Mother's Day

We celebrated this Mother's Day with 76 trombones. My parents treated us with front-row seats to see "The Music Man" at UT's Clarence Brown Theatre. It was a delight to see this show with them and share the experience with the boys. Here are the happy moms with some musical men of our own...

Hike #7 (Dam Day)

When I heard that Norris Dam was spilling, I knew it was a "must-see" for our boys. Of course, it is also one of those experiences that the parents appreciate much more than the kids. Still, we made the short trip to Norris to see the sight of the dam releasing approx. 7,400 cubic feet per second into the Clinch River. Here is the view from the top of the dam looking down:

Here the guys stand on the opposite side of the dam overlooking beautiful Norris Lake:

From the bottom, you can see where we stood to take the first picture at the top of the dam looking down.

After visiting the dam, we ventured into the state park and discovered a very different dam, a shallow creek we could splash in, and a lovely trail to hike. In the end, Reed's water shoes proved too uncomfortable for hiking, and Dad generously gave him a lift back to the car.

Hike #6 (Birthday Bonus)

On Good Friday we headed to the Smokies with my parents for a double portion: hike #6 and a birthday picnic for Reed. We outdrove the rain which threatened our plans, and we enjoyed a beautiful day at Metcalf Bottoms.

Reed turns nine on Monday, April 25, so we celebrated in the woods with a picnic, some presents, and even cupcakes!

After our lunch, we made the 1.2-mile trek to the schoolhouse. Even BaBa took the hike with us while MiMi enjoyed some R&R beside the creek.

Hike #5

Our fifth hike took us back to the UT Artboretum near Oak Ridge. One of the wonderful benefits of taking these twelve hikes is watching Spring unfold. When we first visited the arboretum, the trees were bare. Today they burst with new life...especially the East Tennessee favorite - dogwoods! Hopefully our photographs bless you with a glimpse of Spring you haven't enjoyed this season.

Hike #4

When the rain came on Friday night, Tim and I were tent camping in Tellico Plains. We woke on Saturday eager to see how the waterfall we'd hiked to on Friday had swelled as a result. Below are pictures of what we found (visit Hike #3 post to recall what it looked like on Friday), as well as some lovely wildflowers we spied on our trek.

Hike #3

This past weekend the elders of our church, and their wives, enjoyed a retreat in Tellico Plains. The cabin we stayed at is situated on 90-acres of private property adjacent to the Cherokee National Forest, so we had plenty of room to roam. The above photograph shows an overhead look at the path of our hike. We journeyed along the creek route into the woods. The fourteen of us crossed this lovely pasture to enter the woods. From there, we followed the trail to a waterfall. It was a lovely hike, and we stopped at the falls for some picture taking. The next part of the hike was much more challenging...and STEEP. Here we ascend the trail (or what Tim, our guide, called a trail. I'm not so sure...). After our less-than-certain but very encouraging guide found the property marker, the whole group let out a collective sigh.

Hike #2

Today we took the short trip to nearby Melton Hill Lake for hike #2. This is one of our favorite spots because it is puppy friendly. Titan exhausted himself quickly in the Spring sunshine.