Family Visit 2011

The last week we flew back east.  As usual we wanted to make the most of our visit, so we packed all the family!  It was a whirlwind event spanning 4 cities in 3 states over the course of 7 days.  We are a little exhausted now, but it was totally worth it to see everyone.

 Saturday we flew in to Knoxville and drove our rental car to Marc & Sue's house, in Sevierville, Tennessee.

 We stayed up late talking with them and in the morning went to church with them.  We really enjoyed their church and could see why they like it so much.  After a nice visit with them in their beautiful new home, we headed up to Grandmother and Elton's in Kentucky. 

We went to eat at the Sirloin Stockade (as usual) and enjoyed one nice last visit with them in their Kentucky home.  Very soon they are moving to Florida to live across the street from Aunt Marcia.  Grandmother wasn't feeling well most of the time and was highly emotional, so she chose to stay home while Elton drove us out to Carol's grave site.  Jason had not been there in years and I had never been.  So it was nice to pay our respects. 

Afterward, Elton took us on a drive and ended up getting a bit lost.  Luckily we found our way back, but sadly didn't have much time left to spend with Grandmother that afternoon as a result.  We were on a very tight schedule. 

 We left west Kentucky and drove to east Tennessee to meet Joel, Ashley & Marc in Harrigate for some delicious Tennessee BBQ.  We hung out with Joel and Ashley that evening, staying at their apartment for the night. 

Wednesday morning found us headed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to visit my family.  My sister flew in that same day so we were all able to be together!  It was my father & sister's birthdays that week, so we celebrated by going out to eat both nights we were there and exchanging gifts.  It was so great to spend time with them. 

 

 Our last night was spent back in east Tennessee at Joel & Ashley's apartment.  We stayed up later than we should have, which made for a long sleepy day of travel today.  Tomorrow is September 11th, so the airports have a high security presence.

It was a wonderful trip, and so great to see all our family.  I just wish we had more time to relax and enjoy.  I am grateful that we have a day to rest before going back to work too!  Whew!