It's always so hard to come back home...Part 1

We had a wonderful trip to Tennessee! The trip up there was seamless, except for the fact that I had worked the night before and could not fall asleep in the car. By the time we got to my grandmother's house, I had been up for about 36 hours and was beyond delirious! A good night's rest fixed me right up, though, and I even got up early with my hubby. It's a rare occasion that he can stay in the bed past sunrise! Ha!

On the way to see my family, we stopped in a town near Memphis to see some friends who are our second family. It was so good to see the kids (who don't look like kids anymore!) and their mom. Their dad had to be away that Saturday so we didn't get to see him...we missed you, Mr. R!

We got to tour their GORGEOUS house and ate lunch at a yummy Italian restaurant.

I loved the checkered tablecloths. Oh, and I REALLY loved this fried zucchini we had as an appetizer...

I always thought I hated zucchini but this definitely proved me wrong! Must've been a bias left over from childhood. ;)

Mrs. J and the kids showed us around their town-which is really pretty-and then we got to visit with them at their house for awhile. E gave the guilt-inducing looks her best shot trying to get us to spend the night, but somehow we resisted. Next time, Sweet Girl!

Both kids blasted me and Nathan at a few games of pool. Okay, actually I'm the one who was TERRIBLE at pool. But, I can lose gracefully! How cool is it that they have a game room with a pool table in it? I was almost jealous!

After we managed to drag ourselves away from their house, it was on to my Granna's. And just like every time we go home, she was sittin' up waiting on us to get in. Poor thing, I don't think we've ever rolled into her house before dark! Let's just say we like to pace ourselves when traveling.

The next morning, my aunt wanted to take Nathan & me on a drive to look for deer. She always goes out a little after 6 am to check her "trails." We, however, didn't make it out there 'til around 7:30. We saw some really pretty country and some turkeys way off in a field. See if you can spot them.

Yep, they're the black blobs in the foreground. My camera's zoom is not the best, alright? Anyway, we continued on and just as we coming to the end of the trail, we saw a doe and her fawn right by the side of the road. I think they got a little spooked when Nathan slammed on the brakes and this pic is the best I could get. I think the baby is hiding in the bushes. Can you even see mama? Sorry, I didn't mean for this post to turn into "Where's the Wildlife?"

When we got back to Granna's house, I snapped a few photos of the homeplace that I love so much. This is my Poppy's storage shed.

Interior and some great old tools of my grandfather's

I thought these dampers for the flue of Granna's woodstove were neat.

We went to visit my Great Aunt on Sunday. She just lost her husband this year and has been having a hard time with it. He was a pastor and the sweetest man ever. He always had a new joke to tell any visitors that might stop by! Nathan and I had fun exploring their little farm.

There was the funniest little dog running around. He belongs to my great aunt's son, but he kind of just roams at whim. Aunt L said they call him "Bozo" and he fits his name...so goofy!

He's got some critter cornered in this drain pipe...

Aunt L has a really old grapevine and lots of fruit trees! Peaches and apples, yum!

Next, Bozo led us up to their old horse barn

Where we found this unexpected surprise

Puppies! There were 3 boys and 3 girls, and they were ALL white! They were so sweet! And they must've been hungry because they kept nuzzling Nathan's ankles. Ha! My sweetie just couldn't resist cuddling them.

Don't you just love that smile? And the puppy's yawn, too? So sweet!!

After we finally put the puppies down, we went and sat on the porch swing in the cool afternoon breeze. But not before I snapped a shot of my aunt's beautiful homestead.

That porch swing was sooo comfy! And my sweetie is sooo goofy! That's what makes life fun, though!

On Tuesday, I somehow came down with a major case of what felt like diptheria. I don't know if it was the not-so-fresh Captain D's I ate on Monday night, but somethin' had a hold of my gut bad!! Needless to say, the last 2 days we spent in middle TN were spent on my other aunt's couch and in her upstairs restroom. There was a child present who didn't need to be privy to such atrocities of the bowel.

Note to the masses: if you have a possible stomach virus, Immodium is not your friend. It works a little too well and viruses are not meant to stay in your body. Savvy?

Despite my 48-hour death march, we did have a nice visit with my aunt and her family. Nathan got to ride around on the four-wheeler and tromp through the woods, which made him happy. And I got to paint my fingernails bubblegum pink and watch HGTV all day with Aunt C. Loved it! I wish we had gotten to spend some more time with my folks, but I don't think a visit is ever long enough. I just try to enjoy the time that I do have with them.

We headed over to Nathan's folk's place on Thursday but check back tomorrow for that installment. There promises to be just as many, if not more, pics in that post. Y'all have a great day, now!