waterfall-aholic

Sometimes I look around and think we're living in a rainforest. Northeast Tennessee could not be more opposite from where I grew up in New Mexico. Brad and I have found a new addiction...waterfalls. You see one, and you just want more....bigger and better. Dallas's first hike in TN was on a "most difficult" trail and he LOVED it. Poor Brad had the job of trying to keep our water obsessed dog on a leash.

FYI - I just love to watch Dateline specials or other real life murder mystery shows on TV and scare the heck out of myself for weeks. When we first moved to TN I watched a Dateline special about a murderer on the Appalachian Trail, therefore about one-third of this hike was spent either praying that the hiker I could see in the distance wasn't going to kill us or practicing how I would use the hiking stick as a weapon. Anywho...Enjoy!

WHAT!?!

Before life in Tennessee, we ate Mexican food A LOT. One of my favorite things in life is a big ol' bowl of salsa, a margarita, and a cool evening on a patio with friends. Brad and I were needing a Mexican food and margarita fix this weekend and we got a little more than we bargained for. We went to order our margaritas and the waiter asked us what size we wanted. I never knew there was such an option, so I ordered regular and in true Brad style he ordered the "monster" size. And that's exactly what he got. A novelty margarita glass filled to the top.

On a side note, after a fun evening of fish bowl sized margaritas, we discovered that there is something very very wrong with me. I can cross one eye....and yes, we'll stick with regular size margaritas from now on.

Hangin' with the Vanderbilts

YES! I'm finally posting the rest of our weekend with the Hattons. We drove over to Asheville, NC for Mother's Day and spent the day walking 50 miles around the Biltmore estate. It was truly amazing and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day. I keep begging for visitors, so WHEN (not if) you visit and you so choose to visit the Biltmore.....I could have a broken/hurt leg that may prevent me from touring this place over and over again. I'll just loiter around the gardens sniffing the flowers instead.

The Hatton parents

Making googly eyes at each other

We have no idea how to act in public.

A statue of our doggie Dallas?

I sure can ruin a great picture. We had lunch in a stable, really.

Brad was the best tour guide all weekend...even if he does get highly annoyed when we ask to take a picture of every river or creek we crossed.

The trip wouldn't be complete without Yvonne and I conquering a puzzle that made us want to pull our hair out...or vow to never purchase a puzzle that contained that much sky.

Woodland Paradise

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from day 2 of our adventure with Brad's parents. I am still amazed that all of THIS is practically in our backyard. As I'm typing this, I am waiting for Bradley boy to get his butt out of bed so we can go on a hike with Dallas this time. I can't wait! Hiking is great because it just requires you to be able to stroll around and appreciate all the flowers, bugs, animals and the occasional gorgeous waterfall.

We saw a lot of deer and turkey that day. Turkey...so delicious.

One of the many waterfalls we came across that day.

Hooray for family visiting!!!

Have I mentioned how much we love having visitors? Brad's folks came to visit last weekend and we had so much fun. We spent one day driving around the Smoky Mountains and we went to the Biltmore Mansion for Mother's Day. And oh the food! If you like comfort food then Tennessee is the place to be. I have so many pretty pictures that I'll start with the beginning of the weekend and our trip to the mountains....which is practically right down the road....you really should come see for yourself....hint hint....

On Friday night we ate at the Olde Farmhouse. This house was built in the early 1800s and had so much character, like the hoof prints on the foyer floor or the rumor that the place is haunted. I'm not one to really believe in haunted houses, so of course I wasn't scared that the closet door opened on its own right behind us. And I did not scream in the restaurant when Brad suddenly scared me. No way.

Notice the creepy blue door right behind us.

What's left of the fried green tomatoes...yum yum yum

Ode to Our Mommas

Better late than never! Happy belated blog-post Mother's Day! We love ya Moms!