Knoxville Times

I've been somewhat MIA on the blog parts of the world due to our jaunt to the South for almost 3 weeks. I'm not going to lie; I didn't mind one bit being below the Mason-Dixon line. We headed to TN to visit Jeremy's family and SC to see mine with a little visit to NC in between. To say I was tired would be an understatement, but my love for the south remained quite strong.

Outdoor concert in downtown Knoxville.

Here I was pretty pleased this concert wasn't crowded out and my belly

was full of some of the best grits I've ever tasted.

All of the Stache family doing the concert thing, except we missed Koral!

We also took a trip over to Dollywood. Listen, I've been to Dollywood before, but I don't

remember a thing about it. That previous trip was at the height of adolescence, and I didn't want a thing to do with my parents. Loved them like crazy, but it was the worse sort of teenage probs of being seen with mom and dad.  Thus, I needed a redemptive trip.

Ferris Wheel. It always look like a good time, and then I have that semi-panic moment every time it stops to allow a new person on the ride. 

Jeremy and Karly decided to ride this eagle type roller coaster. I decided to sit the sidelines on this one and glad I did.

While in TN, we celebrated Jeremy's birthday with his family as well as Father's Day with the Stache family. At some point Sunday afternoon, Jeremy pulled out his letterman jacket. I was star-struck. I always wanted to be Kelly Kapowski and wear my fella's jacket. Who cares if it was 15 years later?

Tennessee converted.

Here's the deal. Jeremy and I walked with his parents in the mall every night for extra exercise. I'd see this jump thing and always wanted to jump. I was a little afraid to be the adult jumping in the middle of the mall. I got over that real quick when I realized I would never see these folks again! I had 3 minutes of jumping fun! It was awesome!

Our time in TN ended too shortly, but we had a great time visiting with Jeremy's family. We were definitely reminded of the South's stifling temperatures, fantastic food, and the goodness of family time!