New Year's in Tennessee

Vacation seems to snowball me into that state of puttin' things off (procrastination!). We've been plenty busy, even during our vacation, but since this blog is for keeping in touch with family and friends, a few posts here and there is good enough. Vacation has ended, and I am doing an average job of staying on task and on schedule.

We hope you all had a great Christmas and healthy start to 2009. Our New Year began better than 2008 ended. The day after Christmas, Caleb was hit by a stomach virus. The next day Jeff had similar symptoms - only bigger and better! It was very unpleasant for him, and he was down for the count for several days after. Finally, Lucas was hit the day after dad. We assumed that it would eventually hit the last 2 victims (Isaac and mom), but thankfully, somehow, we escaped it this time around. That was lucky for us, as we were preparing to leave for our annual New Year's Eve vacation at my sister's in TN.

Since the boys were slowly but surely showing signs of recovery, we decide the that we'd travel as planned. On Wed, Dec. 30th, we donned travel barf bags and cautiously but happily piled into the van to set off for the great state of Tennessee. The weather in St. Louis, through Illinois and Kentucky, and into Tennessee was mild, clear and balmy, so the drive was pleasant. Since we left after lunchtime, the last 2 hours of our 5 1/2 hour trip provided a beautiful, star-filled midnight blue sky. At last we pulled into our final destination, and we were giddy with the excitement of a relaxing and fun vacation.

We enjoy our vacations in TN for many reasons. Tennessee's winters are not near as cold as most St. Louis winters, which means the kids can burn off any "cabin fever" by playing outside most days. Three spunky dogs (Buddy the Golden Retriever, Rex the Terrier, and Trixie the mutt) provide plenty of adventure. Caleb, Lucas, and Isaac love having wrestling matches with their older cousin Stephen on the huge trampoline. The yard is about an acre, so there's plenty of room for all 9 of us to play touch football and kickball. Alex, the oldest cousin, makes lots of time to visit and play with everyone when she isn't texting her friends or reading some sophisticated literature. :)

Of course, part of any good vacation is the food. You won't find any St. Louis style pizza in Tennessee, so we take along a special pizza care package per my sister's request. "Uncle Kelly" makes an awesome spinach artichoke dip, and "Aunt Shannon" always saves us plenty of Christmas cookies and raspberry tarts, which she and Alex can whip out in no time! Shannon also keeps a pitcher of Christmas punch ready in the fridge. We also enjoy bonfires and toasting marshmallows in the evening.

This vacation is a great way for our family to start each new year. It's all about playing, eating, and visiting family we love. It's a content feeling to get so much enjoyment from simply visiting your out of town family. We look forward to many more visits to come!

Happy 2009 to everyone! We pray it is blessed year for all!