A Few Of My Favorite Things

In the movie "The Sound of Music", Julie Andrews sings a song called A Few Of My Favorite Things.





Here are a few of my favorite things -

• A date night with Jason



• Doing something new with the boys like going to the zoo last weekend



• Watching the boys play ball (games not so much the practices....)



• A cook out with friends



• A Saturday with no plans



• Time to read a book



• Holidays with the family



• University of Tennessee football



• Girls Nights (or just lunch!)



• A new friend request on FaceBook



• Time just to browse at a bookstore



• Going for a new hair cut and color



• A family members birthday (or my own!)



• Hearing from an old friend



• Getting something in the mail that isn't junk or a bill



• Having a pedicure



• Sitting on the beach and listening to the waves



• Finding a good deal or something on sale



• Auctions



• A great worship song



• Sleeping in late



• Singing Christmas carols



• Holding a newborn baby


• Getting a great picture (so hard to do with very active boys!)

Well....I said it was just a few of my favorite things....

The Girls

Each week I go to lunch with three of my friends. They are affectionately known as "the girls". These are friends that I have had for several years now. It's actually kind of funny how we all became friends.



My friend Lora and I went to school together. She was a couple of years ahead of me though and when she graduated she went off to college. We didn't keep in close contact although we did attend each other's weddings, see each other occasionally and keep up with each other through other friends. However when I came to work at Averitt, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Lora had come to work at Averitt just a few short months before I did.



At this point in the story, my next friend enters - Chasity. Chasity was in my training class when I began working at Averitt. I remember her from Orientation Day. She already seemed to know so many people and if she didn't know them then it wasn't long before she would. One of the friendliest people I have ever met. And she is the first person to introduce me to Salads and More as well as City Square Cafe in Cookeville. When our time in training was complete, we were actually separated to other teams. I would occasionally see her in the breakroom, going to/from work, or via email. But that was about all.



At this point in the story, my next friend enters - April. When I came out of training, April was my neighbor. Working in a call center, there is no way to get trained on all the possible calls you might receive. There were many times that I put a customer on hold to pop out of my chair and ask April a question. April had been working at Averitt just a few months herself but she was very kind and helpful. After about nine months, I was transferred to another group in the customer service department. It wasn't but a couple of months later that we had an opening in our group. The leader was asking if we knew someone in customer service who would be a good addition to our team. My first thought was April so I made the suggestion. And in a couple of weeks April was a member of our team. We've worked together now for nine years.



About seven years ago our team was integrated into another department. This was towards the end of my pregnancy with Jonah. I went on maternity leave in September and returned in December. When I returned, there had been two people leave our department. And you can guess who filled their places - yes, Lora and Chasity. For the next few years all four of us worked together. We made it a weekly habit of going to lunch each Tuesday at City Square Cafe until it closed. A short time later, Lora's husband Jody who was in the National Guard was called up to serve in the war in Iraq. During this time she left Averitt and was working part-time at a store as well as giving private piano lessons. She was also very involved in the family group for the National Guard that her husband was deployed with. However we continued with our weekly lunch dates.



Then about two years ago my friend Chasity left Averitt to pursue a new opportunity in the world of insurance. However, the weekly lunch dates continued. And to supplement the lunch dates we instituted a girls night. Our birthdays are almost exactly and very conveniently three months apart. So every three months we enjoy a girls night to honor a friend's birthday. We've been on boat rides on the lake, four wheeler rides in the woods, a lovely dinner and a movie in Knoxville, walked around downtown Nashville.



We've also enjoyed some girl weekends. Our first trip was obviously very exciting - New York City. Wow....what a way to start. We enjoyed Times Square, the Today show, the Lion King on Broadway, food, laughter and tons of memories. We also took a weekend trip to the Smoky Mountains last year. We visited Dollywood, ate, talked, laughed, and made lots more memories.

Our friendships have seen births and deaths, laughter and tears, highs and lows, wins and losses, fear and hope. The most important thing is that we have had friends to share it with.

Home and the Zoo

Well we all survived the week that the boys were gone to Kentucky visiting their Uncle Brian and Aunt Ashley. The boys had a wonderful time. They went to an outdoor park and an indoor playground/arcade. They went swimming. They played games. They went to church and got lots of attention which of course they needed because they are absolutely starved for attention.

To cap off such a big week, we decided to meet up at the zoo in Knoxville. I drove up to the zoo and met the boys, Brian & Ashley, and Ashley's parents, Kevin & Pam. It was absolutely gorgeous weather - not too hot, not humid and fairly cloudy skies. This equals enjoyable time for the people and more active animals than would normally be seen during a typical July day in Tennessee. It wasn't too crowded either. We started off with the black bear and then to a red Panda. We then went off to see some river animals as well as the amphibians and reptiles. There were a variety of turtles. We saw a mama turtle and little baby turtle walking beside her.And then to the reptiles which I have no desire to see. What I am curious about is the fact that there seemed to be every type of snake that exists on the planet at the zoo but only two types of bears? Why? I don't know because I couldn't find anyone to ask.

We then made our way to Kids Cove. There was a barn to walk through with mice and an owl naturally. Then we went through the petting area and brushed some goats and sheep. One goat attempted to eat Ashley's camera bag but we made it out safely. We did get to see one goat poop but the staff managed to clean it up quickly before there was any type of incident. There was a play area with climbing and slides. The boys spent some time there but then we headed out to see the raccoons, beavers, rabbits, and skunks. Unfortunately the skunks were not in their exhibit but we were still able to smell some of their scent that they left behind.

There was also a play area with lily pads and water but we didn't stop there. Riley would have spent the rest of the day there but we had to move on to look at the turkey. And we wanted to make sure we made it to the chimp area before 2:00 so that we could see the baby chimp, George, at his birthday party. He turned one on Saturday and there was a special celebration.

Before we made it to the chimp area though, we stopped to see the birds of Central America. They were so amazing. For there to be so many kinds of birds they were each so different. Then we saw a prairie dog. He popped his head up and stayed up looking around for a long time. There was a small area where the kids could run in and pop their heads up like a prairie dog. We walked through the butterfly garden to look at....butterflies and the beautiful flowers.

The elephants, zebras, and giraffes were next. We spent a long time at the elephants. They are such an amazing creature. We also benefited from seeing an elephant poop. Probably there is a better way to phrase it but after you've had two kids and more specifically boys, this seems like the best way to phrase it. One elephant was apparently in some type of trance because he seemed to dance the whole time. And when I mean the whole time, I mean the whole time. Even when we came back from looking at the monkeys, lions, and the bird show....the elephant was still dancing.

The zebras were in the shade the first time we walked through. Except for one zebra who was partially laying down but had his head up. Brian (brother) gave a narration to the crowd as the zebra laid his head down. It was pretty funny and of course Brian drew an audience to himself. He's been doing that since he was a toddler. In between the giraffes and monkeys, we stopped for lunch. Apparently this was the same time that everyone else decided to stop for lunch too. It wasn't too bad of a wait though. Ashley and the boys found a table for us and rested. The boys called Jason to give dad the up to date information about the zoo.

The monkeys were amazing. Again, several different species of monkeys but only two bears. One of the gorillas was eating a piece of fruit and stopped to look at us through the glass several times. Gorillas have such huge heads and hands. I'm glad there was a thick piece of glass between us. Next and finally, we made it to the chimpanzees. We saw baby George who was just waking up from a nap. He was rubbing his eyes...so sweet. And there were bags laying everywhere from the time that he opened his presents. He walked around and then found mom to cuddle. There were some more chimps in an open area. One came down to the glass and was eating lemons and limes. Jonah and Riley got right up next to the glass and were literally head to head with the chimp. The chimp would spit out the seeds from the lemon and when he did that he would stick out his tongue. And Jonah would stick out his tongue back.

Ashley's favorite part were the lions. The cheetahs were resting in the shade but were very visible. The lioness' were all laying down as well but you could see the lion on the other side of the cage. The tiger however was up and moving around. Although he didn't roar you could hear him making noises. They all were truly amazing.

We walked back through and many of the animals had moved around so we got another good look at them, except for the dancing elephant. He was in the same spot still dancing. The giraffes had come up closer probably because someone had stuck some branches out there for them to eat. The boys stopped for ice cream to help them cool off. We watched part of a bird show as well. They had a bird called Einstein and although I can't remember what kind of bird it was, he was amazing. I can not believe all the words they taught and various sounds they taught him. And the fact that the bird could remember the cues for those words and sounds.

The main highlight of Riley's day was at the end of the day when the two of us rode the camel. Yes, we rode a camel. And prior to us getting on the camel, the baby camel who was in the open area pooped and peed. Riley said that camels just don't know any better to "go and find some privacy". And he's exactly right. We got on this camel and my first thought, It is going to hurt if we fall off. Of course after we started moving, I was trying to figure out why people would ever willingly choose camels as their source of transportation for any length of distance. But I guess if the choice is between your two feet and their four feet, then you'd probably choose theirs too. However when you did start walking on your two feet again, there would definitely be some stiffness and bowing of the legs.

And the boys were asleep before we left Knoxville.....

A Week Without Kids

So....I haven't blogged lately....not because there is nothing going on. Perhaps it is just the opposite. There is too much going on. We're in the process of selling our house and have inspections, people working at the house, looking for a new house or the possibility of building a house. Then there is the daily life stuff including work each day, keeping up with a home and family, church work which includes teaching Sunday School, planning for Vacation Bible School and welcoming a new pastor. However, this blog isn't meant to be about how busy my life is.

Over the 4th of July holiday, the boys went and spent a weekend with my parents. My parents have just recently moved from Sparta (our hometown) to a small town just outside of Chattanooga TN. Granted, it's only about an hour drive however as we get used to them not living within five minutes from my house, it seems like they are an entire continent away. Thus the need for the boys and for the grandparents to have a weekend together. They had the best time, behaved well for the grandparents and came back behaving well. While they were visiting Nanny & Pa, they were treated to Chuck E. Cheese and ice cream, swimming with some of their second and third cousins and a cook out, fireworks over the lake and time being the center of Nanny & Pa's attention. Absolutely perfect, huh?

Yesterday I packed the boys up again and drove them to Kentucky where they are going to spend an entire week with my brother Brian and his wife Ashley. The boys have been looking forward to this for months. We've been talking about it since Christmas and had them in the understanding that they would go stay after "school was out". Naturally, the first week that school was out the boys insisted on going to Kentucky. My sister-in-law is in her last year of school at the University of Kentucky and has some classes that she has to take over the summer in order to graduate in December. Thus we explained to the boys that they would go visit in July after the holiday. And here we are....the boys have counted down all week. They are now at the point that they are asking if they are leaving first thing in the morning (breakfast time) or in the afternoon (lunch time).

This got me to thinking about the trips I made when I was younger visiting my family. I loved trips to stay with Mema and Papa. It was even better when there were some of the other cousins around to play with too. I think of the times that Mema would set up a play kitchen for us and we'd pretend to cook and serve her and each other. I remember when Papa first got a computer and we went to his house and he had the coolest game of "Wheel of Fortune". And he let us play it! I remember the time when Mema taught us some of the "dances" from when she was a teenager. I will never hear the song about the Bugle Boy without thinking of her. It was at my grandparents house sitting in the rocking chair with Mema that I learned to blow a bubble with my bubble gum. And no one could make a peanut butter and honey sandwich like she could.

Many times we spent a few days or a week at our aunt's house. My mom has four sisters and we've alternately stayed with each of them at various times. I remember spending a week with my aunt out in Houston TX and visiting a zoo as well as a the biggest mall I'd ever seen at the time. I remember playing in the living room with Lego's. We left them in the floor of the living room the entire week. And I remember staying with my aunt in Cleveland TN and playing outside by the creek with my cousins. We pretended all kinds of games and scenarios and played in the water. I remember my aunt taking all of us camping, having car trouble and spending hours on the side of the road. Even that is fun when you are with your family. Then there was the times of dressing up and dancing in my cousins room. We were so cool. And I remember the Thanksgiving holidays we spent with my aunt in Lexington TN. The first time I remember making a mud pie was at their house. We had mud all over us and it was the most fun ever! And I remember times staying with my aunt in Chattanooga TN and going out on their boat. It was the first time I'd been tubing and since I was the oldest kid, my uncle went a little faster when I was on the tube. And it was also the first time anyone got thrown off the tube. And the time that we went with them on vacation to Florida. It was so much fun....enjoying the beach and playing in the pool. My uncle got sun burnt the first or second day we were there. I will never forget it.

And these are just a very few of the memories I have of the times I've visited with family. I'm thankful that my children are able to have these same opportunities with their grandparents and family. I hope they make the kind of memories that you never forget.