Summertime in the Country

It has been too long, but I’m finally posting more pictures from our trip to Tennessee.  Here are the others, most of which were taken in Tellico:

• Tennessee Recap, 2010

And some from my family’s home:  

The traditional Anderson shrimp boil, held this year at my grandparent’s old house:   Mammaw’s drapes      

As I look back over these pictures, I think its funny how a whole life is made up of seemingly unimportant details.  But aren’t the familiar things – even the ridiculously mundane things -- that we’ve known for our whole lives the foundation for seeing everything else in the world?  Don’t the familiar things make us who we are?  And while I love – absolutely love – going new places and seeing different sights – home is probably the most beautiful place to be, whether I am in Alabama or Tennessee.  I honestly don’t know if I would feel this way if I had lived in one place for my entire life.

Oh, and there are many, many more pictures!  Stay tuned!

Tennessee Recap 2010

Oh, Tennessee, how I have missed you.

How could I not?

Don’t get me wrong: I love Alabama.  I do.  After all, this is where Brent and I have lived our entire married life together. It’s beautiful here also and it is certainly not like Tuscaloosa is a major metropolitan area. I will be the first to admit that I love, and take full advantage of, living 10 minutes from work, 5 minutes from Target, and in the delivery zone for Pizza Hut & Dominos.  Priorities, right? But still, there is just something about the country and the mountains, the small town and the lack of distractions that I miss. It has been good for me to live away and become more independent but sometimes I see this and think: why did I ever want to leave so badly?

Friday and Saturday we had a great time in Tellico with the Freeman clan.  I honestly could not ask for better in-laws.  They truly feel just like my own family.

Highlights:

Oz – the best dog in the world, perhaps?  So sweet.

Bald River Falls:

View of the mountains from Buck Bald:

Tellico Beach Drive-In:  best hot dogs and milkshakes!!

We stopped at this little shop for some homemade blackberry & strawberry ice cream and got a little more than we bargained for with lots of scary gossip/legend about the area.

(Wish I could, but I can’t take credit for this one above.  That was all Brent!)

Towee Falls Baptist Church (Brent’s home church):

Freeman home, where Brent grew up. I LOVE how gorgeous the stone shows up in this picture.  It really is a beautiful house.

Woody: Taken with my sweet new Droid Incredible:

Just look at the color of the field in this one and the pattern where the hay has been mowed!  And the red barn over the hill (I’m obsessed with barns, apparently)!  And the blue mountains in the background. Love the old red barns.

By looking at my pictures from home this time, I have realized that there were some major overarching themes to the visit:

• barns
• dogs
• flowers
• fields

I also have realized that I’m going to have to break this recap up in to more than one part.  Too many pictures to post!