Memphis, Tennessee

Here are the pictures of the rest of our Tennessee trip:

First we went to Graceland...it was pretty awesome! The kitchen

The front room

The Jungle Room-there was even green carpet on the ceiling. Apparently it had such good acoustics, Elvis recorded a few songs in this room

Don't you just love the fur covered couches?

The basement tv room

Elvis Presley's grave

Tom, Ainsley, and the King of Rock n' Roll

There was rooms full of gold records and awards...this gives you a tiny glimpse of the amount we saw. I think these were just his foreign awards.

Some of his sweet costumes

We toured his two private jets-the big one was named the Lisa Marie. It was pretty sweet and included three sitting rooms, a dining room, a bedroom, and two gold sinked bathrooms.

Sun Studio where artists like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and others recorded
After we went to Graceland, we drove to downtown Memphis. We walked around Beale Street which is where blues music began. Since we had Ainsley, we didn't get to go into any bars, but we did hear a couple of bands playing in open courtyards.

Next we went to the Peabody Hotel. This is a beautiful hotel in downtown Memphis famous for it's ducks that live in the fountain in the hotel lobby. Here is the history of the Peabody ducks: About 80 years ago, the General Manager of the time, had just returned from a weekend hunting trip in Arkansas. He and his friends found it amusing to leave their live decoy ducks in the hotel fountain. The guests loved the idea, and since then, ducks have played in the fountain every day. In 1940, a bellman volunteered to care for the ducks. He was given the position of "Duckmaster" and served in that position until 1991. As a former circus animal trainer, he taught the ducks to march into the hotel lobby along a red carpet, which started the famous Peabody Duck March. Every day at 11:00 a.m., the Peabody Ducks are escorted from their penthouse home, on the Plantation Roof, to the lobby via elevator, they spend the day hanging out in the fountain, and then ceremoniously led back to their penthouse at 5:00 p.m.
We didn't realize we were in a different time zone and so arrived an hour early to see the Duck March. So Ainsley had plenty of time to hang out with the ducks. She thought they were funny and kept sticking her hands in the water. It was cute.

The Duckmaster gave a little speech before leading the ducks up to the roof. We bought Ainsley a rubber ducky that is dressed like the Duckmaster to remember our trip. It is pretty cute and she has played with it during every bath since.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The next morning we went to the Rock n' Soul Museum. Right across the street is the Gibson Guitar Factory

Then we went to the Memphis in May Barbeque Festival. It is the biggest bbq festival in the world. There are hundreds of competitors competing in ribs, shoulder, and whole hog.

It was really hot that day, I got fried. Luckily Ainsley was able to hang out in the shade of her stroller and catch a few zzz's.

Some of the competitors booths were pretty extravagant. This is just one section which was along the river

We tried to keep cool with fresh squeezed lemonade. Ainsley learned to use a straw and enjoyed drinking Dad's lemonade.
Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to buy bbq from the competitors, but we were able to help judge samples in the People's Choice Tent. We got to taste some Boston Butt (the tastier half of the pork shoulder) It was so fun, we decided to do it twice.
They gave us five samples and a list of instructions on how to judge it. We would vote on our favorite of the five samples. It was delicious!!!

It was so hot after the festival, we took Ainsley back to the hotel for a little dip in the pool.

Our last morning in Memphis, we went to the temple. We had to do sessions one at a time because we had Ainsley but it was so wonderful to be in a temple again. We have rarely been able to make it to the temple since moving here since we live a few hours from the closest one.

Ainsley and I didn't quite get enough of the great state of Tennessee....we are headed down there again this Wednesday-Sunday to visit my mom who will be teaching at a scrapbook convention at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. We're excited to see her!!!

Great Smoky Mountains

Last week was the last day of school, Tom survived his first year of MBA school. He had a week off before he began his internship at Spring Again . We decided that we needed to get out of town for a few days so we decided to head to the beautiful state of Tennessee. We left Sunday, May 10 and drove to Lexington, Kentucky. The next morning on our way to Gatlinburg, Tennesee we passed Corbin, Kentucky and decided to stop at the birthplace of KFC. This is where Colonel Sanders owned a hotel, cafe, and gas station. We ate at the restaurant and visited a tiny museum showcasing all sorts of KFC memorabilia.

After a short stop in Kentucky, we continued on to Gatlinburg, Tennessee a tiny town outside the Smoky Mountain National Park. This is the most popular national park in the country and the ninth national park Tom and I have visited since we have been married. It was absolutely beautiful! It was so green and lush. We visited a lot of waterfalls, walked a few trails, and drove the length of the park.

Ainsley fell asleep on the short path to Cataract Falls our first afternoon in the park

Cataract Falls

Tom at the Newfound Gap that overlooks the North Carolina Smokys

Tom was excited to be in North Carolina again, where he served his mission. We were too far to drive to his mission area, but we did go to the nearest town to see if we could get traditional Carolina style barbeque. No such luck. We did find his two favorite southern sodas-Cheerwine and Sun Drop

Laurel Falls
Laurel Falls

Here we are at the top of Clingman's Dome. This is the highest peak in the park at 5,800 feet. Much less than Utah's mountains, but it was beautiful!

Ainsley hanging out at Clingman's Dome
*Thanks Jenner for letting us have the baby carrier...it worked great!

Juney Whank Falls
We walked along one of the many "Quiet Pathways" that took us down to the river. It was so green and beautiful along the bank of the river.

Ainsley in a meadow in the Smoky Mountain National Park

Our last morning in the park, we drove to Cade's Cove which was one of the former settlements in the park. The Smoky Mountain National Park was once private property and 800 people lived in Cade's Cove in the 1800s. When the government purchased the land, the settlers had to leave their homes. A few homes, mills, and farms still remain that make up small historic district in the park. We drove an 11 mile loop as we visited the valley of the Cade's Cove settlement.

Cade's Cove valley
Ainsley and I in front of a working Grist Mill. A man showed us how settlers ground corn there

While in Cade's Cove, we noticed a large crowd gathering. As we jumped out of our car to get a better look, we noticed that a black bear was high in a tree watching the people below. Poor thing looked stuck and scared. But it was neat to see a black bear in the wild.
Next we were off to Memphis. It was a seven hour drive, but Ainsley did really well. She was able to sleep for a good part of the drive and we kept a ample supply of toys and snacks ready. Memphis was a lot of fun and I will tell you more about it in a few days!!!

Quick Update

Fell asleep during a hike

Dressed like Davy Crockett

Visiting The Colonel at the birthplace of KFC in Corbin, KY

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ainsley's First Birthday!

Yesterday was Ainsley's birthday and we had a great day! First I took Ainsley on a nature walk which she enjoyed for a little bit, but she must have been exhausted because she fell asleep on the way home. After Tom finished school, we took her to the park. She loved the swings. Tom tried to have her climb the rock climbing wall....we may have a little climber one day. After the park, we went home and had dinner. Then the three of us had a little birthday party together. We opened presents. Tom and I knew she would be totally spoiled by family so we only got her a few things. We bought her a ball, a Sesame Street ABC cd that my family listened to when I was a kid, some shorts and new shirt, and a toy that when you pull the handle it plays different animal sounds. From the Reese's she got clothes, a fairytale book with a cd of the family reading her different stories, board books, an I SPY fairytale book, and a Shutterfly book of pictures from her first year of life. They also sent us party hats, cups, and plates to use for her birthday party. From the Butler family she got a toy stroller and she enjoyed pushing it around the apartment. She also got clothes and a hat, a stuffed giraffe, a hairbow hanger and lots more cute hairbows. Thank you so much for all of the great gifts!!!

After we opened and played with the presents, we had cake. We were able to talk to the Reese family over the webcam while we sang Happy Birthday and ate cake. I made her a simple chocolate cake with pink polka dots. It matched her party dress. We put her in the high chair and let her dig in. At first she would only pick off the polka dots. But then she got braver and braver and by the end she had dug a huge hole in the cake. She was completely covered. She stuck her hands in her hair and there was chocolate icing everywhere.

It was a wonderful birthday. We were sad that we were away from family, but are so grateful for the technology to be able to see them over the internet. It made it so much easier to be away. We are so grateful for all of the wonderful cards and presents. Thank you everyone for making it such a great birthday for Ainsley!!!

Enjoying a birthday walk

She fell asleep on the walk...notice she has a baby wipe in her hand. It is her newest fetish, whenever I change her diaper or bathe her she insists on having a wipe or washcloth of her own and she will clutch it for hours. I have tried to introduce a blankie thinking that she needs some sort of comfort, but she doesn't want it- only baby wipes or washcloths. Strange obsession
Being a little shy during lunch-she drinks out of a sippy cup now

A little b-day nap. Notice she has her arm around her lamb. She sleeps with it or a little dog every night. It is really cute.

Future rock climber

She was a little unsure about this toy...she got pretty dizzy

She loves the swings!

Daddy and Ainsley at the park

New carseat finally! She loves to look out the window.

Opening gifts and putting them together

Pushing her new stroller around
Birthday party set up

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Ainsley

She started out picking off the polka dots

She started to dig in a little more...

By the end, this is the damage she did to the cake. I think she liked it:)

We had to stick her in the bath...there was cake everywhere! In her hair, ears, nose, fingers, etc
It was the end of a very great birthday.

Thank you everyone for making it such a great day!!! Happy Birthday Ainsley!