Chattanooga, TN

May 11 & 12 we went to Chattanooga, TN with Teresa & Jesse.  We visited Rock City which had trails throughout the boulders and gardens on the mountain.  It was very relaxing and beautiful.  We then went to Ruby Falls which was a 145 foot waterfall inside a cave.  On Sunday we walked on the Riverwalk throughout downtown Chattanooga and along the Tennessee river, went out to lunch and visited an Arts Festival at the park.  It was a great day to be outside!

DeSoto State Park

Saturday, April 13, Andrew and I drove up to the camp Teresa & Jesse are working at, to spend the day with them.  DeSoto State Park it is only minutes from the camp, so we spent the afternoon hiking to a couple waterfalls and enjoying a picnic lunch.  Next, we took a cave tour of Sequoyah Caverns.  We ended the day by stopping at the top of DeSoto Falls and enjoying the view.  It's been fun exploring some new places in Alabama with Teresa and Jesse.

Baby on the way

On the weekend of April 12th we announced to family that there is a baby on the way.  It was so fun and exciting to watch everyone's reactions on skype and be able to tell Teresa and Jesse in person. Right now I am 13 weeks along, almost past 1st trimester and so far the baby has been very well behaved- hopefully it stays that way once it arrives November 15th!

6 week ultrasound- our little blob!

8 week ultrasound-our gummi bear/sea turtle

Walls of Jericho

Saturday March 16th, Andrew and I met Teresa and Jesse at the Walls of Jericho to hike.  It is a 6 mile round trip hike that is 3 miles into the canyon to get to the waterfalls and 3 miles up and out.  The up and out is the hard part and we were sore the next day, but it was worth it.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  We had a great time.

DeSoto Falls

Friday night, Andrew and I drove to Nature's Classroom in Mentone, AL where Jesse and Teresa are working to spend the night in their cabin and go hiking with them on Saturday.  Saturday they took us to split rock where we had to climb through a tiny opening in a rock and up and out of it.  We then headed for Desoto Falls where we hiked along the river to get there.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch on a rock overlooking the falls.  Once we got back to their cabin we enjoyed a game of predator vs. prey, very fun!  We enjoyed supper with them and some episodes of Duck Dynasty before heading back home.  We had a great day at camp!

Garden 2012 Totals

Here are our grand total numbers for how much of each vegetable we harvested in 2012.  We calculated that we saved $414 in produce and only had to invest $13 in seeds and compost this year. We are still eating Zucchini and Okra that we stored in the freezer.  This weekend we worked out in the garden and got it ready for planting this spring.  We are ready for spring to be here so we can try growing some new vegetables this year!

Beets	15
Broccoli	1 head
Cucumbers	24
Dill	2 bags
Green Beans	590
Green Pepper	23
Lettuce	2 heads
Okra	390
Orange Pepper	19
Onion	3
Radish	24
Red Pepper	3
Spaghetti Squash	15
Tomato	91
Yellow Squash	41
Zucchini	54

Christmas Tree 2012

We picked out our tree the day after Thanksgiving and decorated it that Sunday after everyone left. I do think this is our best tree yet.  Only 3 more weeks til Christmas! We can't wait to go back to Lincoln to celebrate with family.  Now off to do some shopping!