So when are you coming?

It's hot and sticky outside, but I have no complaints.  I still absolutely love it here in East Tennessee.  To report on the natural phenomenon I mentioned in my last post, the firefly show was absolutely awesome.  To get to the show we had to drive through Pigeon Forge which is more amusement park than a real city.  There are independent roller coasters, go cart tracks, and laser tag arenas on every street corner and a million pancake houses and random water slides all over.  Why, you might wonder, is this little town turned family version Las Vegas?  Because it's home to Dollywood!  That's right Mrs. Parton has created an all around family fun adventure just 45 minutes from my house and people come by the thousands to enjoy it.  It took us an hour to go about 15 miles because of the traffic to Dollywood.

 When we finally reached the visitor center where we were supposed to pick up a trolley to see the little critters, Jameson and I realized we were totally unprepared.  There was a massive crowd waiting in lines 100's of feet long armed with camping chairs, flashlights, and bug spray.  But it was worth the 2 hour wait and hunger pains we endured as we entered what seemed like a ride at Disney land.  We found a fallen tree in the woods to sit on and waited for dark when suddenly small blue lights (girl fireflies) started floating toward us.  Then just as suddenly a million little white lights (boy fireflies) started flashing in the bushes like mini paparazzi trying to get a perfect shot.  Their lights burst all at the same time and then stopped in unison.  It was completely dark for a few seconds and then they started all over again.  It was totally surreal and I'm so glad we got to see it.

I just returned to Tennessee last week after I flew to Utah, packed up all my stuff into a 26 foot Penske truck, and drove for 3 days with my dad.  Despite being terrified of each other's driving skills, my dad and I had a great time.  He's the best.

For the 4th of July Jameson and I drove down to Chattanooga where we met up with his family. We had a blast.  Every time we hang out in a new city down here, we fall in love with it.  Downtown Chattanooga was awesome.  It had a friendly family feel with cool old buildings and super clean streets.  We ate at really cool restaurants, had fabulous home made ice cream and we hiked into a mountain and saw the country's tallest underground waterfall.  Next time we're going to check out Rock City which as you can guess has lots of rocks formations which will satisfy the geology geek inside me.

Knoxville is another great town although we're so in love with a specific area of town called Market Square, we haven't ventured far from it to experience the rest of the city.  Market Square has a really cool urban indie vibe with lots of organic restaurants and home grown shops.  And though Jameson or I are neither urban nor indie, we love to eat their hippie food and shop their hippie shops.  There's a general store there where you can buy old school candy by the pound and every time we go Jameson and I stock up on about 5 lbs of candy to last till the next time.  And there's another little place where you can sit out on the street and eat home made crepes with bananas and nutella or with berries and fresh creme.  I'm telling you folks, Tennessee rocks and you really need to come and see us.  Just wait till I get our condo put together and then come and play with us.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July and that you took a moment to realize what a great country we live in.  Let's all do our best to keep it that way and pay attention to whom we're voting for this November and especially next time the presidential office is up for grabs.

Here we are looking out from Lookout Mountain.  That's my 4th of July cardigan. 

 I've worn it 3 years in a row. 

Ruby Falls, very cool

I made these little headbands for my nieces. 

 Yay for me, I make stuff. 

My sister's dog, Chewy.  It's not normal how much I love this dog.  

If she wasn't my sister, I would steal him.