Peter compared it to holding out a raw piece of salmon and saying, "do you think the bear can smell my food?" The next day we went white water rafting, and only lost two of our members overboard. Sunday brought about more hiking and a trip into Gatlinburg proper, which is as trashy as I remembered it. The pictures included in this post typify Gatlinburg to me; swords, dolls, sex shops, and angels a-plenty folks, but what a great place to be! Everywhere we went someone wanted to take our picture and then sell it to us for an astronomical rate. I talked Andrew into riding a sky-lift and it was cheesy and touristy but you couldn't really argue with the view. We met new people and smelled mountain air and ate lots of good foods. We formed a blue-grass band with two guitars, a mandolin, a banjo, a harmonica, and a WASHBOARD and stayed up late and laughed until it hurt. Best cabin trip ever!