Whitewater Rafting

This was the most fun we've had in ages! I have to laugh because my mouth is wide open in every picture. But you have to realize that in April the water coming down from the mountains is FREEZING cold! The guide warned us that whoever sat in the front would get the wettest, but somebody had to sit there, right? So I'm either hollering at the frigid water splashing me, or screaming in anticipation of the next wave that's gonna get me, ha ha. I'm ready now for a class 4 river... once the water warms up!

Spring Break 2010

This year, we decided on the Cherokee, North Carolina area. Lon used to take the church youth group there, but neither Kip nor I had ever been. It was a long drive, over 9 hours, because of the detours due to rock slides on the major route we would have taken. So we ended up driving through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in Tennessee, very touristy towns. The mountains were beautiful, with awesome views around every curve. There was even snow still left on the ground in spots, though the temperature was around 70 degrees! Unfortunately, the Cherokee Indian production of "Unto These Hills" only plays from June through August, so we were disappointed to miss that. Of course we walked around the town and bought T-shirts and other souvenirs. We spent Saturday whitewater rafting, and I'll post those pictures separately. On Sunday, after a scenic tour along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we drove back through the mountains to Pigeon Forge and rode go-carts and had "old-timey" portraits taken. Monday was spent driving home, but thankfully it didn't take nearly as long as the drive down!

Killian's Haircut

One day, Kip asked me when he could get his hair cut, as he was getting tired of it. In shock, I said I could take him when I got home from work. So off we went, after a few "before" photos. Kip found a picture in a book at the barber shop, and the barber, Stephanie, did a great job in copying the style. I was sad to see all those curls cut off, a good six inches of hair hit the floor. But Kip loves it, and it really does look good. The next day, he reported that everyone at school had something positive to say about his new cutting edge (no pun intended) fashion statement!

Snowmageddon!

On Feb 2, 2010 we got the blizzard Lon had been predicting all winter! About 30" of snow fell in Gainesville. We were without electricity for 36 hours. Luckily, we were pretty well prepared, although next time we will try to have more firewood on hand, and more food that doesn't need to be cooked. Lon used the grill to heat up his coffee water, and to cook our meals until the power came back on. It was so beautiful with everything blanketed in white. Poor Blizzard had a very hard time getting around in snow deeper than his legs are long, so Kip finally made a path for him through the back yard to his pooping place... It took us two days to shovel the driveway wide enough for my car to fit through, and by then I was really ready to get out to the rest of the world! If it doesn't snow ever again, it will be too soon for me...