Knoxville!

What an amazing vacation! I always forget just how much I miss the mountains, tall trees, lush foliage and that autumn smell of fallen leaves and dewy wet grass in the morning. I loved it that Lucas could explore without running into a pile of fire ants or prickly pear cactus. We spent our first few days lounging around the cabin we rented with the Hortons in Townsend, TN- just minutes from the entrance to Smokey Mountain National Park. We had a wood burning stove (it was chilly there!), an outdoor hot tub on a patio, a wrap around porch with rocking chairs, and access to several cool hiking trails with waterfalls. It was great catching up with Karen and Matt and in classic best-friends style, picking up where we left off since we last saw each other. :) Lucas rode a pony for the first time, admired the cabin-owners' lawn mower collection, and visited with their goats and sheep. After 2 days there, we headed up to Knoxville to see the Yoders. Lucas and Gabby got along really well. It was so fun to see them having a tea party together, running amok through the house chasing after eachother, and singing and dancing to music while both wearing a pair of Gabby's plastic princess shoes. Meanwhile, 8 1/2 months pregnant Laila made an amazing home-made lasagna and we had a sit-down meal with placemats and napkins. Definitely impressive. She also treated both Laith and I to a Reiki session which was very relaxing and recharging. Doug was his usual fun, laid-back self and watched the kids while Laith and I had our Reiki sessions. All in all, it was a great getaway and we look forward to returning to our next family reunions over Thanksgiving (VA) and Christmas (AZ)!