Rifles and Roses

Thank you for all your prayers

2010-05-06T09:35:00.004-05:00

To all of our friends that I haven't gotten back in touch with the last week, here is a brief summary of what has been going on.

Friday Mom and 2 friends from the D.C. area came into town. We were looking forward to a fun filled Derby weekend.
Friday Night the rains started
Saturday morning, Mom, Sally, Sally E and I all headed out to Louisville in the pouring rain. Kris was called into work and worked 16 hours on Saturday.
We had a great time at the Derby, the experience was eye-opening, appalling at times, wet, exciting, overall long day. There are many stories that maybe I will get around to at some point.
Sunday the rains continued to fall. We headed home from Louisville in the pouring rain again, Kris went back into work at 8am.
Somewhere between 9 and 9:30 the water started filling up at the center he works at. The guys that were working that day were eventually stuck on the roof watching all the trucks drown on the 13+ feet of water. In all about 80 vehicles were lost at West Center. They guys were rescued from the roof several hours later by police boat.
The rains finally stopped Sunday evening. Kris was home safely, Sally & Sally E's flights were cancelled and got to spend another night with us, and Kris's sister Pam arrived safely in Nashville from Portland. The rivers continued to rise Sunday night and more flooding hit downtown Nashville and other lower areas from the swelling rivers. It was confirmed that a tornado had touched down in the Rivergate area about 5 miles from us, which caused alot of damages to homes, business trees and power lines in a 5 mile stretch.
It has been a very busy, stressful week so far. We are very thankful and grateful that the only thing lost is our truck and Kris work equipment, all very much replaceable. The clean up continues as the rivers slowly start to recede. It will be a long process for Nashville. Mom and Pam are still here visiting with us. We are hoping we will be able to have some fun still this weekend. Kris has been working 12 hour days and we are hoping he will have this weekend off.

Samaritan's Purse Responds to Historic Floods in Nashville

2010-05-06T09:27:00.004-05:00

Much of Nashville is under water, thousands of people in Tennessee have been driven from their homes, and nearly 20 people have died in some of the worst flooding in memory.
Our first Disaster Relief Unit arrived in Nashville last night, and we are coordinating a response with local church partners. Volunteers are being mobilized from across the country. More emergency relief equipment is on the way.
Our crews specialize in cleaning out mud-soaked houses so that they can be repaired. As we work, we help families cope with their losses and offer them hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Just a few days ago, I was in Nashville for the Dove Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House, which is now flooded. It is hard to imagine the scope of the destruction.
The people of Nashville need our prayers. So do victims of recent tornadoes in Mississippi and floods in Rhode Island, where Samaritan's Purse also has deployed Disaster Relief Units. Thank you for lifting them up and helping to meet their needs in the Name of Jesus. May God bless you.
Sincerely,

Franklin Graham
President, Samaritan's Purse

WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Pray for people who have been affected by the flood.
Volunteer to help flood victims in Tennessee. Church teams are especially welcome.
Give to support our U.S. Disaster Relief ministry. It costs us about $22 per day to provide a volunteer with meals, camp lodging, and other services.

2010-01-25T14:41:00.004-06:00

Once upon a time, in a magical land called grandma's house...Lived a very cute and cuddly bear,...that had a wild side! Her ferocious teeth said it all! Only an old, wise bear would be missing so many teeth. One day an unfortunate hunter crossed her path. The skilled hunter did his best to fend her off with his bare hands. Only when he realized he would not be able to defeat the powerful bear, he radioed for help.

His hunting partner quickly trapped the bear.

Eventually, the cute, cuddly, old bear surrendered on the floor of Papa's shop.

Goetsch wins both High Power Silhouette Championships

2009-08-10T12:28:00.004-05:00

Goetsch wins both High Power Silhouete Championships

High Power Silhouette Championships down to final match

Many more reports from Nationals can be found on the NRA Blog. I will fill in more details later, as well as all the shenanigans my mother was up to last week.

NPR

2009-05-18T10:32:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty sure that anyone who actually checks this page loves me. That is the only reason I am sharing this link. I received an email this morning from a customer that heard me on NPR, and said I did a very good job. My reply to him was "um...what did I say?" You can hear it for your self here.

Need some sunshine?

2009-03-12T11:41:00.005-05:00

Sitting here in rainy, dreary Germany is making me long for the sunshine, warm sand, and the sound of the ocean. Hopefully this will spread some warmth to all of us!

At the Mayan ruins of Coba with Mom and Dad.

Kris and I climbed the pyramid. It is the second tallest pyramid in the Latin America, the tallest being the Jaguar temple in Guatemala. I'm sure that pyramid has a better name, but you get the jest of it. This is only about 1/3 of the way up to the top and I already needed a rest.

We made it to the top! Now the hard part....going down. If I had known I wouldn't have been able to walk without pain for the next 3 days, I might not have climbed it. But there was an amazing view of the surrounding jungle from the top.

This is the view from our room. I couldn't get enough of it. Luckily the bugs weren't too bad this time of year because we kept our balcony door open the whole time.

We went to Xel Ha one day, which is a natural water park place. There was everything from tubing down the river threw the mangle (those pictures are still on underwater camera) to snorkeling, and dolphin encounters which was really fun to watch. Kris found some great cliffs to dive and flip off of. Mom went boogie boarding for her 62nd birthday. Yes I did just say that number out loud. That's Dad in the background. He needs more practice at this.
Back to reality. We arrived home late at night right as it started to snow and woke up to this! Well I guess the vacation is over! The only thing better is if we were completely snowed in for 2 more days to rest after a great trip.

74 days later

2009-03-07T17:36:00.003-06:00

I have a new friend of a friend over right now that told me the most amazing thing. She reads my blog! (when there is actually something to read). So we all know how the holidays get to us, and January and February are always so busy in my industry with trade and sales shows. And of course February is filled with umpteen dozen family & friend birthdays. So here I am again, 74 days later.

For those of you that try to keep up with me, I have been to Salt Lake City, Orlando, Louisville, Park City, KY and Cancun in the last 2 months and am packing up for another business trip soon. I have turned 29 (or how my friend Ashley put it, had my first 29th birthday), started scrapbooking again, and finally managed to surprise Kris with a gift. I can never surprise him, but I finally got him this time.

Kris has a unicorn: a FN PS90 which in my opinion is a ridiculous gun, but Kris has always been in love with it. You can see it here and decide for yourself. Numerous times he has saved up enough money to buy it, but then would decide he wanted something else...like his motorcycle, or a varmint hunt, or an Audi. Finally, I was able to track down a green one, which of course is much cooler looking than the black one. I bought it the day before my birthday and hid it at Aaron & Ashley's.

The next day we stopped by Aaron & Ashley's to pick them up for my birthday extravaganza, and they had 2 presents wrapped for me. The first one were some really awesome Franco Sarto boots. Love them. Kris looked at the second gift and said "Aaron if I didn't know any better, I'd say you bought my wife a gun." I opened up the gift and there was the FN PS90 box. Aaron, Ashley and I were all staring at Kris and he was just staring at the box. I have never seen him so stunned, speechless, awestruck...he couldn't figure out what was going on. I finally said to him, "well are you going to open it?"

"But it's your birthday" he said.

"I bought it for you though."

"But I'm confused!"

He finally opened the box and was so excited to finally have his unicorn. After he could finally speak, he said his first thought was Aaron had found the graphic design of the box and created a box to look like it. Then he thought somehow I had gotten an empty box from a friends gun shop just to mess with him. Until I told him to open the box, he didn't actually believe it was a real gun. He was just like a little kid with his favorite toy.

Happy Little Christmas Eve

2008-12-23T08:09:00.001-06:00

My grandparents always celebrated Little Christmas Eve. It was the day they would celebrate Christmas with their friends and neighbors, on December 23rd. Many of my cherished Christmas memories and traditions are ones that started or took place at my grandparent’s farm. Christmas Eve was the day for the Peter family to celebrate together, and every Christmas Eve at the farm was almost the same to the one before, even down to the menu. To this day I take so much comfort in just with the idea of clam chowder and fondue, and our traditional appetizers of ham dip, rumaki and other treats. The desert was a very important part of our Christmas Eve menu too, Jesus’ birthday cake.

I remember decorating Jesus’ birthday cake back to when I was almost too young to help. My mom and I would stand out in the mud room of the farm house where it was always freezing and decorate the cake together. My cousin Beth would help when she got a little older, and the younger cousins all had their chance as well. Now the birthday cake is a ice cream cake from Baskin and Robins, but still just as special. The celebration of Jesus’ birthday was always the central part of our Christmas Eve at the farm.

Jesus’ birthday party has been growing more and more popular. Many think it is silly and not the way to celebration Christmas, but I believe it is a way that we can celebrate something so wonderful in a way that everyone understands. For those that don’t understand the true meaning of Christmas, they can recognize a birthday party, the birth of Christ, and through a simple birthday party can show the greater meaning of Christmas, and what Jesus would grow up and do for us all.

None of us could really remember when we started the tradition of Jesus’ birthday cake. My aunt made a discovery though the other day when she found a hand written note of my grandmothers in one of her Bibles, that said every Christmas Eve they would celebrate Jesus’ birthday with the five of them sitting at the table around Jesus’ birthday cake. She wrote that on the cake would be a candle for every year they had been a family. What was a cherished childhood memory for me has now become even a greater tradition, something my family started 50 or 60 years ago.

Merry Christmas

Firearms Industry Launces Blog to Address Inaccuracies Surrounding Firearms

2008-11-26T08:20:00.003-06:00

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) -- the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry -- has launched a blog aimed at hunting down and correcting inaccuracies about firearms and the firearms industry. The blog, titled "Aiming for Accuracy," is updated regularly with news, links and other helpful resources designed to promote accurate communications about firearms issues in the media, among bloggers and with all firearms enthusiasts.

There is some excellent information available there on the differences between fully automatic and semi-automatic firearms that displaces many of the myths of "assault weapons," which is one of the most common questions Kris and I get from friends. If you are interested in learning more, go here for a short video and here.

Next Season of Dancing with the Stars

2008-10-30T10:11:00.002-05:00

What I did with my summer vacation...

2008-10-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

Funny thing about digital cameras...they hide all of these memories until months later and you think to yourself "where did I take these pictures?" I had several of those today, and I realized I never shared anything with you from my insane 2 week road trip with my mom. So here is a quick tour, and it won't put 4,000 miles on your car.

Pennsylvania

Our 2008 Woman's team. We won both National Team Championships and set 2 new national records as well. Reann from Montana, Cathy from Missouri, and Me. Reann's the only one that hasn't moved away from home yet.Paul with Mom sporting her new head wear we found on the 4th of July. And yes, she usually does go to bars dressed like this.

Another specialty head ware piece. She had been saving this one for quite a while. With her are our friends Dennis aka Strong Bow, and Matt.

From Pennsylvania, in a very full car, we drove back to Nashville, unloaded, and continued on our way to Brunswick, Georgia.

Nick and Shannon on the beach on St. Simmons Island. This is where my brother spent most of the summer and learned why we are always complaining about humidity. Definitely the highlight of the summer getting to be with Nick for his graduation into US Customs. During the ceremony, you can have whoever you like affix your badge. My nephew loves that his daddy has a badge and gets to carry handcuffs now.

P.S. If you are still with me, the really sad part about this is I started this post a month ago.

Gas Shortage

2008-09-19T19:22:00.003-05:00

A week ago Nashville apparently had a surplus of gasoline. With the approaching hurricane Ike, Nashville gas shipments were routed to the gulf coast area. Since then gas prices have sky rocketed, and gas stationssupplies have been spotty. Late Thursday it started to happen. Gas stations all over the city started to look like this.

Luckily close to my work the gas stations still had gas today. One gas station near our house received a delivery today, but the supply only lasted about one hour. Kris was home early and rushed down there to fill up his truck. He had resorted to riding his motorcycle since the truck was running so low. He said it was pretty wild, he waited for a long time in line to get gas and then took about 20 minutes to fill the tank because the tanks were operating so slow. Once he was ready to leave the truck was blocked in; while waiting to be able to pull out he was chatting with some other lucky ones getting gas about what would happen if they ran out of gas again. Not two seconds later the pumps started to click and shut off. Kris was the second to last person lucky enough to fill their tanks there today.

After I got home today we went and did all the necessary errands (which included Kris having to get a new SIM card for his phone, not a happy story), got groceries, and are prepared to spend the rest of the weekend at home conserving the gas we were lucky enough to get.

Five Things

2008-09-17T20:35:00.002-05:00

A) Five places that I go to over and over: Target, Starbucks, Aaron & Ashley's, Walmart Neighborhood Market (my grocery store, not a regular Walmart), Murfreesboro...

B) Five people who e-mail me (regularly) : Ashley, Leslie, Amy, my Dad, Aaron

C) Five favorite places to eat: Cinco De Mayo, Outback, Richard's Cajun Cafe, Pappa Deaux's, Burgerville

D) Five places I'd rather be right now: Vancouver, Alaska, South Africa, South of France, Australia

E) Five TV shows I watch all the time: Project Runway, Friends, Sex and the City, Design to Sell, Planet Earth

Lipstick

2008-09-08T14:36:00.003-05:00

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-07T10:15:00.003-05:00

Kris and I spent 3 whole glorious days in Vancouver for Labor Day weekend. The only bad things about the weekend was the cold temperatures (the TN summer has been nothing to complain about this year) and having to leave after only 3 days.

Saturday we had a Peter Family day which was filled with family activities, guy stuff, girl stuff, and early birthday parties.

Kyle got to spend some time at the rifle range with his Dad, Pappa, and Uncle Kris. When they came back, had some really impressive targets to show off.

I'm pretty sure Nick is shooting his service firearm here. He is doing really well too. Maybe these guys will start shooting with me some day.

Proof that silliness is genetic.

Filming a TV Show

2008-08-25T16:18:00.004-05:00

I didn't know where the second camera was placed until it was too late. Tim is discussing the proper shooting position I am in for minimal recoil effect and quick shooting capability.

The fun part.

It's really a lot of fun. Don't listen to my husband when he tells you it's awful.

The things I do for this job.

My Mom

2008-07-18T19:51:00.002-05:00

Most of you know my mom. Many of you even know her well enough to know that she can get a little silly sometimes. We just returned from US Silhouette Nationals in Pennsylvania where a different side of my mother really comes out. Not everyone knows this side of my mom unless you are part of our silhouette family. At various rifle matches we have travelled to, she has been known to coordinate "Best Bun Contests", dance with gum boot performers in South Africa, and she maintains a special wardrobe for rifle matches.

The video here has the potential of being another boring award ceremony, but not with my mom around. You can fast forward through the first 2 minutes, and then mom will be showcased throughout the rest of the video. Hats are her signature...

...and this hat isn't even that weird.

Happy Canada Day!

2008-07-01T12:02:00.007-05:00

I can't believe it has been a whole month since I have been here. The month absolutely flew by! Here is a taste of what happened in June:

BTW-Happy Canada Day Hillary!

I melted in Louisiana at a rifle match. I was very lucky to have my parents there as well who almost more than melted if that is possible. They flew into Louisiana straight from Alaska.
Kris went on a varmint hunt to Wyoming with my Dad and didn't take a single picture. Mom and I stayed in Nashville and built steps off of our door to the garage. Next time...hire someone.

Kris shaved his head.

Kris got to shoot a .50 cal for the first time, and didn't like it...I can't believe it. The bad person that I am didn't take any pictures either. Here is a picture of me doing it though.

Hhere is me trying out a drill at a training course that we went and watched a couple of weeks ago. I think we will go back and take the 2 day course when it isn't so hot.

5. I went on a one day trip to Orlando for meetings. It was really hot there too.

6. June 30th, the most beautiful day of the year. Last night we set out on the deck with the fire place on. I had to put on a jacket because it was only 66 degrees and NO humidity! Beautiful. Our wonderful friends joined us for the evening and we indulged in smores.

July is absolutely going to fly by as well, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me again in the next few weeks.

Memorial Day Weekend Pictures

2008-05-28T21:47:00.007-05:00

Roses! My first attempt at growing my own roses. And they are beautiful.

It was so much fun to have the girls in town. True friends that will be with me for a lifetime.

I can never resist babies of any kind.
We took my brother to Mammoth Caves, which is definitely one of my favorite places around here. And except for the gas money, it is some of the cheapest and best entertainment too.
Boy...that flash is bright when you are down in a cave.
My brother is showing off his Seahawk hat with the Titan's stadium in the background.

Resting

2008-05-24T13:22:00.006-05:00

After 2 1/2 weeks of going non stop, I am finally sitting on the couch without any nagging tasks on my list, listening to the sounds of my husband and my brother snoring. I don't think I have ever enjoyed that sound before. My brother called a few days ago and asked if he could get a ride to Knoxville could we come pick him up. He had a late night drive to Knoxville last night, and Kris and I picked him up early this morning. We have some fun things planned for the weekend before we have to take him back to Knoxville on Monday. I'm very excited to have him here.

My new job at Barrett Firearms is going well. Since starting, my time actually in the office has been limited due to rep training, tradeshows, and rifle matches. I am really enjoying the new job; many aspects will be challenging in a good way, but the amount of time it takes to get acclimated is frustrating to me. I wish there was some way I could just skip that step. For those of you that aren't familiar with Barrett Firearms, they are the manufacturing of .50 BMG rifles that are mainly used by the US and ally militaries. These rifles can be owned by normal people to, and they are used for long range shooting and competitions. These rifles can be shot accurately to 2400 meters. I hoping that I will be get the opportunity to go these matches as well. You can check out more at www.barrettrifles.com

Catching Up

2008-05-06T09:34:00.003-05:00

I don't blame you if you haven't stopped by the blog in a while. To be honest, I haven't been here either. We just got back from jam packed trip to the northwest, my second trip in the last month. In the following days I will be updating you will all the fun things, big changes, and news that has been going on in our lives. I have to use my time wisely today as it is my last day "working from home", I say it that way because also on my list today is an oil change, Michaels for custom framing (don't you love their coupons?) and Sabre Rifles to pick up a new barrel assembly for my husband. I should probably get some groceries while I'm out too. Tomorrow I start a brand new job, that involves me leaving the house and driving 100 miles round trip each day, but it is a wonderful opportunity and going to be a lot of fun.

2008-04-15T16:36:00.000-05:00

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Pe Ell

2008-04-07T00:36:00.004-05:00

I was at my "home" range today for the first time in 7 months. To be brutally honest, it was the first time I have even fired a rifle in 7 months...well, not counting the .50 cal I got to shoot back in November, and that was alot of fun. I haven't even bothered to bring my high power rifles out to Tennessee since moving there, due to the lack of long range shooting ranges. I was able to shoot in Pe Ell almost regularly last year. This year has been a little slow and it is now crunch time preparing for the upcoming matches. I'm not one to brag, but I did shoot pretty well today, alot better than I was expecting. I need to check my score books, but it might have been a new personal best.

What was really amazing to see was all the destruction from the flood back in December. Portions of railroad bridges had large logs resting on them that were left as the water levels went back down. Bridges across the Chehalis river were completely washed out and left resting along the sides of the river bank, which to look at it now you could have never imagined it doing so much damage. At a time when Washington state should be a vibrant green, many spaces still had a layer of mud.

Random question of the day: What would you do with a pet camel?

I wish we had stopped to take a picture. If you take the old highway south out of Pe Ell, you go through an area full of farms. One farm that we pass had horses, cows, goats...and a camel. It's been there for years and we saw it again today. Seeing the camel there made me think... maybe I should get a pet giraffe.

A New Life

2008-03-28T14:22:00.003-05:00

We got to meet the newest person of our group last night. Jamin Holmes was born to our friends Leslie & Benji on Wednesday evening.

On an unrelated note, while walking through the parking garage at the hospital we saw this gorgeous vantage point of the Nashville Parthenon. For those of you that don't know, it is a "to scale" replica of the Parthenon in its original state, and one of my favorite places in Nashville. Too bad Kris wasn't with me to get a better picture of it though.

Are your taxes filed yet?

2008-03-26T07:19:00.002-05:00

Mine are on the agenda to finish this weekend. You may be wondering why the mostly eaten muffin though. Back in my tax season days, the closer and closer it got to April 15th, the more frequently I would stop at the near by deli to get a chocolate muffin for breakfast. I would always put it on a plate and cut it in 8 easy to eat pieces that also reduced the amount of crumbs that would get stuck in your teeth. The CPA that I worked always thought I needed help finishing it, and every time, one of my small pieces would vanish before I had a chance to finish. This morning I looked down at my muffin and thought why do I have so much of it left? Well I guess Dan's not here to help me finish it. The whole image makes me long for tax season again. Call me weird, crazy, whatever, but I loved it.

Happy St. Paddy's Day

2008-03-17T09:04:00.001-05:00

Connecticut

2008-03-14T08:40:00.004-05:00

So apparently, in my fog of bouncing around the country and suffering the flu, I did manage to take a few pictures on my trip to Connecticut, where I attended the Connecticut Audubon Society's 9th annual Eagle Festival. It is just as exciting as it sounds, and then imagine standing outside for 2 days straight in sub-freezing temperatures...standing next to a river...did I mention it was below freezing? The area was gorgeous, and now that I realize how little photos I took, I wish I had taken more of the town we were in. It was a very quintessential New England town. This was someones yard. I think I might have been in a gated community that I wasn't supposed to be in, but the sights were worth it.

The Atlantic. After arriving, I got lost on the coastal roadways trying to get glimpses of the ocean. It's been a long time since I have been able to sit and watch the ocean.

This one is for my mom.

I can't stop thinking about it...

2008-03-10T16:16:00.002-05:00

I just want it. I'm still trying to justify the price even though Kris is encouraging me to go for it. Is it any consolation that furniture covers are included? And it is real stone, Sunbrella fabric, push button start propane fire, and it's really comfortable...

Have I convinced you yet?

More Snow!

2008-03-10T16:04:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday we woke up to alot more snow than we were expecting. This would be an impressive snow storm in Vancouver, but even more impressive in Nashville. True to form, the roads were clear by noon, and most of it was gone by the end of the day. Friday night the storm started with sleet, thunder and lightening, then quickly switched to snow. We were at the neighbors and we when walked home about midnight, it was actually starting to melt already. By Saturday morning, it had accumulated again and was still snowing. It was pretty while it lasted.

The Pioneer Woman

2008-03-05T09:43:00.001-06:00

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

I discovered her through a blog friend of a real friend, and now I am addicted to her.

What to do with one extra day?

2008-02-29T09:38:00.002-06:00

I am playing catch up. In the last 28 days I have:

been on three business trips celebrating Wild Sheep, Bald Eagles and Elk, totalling 9,096 actual air miles this month and 17 days away from home.
only experienced one cancelled flight which ended up only being a 4 hour delay. However, I was considering driving home from Atlanta.
turned 28 in Reno. My parents joined me in Reno for a few days for my birthday, and they also got to enjoy the Elk show.
won $4 on the penny slots. If ever at the Silver Legacy, I highly recommend the Village People Party slot in the non-smoking section. It's really fun when you get to the Party!
had 4 days of snow (Salt Lake City, Reno, and amazingly twice in Nashville)
a new nephew! Kris's sister Tammy had Carson on February 21st.
had 8 days of the flu and still counting.

Today is my first day back at my desk actually working. I managed an hour and a half yesterday before I had to lie down again. Scrolling through emails made me too dizzy. I have piles of emails and projects to start shuffling through. I have 3 new projects that I am starting that are all quite extensive. My main challenge will be not to get too carried away with them.

Christmas Eve

2008-01-31T12:53:00.000-06:00

Okay...so I know Christmas was along time ago, but I started this post way back and just got back to it. Christmas Eve was such a fun day this year I couldn't help finishing this and sharing some of the pics with you. My parents, my brother's family and Kris and I started the day with a trip up to Mt. Hood to go tubing and general playing in the snow. It was a beautiful day on the mountain, and hardly anyone was there for the first half of the day. Kyle was really into the tubing, and raced all of us to the bottom of the hill. Kassidy quickly figured out that she could go faster if she road with someone else, and then she wouldn't have to ask someone else to carry her inner tube up the hill each time. We also made snow angles, snow forts, and Nick and Kyle also went snow shoeing as the rest of us got warm.
Poppa and Kassidy warming up. The whole family having too much fun.
After all the fun was over on the mountain, we all went back to my parents where we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner of pizza and presents of course. Even Rocky got to spend the day at Grandmas and have Christmas with all of us. Later on in the evening the entire Peter family came over for our gift exchange and our birthday party for Jesus.And of course the traditional family picture in front of the tree.

Now that we are a whole month into the new year, I am starting to get around to making plans for the rest of the year. On New Year's Eve my brother asked me how many countries I would be going to this year, and it shocked me when I answered that I didn't have any planned! Recently I have been discussing plans with friends and family (trying to get some of them to visit us here) and I really do have alot of trips planned, but these trips just seem so normal to me. In April Kris and I will be going back to the northwest for a rifle match for me and to see he new nephew that is expected to arive in February. In June I will be meeting my dad in Louisiana for a rifle match, and then he and Kris are going to Wyoming. In July mom and I are going to Pennsylvania for US Nationals. Hopefully there will be a few more trips to the northwest, maybe even Alaska again since it is Dad's last year with the feds. As for work trips, in February I will be in Salt Lake City and Reno. January was filled with warm cities, February will have plenty of snow. Mom and Dad are meeting me in Reno for my birthday which will be alot of fun.

You know it's cold when...

2008-01-21T12:18:00.001-06:00

the break handle on your motorcyle snaps off.

Kris's company actually gives them MLK Jr. Day off. Realizing that everyone else he knows has to work, he and one of his buddies from work were going to go for a ride. When I got up this morning, the thermometer read 16. They waited for it to get above freezing before heading out, but obviously this was not warm enough for the break handle.

Kris was riding around the first corner of our neighborhood just like he always does, but the tires and the road must have been too cold as the tires started to slide, the bike laid down and skidded about 30 feet before it stopped. Kris came home with just a few scratches on his coat and gloves and no harm to himself. I was just glad it happened so close to home.

Christmas #1

2008-01-09T12:37:00.000-06:00

The night before Kris and I left for Vancouver, we had a Christmas party with our friends Aaron & Ashley and Benji & Leslie. It was a fondue party; cheese, tempura and chocolate. It was delicious.

The party was at our house, so of course at some point the guns tend to come out. Kris was showing off the new AR that he built for Jeff, it's the one that the girls are holding.

Sunday Drive

2008-01-08T10:57:00.001-06:00

It was such a nice day on Sunday, Kris and I went out on the motorcycle. Apperantly it was a good day for deer to go for a ride too.

My accomplishments for the past 2 days: 16 Christmas boxes and one huge tree successfully packed and put away, 1 research project completed, finally downloading all the Christmas photos, feeling prepared for the 2 tradeshows I am attending this week, income tax paper work is started! I love tax season.

Back Home

2008-01-02T09:03:00.001-06:00

After only 2 hours of delays in Cincinnati, we made it home last night around 11:30. We have spent the last 10 days in Vancouver celebrating Christmas and New Years with our families. The entire time we were in Vancouver it was constantly wet, either in the form of rain or snow, which was very normal to us...except for the snow. Back in Nashville, it is dry and cold, my thermometer says 16 right now with a high of 28 today. Kris was not happy about going back to work so early this morning. I am only half working today, cleaning up from the Christmas party we had here the night before our trip to Vancouver, other unpacking activities, and preparing for the busy show season approaching. Next Tuesday I take off for Indianapolis, then to Atlanta, and ending up in Orlando. That's enough for the month of January.

Yes...China

2007-12-11T14:56:00.000-06:00

2 weeks ago I left for what I thought would be a 5 day trip to Portland. I had 3 1/2 days planned in the office, and Saturday we had tickets to take my neice to the Nutcracker followed by a sleepover with Kyle and Kassidy at my mom's. The last night of my trip, I was asked to bump out my return flight to Nashville, and Sunday morning I was told we were leaving for China Monday morning. This time of year, trips with no notice at all are not that uncommon. I had a last minute trip to China as well last year, but I think I had 2 days notice for that one.

Monday morning I arrived at the airport with 2 other men from work to find out that our flight from Vancouver B.C to Hong Kong was cancelled due to the storm. See Peter's Paradise for some aerial photos of the floods. Tuesday we were finally on our way, but we now only had 1 and a half days to get our work done over there. Luckily the trip and the work went very smoothly, and Friday night we were back in Hong Kong for a little shopping before flying back to Portland Saturday. I spent a few more hours in Portland before flying back to Nashville Sunday morning. I'm still sluggish from the trip, you would think after spending so much time on an airplane it just wouldn't matter anymore.

No Smoking near this truck...Highly Flammable Goo

The smog really is this bad...it's very depressing.

Rough life living in the middle of Hong Kong

Kassidy Rose, the Chinese Princess in Pink

The New Deck

2007-12-11T14:34:00.000-06:00

A new deck was built over the existing 10'x10' concrete pad that we had in our backyard. The best feature of the deck is that it overhangs the 6' drop-off that we had off one corner of the concrete pad! We had it built over Thanksgiving weekend, but the weather was so lousy, I didn't get outside to take a final picture of it until today. Not to rub it in for those in the Northwest, but as I was making my lunch today, I realized how warm the sun was coming thru the kitchen windows. I went outside and it was warmer outside than inside! I now have most of my windows and back door wide open and I am loving the fresh air all throughout the house!

Kris and I found 2 great cedar benches one day that an older man was selling on the side of the road. They will look great on the deck as soon as we move them out there. Now I just need to find a table, hopefully a very affordable table. Hopefully the dry weather will hold so we can get it stained too.

Elf Yourself

2007-11-30T10:33:00.000-06:00

If some form of this email hasn't reached you yet, this is a great form of distraction that will crack you up. I am grateful for the laughs today.

http://www.elfyourself.com/

Or check out my elf family

2007-11-19T15:26:00.000-06:00

So the blog has been pretty quiet lately, it's mainly because work has been really hectic the last couple of weeks. This time of year is always crazy with catalogs being edited, finishing up projects for January introductions, and the start of show season. Top all of that with hunting season, and a lot of people out of the office. In addition to all the usual craziness, I got to go to Ft. Benning, Georgia a few weeks ago to watch the International Sniper Competition. They hosted 17 teams this year, one being from Sweeden (or one of the Scandinavian countries), one team from Ireland, and two teams from Canada. Unfortunately, I got there about an hour too late the day of the helicopter events. After the competition was done, they were giving rides to anyone one around in the Blackhawk. Well at least I didn't have to come home and explain how I got to do that to Kris. He gets a little jealous of the cool things that I get myself into. You can check out some of the pictures from last year. I was never close enough to see anything really cool myself.

Last week I had another really cool thing. I got to visit a firearm manufacturer that is about an hour away from here. Just a little company called Barrett Firearms. For those of you not in the know, Barrett makes .50 cal rifles that are used by many military forces. These are the big rifles that shoot 2,000 meters and sometimes more. While I was there I got to shot the semi-auto, the 95, and the 99 . You would think the recoil would be terrible, but because of the design and the muzzlebreak, all the energy disperses around you. The recoil kept pushing me backwards which made staying in position between shots difficult, but you could shoot one of these all day and not feel it.

Word of the Day

2007-11-06T13:51:00.000-06:00

Skulduggery \ trickery: a devious device or trick

My friend Ashley has gotten me addicted to this website. For every word you define correctly, the companies advertised will pay for 10 grains of rice to be distributed by the UN World Food Program. Check it out and improve your vocabulary!

First Anniversary

2007-10-29T10:52:00.000-05:00

Some photos from our trip to Lexington, Kentucky last weekend. We had the most gorgeous fall weather , and the trees in Kentucky were showing off many brilliant colors.

Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill

Keeneland Race Course Woodford Reserve Bourbon Distillery

One of the many horse farms in the region.

My mom's visit

2007-10-22T13:50:00.000-05:00

During my mom's stint in the lower 48 (as it's referred to in Alaska) she came out to Nashville for a week. We had a lot of fun touring around town, working in my flower beds, and scrapbooking. We spent one day at Mammoth Caves, and went on the Historical cave tour. This was the first of the tight spots, I don't remember what it was called, but if you are tall enough, you bend over completely at the waist to get down this flight of stairs. Mom just had to hunker down a little.
Fat Man's Misery

This was a section of cave where the water only carved out this skinny path. The path was like this for about 100 feet.

Because this is my mom, and she made it through the whole week without wearing any kind of funny hat.

2007-10-19T17:08:00.000-05:00

Kris's crew has been on a big job the last 2 weeks. They have been working at heights of 95 feet, out of buckets and on pole ladders. Pole ladders can be a lot of fun (if you like doing this sort of thing). Kris worked off of these in school but the ones here are a lot different. Kris is the lower guy dangling upside down on the ladder.

2007-10-17T14:42:00.000-05:00

During my last trip to the northwest a couple of weeks ago, my zebra rug finally arrived. After about 2 weeks of "hanging" out in the garage he is finally in the house. Which is a good thing because the neighbors were starting to wonder about us. The only problem is we don't know where to put him, and he is alot bigger than I remember. I also think he needs a name, but Kris just laughs at me.

2007-10-05T10:41:00.000-05:00

"If idleness promotes insanity, then being busy promotes....what? Sanity?"

unknown

My Everyday Display Board

2007-09-29T14:02:00.000-05:00

Creative Memories has a new product out called the Everyday Display Board. It is an 18"x18" framed magnetic board that you can display your everyday moments and memories on easily. There is also a ribbon strong across and it comes with these mini clothespins so you can hang any photos or items from. So enough explanation about what it is, right now I am signed up for new product training right now through Creative Memories, and each week we have a homework assignment involving new product. When we have completed the project we are then supposed to show it to 5 people. Well, I ran out of time this week, so I am showing anyone that stops by! The theme of my EDB right now is Autumn. Now I just need to decide where I am going to hang it. It has a gorgeous ribbon to hang the frame from.

The Forcast for Today is...

2007-09-27T08:22:00.000-05:00

RAIN!!!

I woke up in the middle of the night wondering what that strange noise was, and once I realized the rain was coming down, I snuggled back under my covers with a smile on my face. I have always loved the sound of rain, and even more the smell. And we really need the rain here in Tennessee. Now, if it were just cool enough to sit by the fire with a blanket and a book it would be a perfect day. But at 80 degrees, I think I will have to leave the air conditioning on.

Old Frieds and New Friends

2007-09-23T16:35:00.000-05:00

So before the trip to Alaska, we did spend some good times with some of our old friends too. We got to visit Marc and Mary, and their two girls Leah and Sydney in their new home in Battle Ground. They just moved out of my grandparent's old farmhouse into a beautiful new place that they are going to have lots of fun tearing down walls and putting up new ones. Dave & Amy and their two girls Julia and Sophia were also around and all the girls loved having "Krissy" home again.

Kris and Leah in her karate gi.

I was seriously having camera difficulties while we were in Washington, as I forgot my camera the night I got to go to Alysun's baby shower in Dallas and spend a night with her family in Monmouth. I had planned my trip a little longer than Kris's to be around for when Alysun's baby was born, but Mandy decided to come a few days after I returned to Nashville. Also we got to visit my old friend Hillary and her 6 month old son Keagan, who really is adorable. Again, I forgot my camera, and really missed out on some good pictures.

Last month, our friends Aaron & Ashley moved into the neighborhood around the corner from us. Our friends Leslie and Benji, who live behind us, were already friends with Aaron & Ashley before moving to the neighborhood. Kris and I have joined a bible study/small group that meets and Aaron & Ashley's that we are very excited about. Kris and Benji were showing off their tennis abilities on Wii. me, Ashley and Leslie

More Pictures from Alaska

2007-09-16T20:27:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to share a few more photos from our trip.

Wrangell

Frogs! This was one of the totem poles and Shake's Island in Wrangell.

Finally, the crab pots actually had crabs in them! The first 2 days they were empty.

One of the escape artists. This guy actually climbed out of the bucket while mom was cleaning the others.

View from Sandy Beach Park. It was the only expanse of sand on the island, and was probably only 300 feet long at best.

Sandy Beach

One of the many pretty rivers...I don't remember which one this was.

On the trail to Beaver Creek Falls. Beaver Creek feeds into a large cave system. It was the rainiest day we had in the rain forest. The boardwalks were built over muskeg, otherwise you make it through the forest.

The Big One that Didn't Get Away

2007-09-10T13:16:00.000-05:00

Kris and I spent Labor Day halibut fishing with my parents in Alaska. It was a beautiful day, and with all the rain that was forecasted, we were very lucky. By the end of the day we were all fighting to be on the sunny side of the boat. The day started off with Mom catching the first halibut, followed by me, and then it was alot of Mom and me catching all the fish, including some cod and a quill back. The guys were really annoyed but Mom and I were getting tired of constantly having to reel back in so frequently!

Finally Kris got a bit, but it turned out to be a shark. A couple of sharks later for Dad and Kris, they finally started catching some halibut too.

We all did really well this day. We were throwing back alot of okay sized halibut waiting for the bigger ones to show up. On the last halibut trip my parents took, Mom was the winner with a 65lb halibut that day. Kris and Mom were teasing each other all day as to who would win this day, and it turned out to be Kris with a nice 50lb. Aside from the good crab harvest we had, we brought in 87lbs.

Behind us in this photo is the metropolis of Coffman Cove, which boosts about 200 residents in the summer months, around 75 all year round. Directly behind us, across the street from the purple house (yes, there is a street there) is Dad's office in the "Rock House", which will be someones home soon. Dad is renting a house about a 15min walk away from town.

Back "Home"

2007-08-29T22:54:00.000-05:00

I have been neglecting the blog lately only because most of the people who read it, Kris and I have actually been visiting. I have been in the Northwest for 2 weeks already, shooting, working, had a wonderful visit with my dear friend Alysun, and playing with Kyle & Kassidy. Kris arrived last Saturday and we have actually been on vacation this week. It has been really nice to spend time with Kris's family this week and many of our friends. On Saturday we are leaving for POW (Prince of Whales Island) Alaska to spend a week with my parents. We have a few day trips planned and lot of fishing.

Being back in Vancouver has been so wonderful. I don't think we could have had a more relaxing vacation anywhere else. I commented to Kris last night as we were driving home that even though we are staying in my parents house alone, driving my mom's mini van, and living out of suitcases, I feel more settled and at home than I do in Tennessee. We have been enjoying the cool air, the fresh smells, big clean rivers (yes, we even consider the Willamette clean now) and the mountain scenery. I was even thankful for the Portland traffic last week as I watched the sun change the colors of Mt. Hood and Mount St. Helens.

As an extension of the last entry, a few days after I arrived at my parents house I had another encounter with another spider; this one huge, brown, furry, and ugly. It was just on the wall of the basement stairs chillin' out, and I took some pictures of it before using half a can of insect killer on it. I was going to try to identify it, and also I needed proof for Kris on just how bad this spider was. I don't know what is with me and spiders all of a sudden, but they are just haunting me!

New Fear of Spiders

2007-08-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

How fast can you run in flip flops? Kris says I can run mach 10, as he witnessed yesterday as I came running around the house, in the back door shouting, but not hysterical, "Which spider has the red hour glass on it's body?"

I was out watering flower beds yesterday, and also knocking down cobwebs, when I noticed the huge spider near my new azalea. She hung out there for a while, but there was no sign of her when I checked this morning. I have had to get used to all sorts of new bugs this year, and the people that are from Tennessee tell us this has been a mild year since we are so far behind in our rainfall. I was grossed out enough to schedule an appointment with Terminix a month ago but they never showed up, so today I will be calling a new pest control company.

Curious Facts

Black Widow is considered the most venomous spider in North America.-Great
The venom of the black widow spider is 15 times as toxic as the venom of the prairie rattlesnake.-Even better. Another element to add to my nightmares.
Black Widow spiders are not usually deadly, especially to adults, because they inject only a small amount of venom.-that doesn't make me feel better about it living in my flower bed.
Only the female Black Widow is dangerous to humans; males and juveniles are harmless.
The female Black Widow hangs belly upward and rarely leaves the web.-Then where did she go!?!
The Black Widow is also called the "hourglass" or "shoe-button" spider.
Araneae is the Latin word for spider.
More than 35,000 spider species of spiders occur in the world. Of these, about 3,400 species in 64 families are found in North America.-And most of those seem to be in Tennessee.

Kisses from New Mexico

2007-07-19T13:28:00.001-05:00

Last week I was in New Mexico with my parents for smallbore and highpower US Nationals. More pictures and details will follow soon.

Mom's newest look while she presented award points on the last day of High Power Nationals.

Room Makeovers

2007-07-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

My mother likes to call this room the Northwest room because of the photography and artwork in this room. Kyle calls this room Kris's room because of the big TV and video games, but I have a little corner of it dedicated to my current scrapbooking projects. The walls are antique gold, which looked a lot less yellow after the wicker was painted a brownish red to match the other wood pieces in the room.

The dining room was not that drastic of a makeover, but since it is in the middle of our kitchen and living room/great room the color really helps to isolate it and make this space warmer. The color is sauteed mushroom, which blends a little too well with the wood furniture in here, but I already have some ideas for the next color.

The Family Tree project-I got this kit from my mother as a Christmas present, and after figuring out where I wanted to hang it, I was motivated to get it out and complete it. The colors perfectly blend with our autumn/African living room.

Sad News

2007-07-01T15:34:00.000-05:00

Last Friday my cousin Jay was in a terrible car accident near Woodland, WA. He and 2 of his children were all admitted to the hospital. Jay and Mathew have been released after being treated. His 10 year old daughter Caitlin spent 2 days in a coma in the ICU and passed away this morning. Please pray for her parents Jay and Jenny, her brother's Patrick and Mathew, and the rest of our family.

Kitten

2007-06-26T08:49:00.000-05:00

This is my new favorite picture from Africa. A friend from Finland took this and recently sent it to me. This was taken last September when Mom and I went to South Africa or World Championships. Someone had the idea that I should hold the lion cub in front of the Leupold tent that was set up at the rifle range. I remember someone shouting to be careful because she might pee on me., but how many people get to be peed on by a lion cub! I remember she wasn't as soft as I suspected she would be, but she was very cuddly.

The bonus room makeover is almost complete. Pictures will be posted soon.

NASCAR

2007-06-15T15:01:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, Kris and I had our first NASCAR experience. I had seen little bits of races on TV before, usually at my brother's house, but my knowledge doesn't go much further than that. Last week, the Busch Series race was in Nashville, and we went with some friends of ours that had never been to a race before either. We all knew it was going to be loud, but I think we were all surprised at just how loud it really was. We had a really good time, and now Kris and Marcos are already talking about Talladega.

Memorial Day

2007-06-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

Kris and I went on a day trip to the Mammoth Caves National Park for Memorial Day, which is just a little Northeast from Bowling Green, Kentucky. The park has 350+ miles of explored connected caves, and many more that they have not explored yet.

We went on 2 cave tours that day, and there are several more tours that we want to go back for. Some of them are the more extreme spelunking tours where the outfit you in all the necessary gear.
Stalagmites and stalactites...which means that the stone is being formed up or down...I just don't remember which is which. If you really are curious, I'm sure my brother knows. This was part of the Frozen Niagara room.
It' really dark down there, but it was the only view we had of the underground lake. There used to be boat tours down there, but the cave was too unstable near the water to continue.

life is getting busy

2007-06-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that we are still here, and getting involved and staying busy in Nashville. One thing that made it really hard for me to adjust to life in Nashville is that I wasn't neary involved in activities as I was in Vancouver. Well that is starting to change...We are making lots of new friends, getting to know more people in our church, and learning what normal people do for fun in Nashville.
I have been racking up the miles on my car lately. 2 weeks ago I spent 4 days in Columbia, MO for the Bianchi Cup which is an action pistol competition...no I did not compete there. Last weekend I was in Winnsboro, LA for the Southern Nationals, which is a smallbore rife competition. I did well in the standard rifle but not so good in hunter rifle. Kris and I spent Memorial Day in Kentucky at the Mammoth Caves National Park which was awesome, I will post pictures soon. It is only 1 1/2 hours from our house, so when you come to visit, it is something you can go and see too! I have been keeping very busy with Creative Memories and getting to know more people in my neighborhood and at church through scrap booking. I have also been doing some painting in the house, shooting practice, and working too!
Kris is really enjoying his motorcycle, and he took a riding class last weekend that he really enjoyed. He is looking into taking the advanced class later on this summer. He has completed all the work for the first year of his apprenticeship and has already started into the 2nd year...Only 3 more years starting June 22nd!

New Toys

2007-05-17T12:14:00.000-05:00

Kris's birthday was last Friday, and he spent most of the weekend shopping for his new toy. Tuesday he finally went and picked it up, a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R. I don't think I have ever seen him so giddy before. For the mom's out there, he has promised me that there will be no wheelies, or "Hot Doggin". The shop owner's mother processed all the paper work, and she also made him promise that he would always be careful before she handed over the paper work.

Portland

2007-05-09T17:46:00.000-05:00

On my last trip to the Northwest, I got to spend an entire day with my mom, brother, niece and nephew. We went to OMSI to visit the submarine, and then spent the rest of the day playing in the museum. On our way back to the car, we walked along the river to take some nice pictures. Nice meaning nice smiles...it is much easier to smile nicely once you get all the silly faces out of the way.

Kassidy and Kyle

Nice Smiles!

The reason for the last trip of course was work, but we also attended the Conard Bernhardt Memorial Cup in Pe Ell. Dad came home from Alaska to shoot too. We did okay, but most importantly we had a lot of fun. We were able to celebrate his birthday before he went back to work. Mom is now in Alaska too. She got to take the mail float plane from Ketchikan to Coffman Cove which she thought was pretty exciting. Kris and I are looking forward to visiting them later in the summer.

Stories that always make you laugh

2007-05-07T08:53:00.000-05:00

My friend Alysun's sister told an ice cream story that she cannot tell or type with a straight face. She asked others to tell their stories too. To read her story visit The Attic. Sure my mother could tell lots of ice cream stories about me, but the one that I will giggle through every time involves golden retrievers.

The summer of 2001, I was camping with my friends Mike and Linda Bishton in Kamloops, B.C. at the Canadian Silhouette Nationals. The sleeping arrangements included me on the fold out couch with Finnegan, 70 pound puppy who thought he was a catcurled up next to me, and the curly girl Casey would sleep on the floor next to us.

Casey had taken to digging outside the trailer and eating rocks when tied up while we were on the rifle range. In this case what goes down, must come back up. In the middle of the night, Casey started that dry heave sound that I know so well from having cats. To my benefit, she was aiming her little face right in mine with her head resting on the bed. Being August in Canada, it's still cold outside in the middle of the night and I didn't want to get out of bed. So I just pushed her head away so she would at least throw up on the linoleum floor, much easier to clean up that way. Finally hearing this, Mike springs out of bed to grab the dog and haul her outside, but in the activity he grabbed me by the back of the neck instead. Of course I wasn't going to move and I just looked and him and said"ah....hello" at which he finally stopped pulling on me and and looked at me rather questionably and announced..."Oh...you're not the dog."

The three of us laughed for about an hour after the episode was over and laughed about it for the rest of our week in Kamloops with our other friends.

This is Fluffy Finnegan the day Mike and I picked him up from the breeder. He cried all the way to from Eugene to Vancouver before he had to get on a plane to Calgary. It was only 6 months later until he was almost 70 pounds. Even years later he would still sleep on the back of the couch like a cat.

Taiwan

2007-04-19T08:49:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine sent me these pictures this morning, and I thought they were beautiful. Kate is on the right in the orange jacket, with my boss Vici. She didn't tell me about the location, but I thought I would share them anyway.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

2007-04-17T14:59:00.000-05:00

I have been working too hard again lately, and after a long day yesterday, and more conference calls this morning, I needed a uplift. I called my mom this morning because I know my niece and nephew were were spending the day with her. After the normal chit chat of their newest toys and what cartoon was on TV at the moment, Kyle began telling me about a new toy is Daddy just gave him. It was a whip, a real one like Indian Jones. Kyle then told me his Daddy reminded him of Indiana Jones. This really intrigued me, so I asked Kyle how his Daddy is like Indiana Jones. His answer was because he kind of looks like him, he likes adventure, and his Daddy is scared of snakes just like Indiana Jones. This cracked me up immediately! Then Kyle says "I just wanted to hear you laugh!" which of course made me laugh even harder. Then I heard him say "Grandma, she's still laughing!"

Easter Weekend

2007-04-13T15:27:00.000-05:00

Easter weekend Kris and I headed to Gatlinburg, TN. We rented a cabin just out side of town and the Smokey Mountain National Park. This park is the most visited National Park in the US. However, we discovered it is more a factor of location and population density, paired with the fact there are more amusement parks and commercial entertainment not even a 5 minute drive outside of the park, that give it the claim as most visited. The city of Gatlinburg is home to 3800 people, but on any given night can sleep 200,000+. 5 minutes away from there is Pigeon Forge, the home of Dollywood, several more theme parks, and more Put-Put Golf courses than I have seen in my whole life!

This is from the viewpoint of Clingman's Dome. It is 6,643 feet, the highest point in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, the highest point in Tennessee, and the second highest point east of the Mississippi. My friend Hillary reminded be that this is approximately the same elevation as Palomar Mtn. near San Diego where we met at the camp that we worked at. Just for a fun fact, Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina is the highest point east of the Mississippi. Fun Fact #2 of the day is Tennessee and Mississippi are the only 2 states that have 3 pairs of duplicate letters in there name. Clingman's Dome sits right on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, I am actually standing in North Carolina from where this picture was taken. In the background is Mt. Leconte, which is probably the most visible peak from the surrounding areas. It was a great view, but it was cold up there!

Saturday morning we woke up to more cold weather and snow. This is the view down the hill from the balcony of our cabin.

The Grist Mill at Cade's Cove in the park... There is an 11 mile loop around Cade's Cover where there are preserved cabins, churches, this grist mill, and other structures from the 1860s (I think that's the right year, I lost that brochure). Cade's Cove was a fairly level valley where there were approximately 2500 settlers in the 1800s. It was a gorgeous drive, but even on a quiet weekend, we were reminded that this is the most visited park in the US. We were behind a solid line of traffic traveling about 10-15mph. It did give us plenty of time to take in all the scenery, deer, and wild turkey. We are just more used to traffic jams being caused by buffalo than other vehicles in national parks. For those of you that didn't know already, my Dad worked in Yellowstone for 3 years, so we are a little biased.

We got off the road for awhile and hiked into Laurel Falls. I was a nice mile and a half hike into see the falls with great views of all mountains around us. It had warmed up to about 30 degrees by then. What happened to that 85 degree weather we had a week ago?

Fun Fact #3-There are at least 30 different species of salamanders in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This gives the Smokies the distinction of having the most diverse salamander population anywhere in the world and has earned the park the nickname “Salamander Capital of the World.”

Spring

2007-04-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

Spring lasted in Tennessee for about a week and a half, and I wasn't here for most of it. These were the tulips my mom planted when she was here in January. This picture was taken about 2 weeks ago, approximately at the end of our spring. However since then, we have had temperatures in the high 80s, and then last weekend experienced snow showers and highs in the 30s with lows in the teens. I'm hoping we will have another season of spring before summer truly hits.

Ireland Silhouette International

2007-03-24T05:47:00.000-05:00

The reason for going to Ireland was for a smallbore silhouette match. It was a three day match with 40+ competitors. 6 shooters came from the states while the rest were from Ireland and North Ireland. Here are (sorry, not in order) the Joe's from the Virgina's, Dennis Dadian from California, Jerry Boydston from Texas, Cathy who is from Illinois at the moment, and her Dad Chris from Montana. Most people that asked me, I answered I was from Washington.

The last day of the match we had snowy and cold conditions. The only thing we saw more of than snow were sheep. I was hoping to get a picture of the sheep over the rifle range. They would graze on the pasture on top of the back wall of the range. The babies were pretty cute.

Mother's Day in Ireland is the third Sunday of March, so the last day of the match was Mother's Day. Here Cathy and I are posing with our moms. We have pictures similar to this one all over North America, France and South Africa too.

More pictures of the rifle range.

Happy St. Paddy's Day

2007-03-24T05:25:00.000-05:00

Mom and I just returned from Ireland, where we spent the last 9 days. The purpose of the trip was for a rifle match, but they so cleverly planned it so we would be in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day. In Ireland it is no longer a day, but a five day festival and a four day national holiday. The highlight of the festival is the parade on St. Paddy's Day. It is not like any parade we have ever seen, and we've been to the odd parade from Canmore, Alberta to Lander, Wyoming. This one more like a Brazilian Carnival parade. Of the few floats that there were, they were all pushed by 4 to 5 boys. The only familiar thing was the 5 or marching bands from the States.

Funny Hats that showed off your St. Paddy's Day Spirit where the order of the day. This is my mom and a friend Dennis from California that was also there for the rifle match. Mom has a new hat now that she can sport out at the rifle range.

2007-03-09T08:22:00.000-06:00

Since becoming a Creative Memories Consultant, I have been more motivated to start my wedding album. I have been busy printing photos the last few days. Here are some of my favorites this morning. These were all taken at Officer's Row in Vancouver. It was cold, but it was a beautiful day.

Wedding Party~Jeff, Hillary, Laura, Kris, Alysun, Dave, Kassidy & Kyle

Finally

2007-03-07T10:21:00.000-06:00

After much persuasion, I finally started a blog. Like everything else I'm starting right, we'll see how this goes. With our immediate family stretched from Hawaii to Alaska to the Northwest to Tennessee, hopefully everyone will be able to keep up with what Kris and I are doing. At the time it consist of doing whatever we can to the house with our limited resources. By limited I mostly mean tools and supplies. Last night I tried to plant a dogwood tree in the back yard with just a small trowel, not the easiest tool for tree planting. As I was digging my small hole, I found lots of bits of concrete and even some nails. That really got me excited to keep working in the yard. The dogwood made it into the ground, as well as a clipping of some kind of southern fir Christmas tree.