Happy Pappy!

On August 26th my dad turned 60 years old! He's still more of a kid than I am and the best dad in the world! Dad recently discovered iTunes and called me one day with instructions. He told me to go get every CD I had and throw them away. I asked why and he told me that he had just shipped me a collection of CDs and it was all I would need. The next day I received a 6 disc set of the best music of all time...and only every-other-song is a Rolling Stones song...this is very impressive for Daddy. In all honesty, I was expecting Hot Rocks, 40 Licks, and a few other classic rock gems.

Then there was trouble. My dad has a screened in deck that rivals any you have ever seen. He has CD changer and receiver and all that jazz in a special cooled cabinet out there. Problem is, his CD changer only holds 5 CDs. Oh the hardship.

My simple solution was an iPod with the appropriate cable. So my sister and I set out to get the best birthday gift ever. Here are a few pictures from our long weekend with Dad.

He's a good sport...

Whoop de Doo! Best bag ever! We got dad a bag full of corny party supplies
Here are a few of his favors:
We had the iPod engraved. "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll But I Like It" (of course a Rolling Stones song) and a Happy Birthday!
Dad playing with his new toy!
Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you!

On a side note, because I traveled to see Daddy, I missed Tara's birthday celebration! Her mom came to town and everyone went out to eat at Lakeside Tavern! I'm sad I missed it, but know she was showered with lots of love!!

Happy Birthday B.Bugg!

Saturday was my friend Rebecca Bugg's birthday! She is one of a set of twins, and the wife of a fellow guide with Ted. We are all really great friends. Rebecca used to take pictures for Rolling Thunder on the weekend, so my first season on the river as a "girlfriend" I basically spent on the banks taking pictures with Rebecca. Needless to say, we formed a great friendship. We get caught up on our lives over the phone every Thursday night while our men are in a guide meeting. I'd be lying if I said I only traveled on the weekend to see Ted...I love this girl!

Here are a few pictures from her birthday celebration:

a cake I made for her:

make a wish!
Becca with her Sophie...she's a pug mix. That's Phyllis in the background.
Happy Happy Birthday B.Bugg! I love you to pieces!

Wine...I mean Book Club

Some of my girlfriends and I have a book club. We choose a book, read it, and then gather to drink wine and maybe talk about it. The last book we finished was "Girls in Trucks" which, I didn't read. I have been wrapped up in "Eat, Pray, Love"...AGAIN...and just didn't read this one. But I still went to book club. I won't miss it.

Eventually we got out the iPod, and it was all over. Emily calls me her "trick monkey" and I might agree. Nonetheless, we had a good time.

Baby Bennett is here!

My best friend in the world, Alli, had us a baby on Monday morning. I got a call from Ben early on Sunday, I was at the river. He said Alli had been in labor for a few hours, so I headed home and to the hospital. She woke up at 3:00am Sunday, July 12th, knowing she was in labor after walking a little bit and the contractions didn't stop. They went to the hospital where she walked laps, but she didn't progress any. So, they sent her home. They just went to her mom's house that is very close to the hospital. After she was in intolerable pain, they went back and the hospital gave her a room. The hours passed, and she just wasn't progressing. She had Ben come get me. I fixed her makeup, and then sat behind her on the hospital bed and brushed her hair. Those little moments, especially with my best friend, are the moments you live for.

They didn't wait for her to get all the way to 10cm, they had her start pushing at 8cm. After 24 hours and 24 minutes of labor, Bennett Tyler Barcroft was born...with a head full of hair!

Here are some pictures:

The new family!

Look at all of that hair!!
My sister with a new baby to play with!
I got to teach them how to swaddle a little one. I think he likes it.
And this might be one of my favorite pictures from all time:

Tonight Ted and I had dinner at Aubrey's and then took dinner back to the hospital for the new parents. I can't wait to get to know this little one!

Juliet lately...

Juliet really loves her play mat. She's so alert now!

Looking more like her Mommy everyday!
If this had sound, you could hear the hood vent. This calms her. Colic is the devil.
The swing is fun now, too....in ten minute increments!
Another funny face!

Down By The River...Feat. Emily

So, I decided that I would take big sister Emily on a weekend tour of 2 of my favorite rivers in the South East...The Nantahala and The Ocoee.

After work Friday we loaded up the car and headed out...while acutely aware that I need a bigger car! We hopped on 68 and headed toward 64 to drive into the gorge around twilight. We got the key to our hostel...it was Emily's first time in a hostel and she did quite well! Then we went to Relia's Garden and had dinner with Scotty. Well, kind of. We ate, while Scotty worked. Scott is my big step brother. We had delicious food, and the flowers on our table were beautiful!

After dinner we waited on Scott to finish up his shift and we just set up camp on an isolated picnic table right next to the river. With a cooler full of beer and the iPod speaker, we really tied one on. It was such a great night! I ended it by giving Scott by copy of the new Dave CD.

The next morning we met Scott for breakfast at the Rivers End restaurant. You've got to check these places out if you've never been there. At Rivers End, every table has a river view. It's awesome! After breakfast, we cruised through the outfitters store and then hit the road into Copperhill. We went to few picture spots, and when the rain rolled in we headed to the other end of the river with my friend, Jessica. I took Emily shopping at Miss B's Purple Bus and then we had lunch.

We took Emily to dinner at El Rio, and then just sat around a fire and had some beers. On Sunday, we spent the entire day on the Toccoa. I got a horrible sunburn! I had a waterproof camera, but still need to get it developed!

Here are some pictures from our adventure:

This is a retreat center on Highway 68. They have a few llamas out there. Emily wanted me to take her picture with them...

Me, Scotty, and Emily.
Scotty..excited to have a cell phone again.
Me and Emily.
I'm not really sure what I'm doing with my arm here. It's part cheerleader and part plus-size model. Nonetheless, this is us on the bridge over the Nanty. It is also a part of the AT.
If you've never been, you should check it out:

www.noc.com

www.rollingthunderriverco.com

Happy Father's Day!

This me and my Dad. He's top notch!

This is my Dad and his dog, Aeneas.

The best part about Father's day weekend is sitting on the back porch at my Dad's house, listening to music and drinking beers. We even kept him up until almost 3 this year!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Emily and I came home on Sunday to enjoy our annual happy hour with the girls. We always have a drink with our dear Carrie Leigh, who lost her father nine years ago. And this year, we had drinks with Tara, also! Carrie's mom was nice enough to watch Juliet so we could go out. Wow. We had a blast and took advantage of a jukebox!

Happy Pappy Day!

Blinded by the Light...kind of...

I'm talking about the synchronous fireflies in GSMNP. You can read all about them here: http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/wildlife/insects/articles/fireflies-flash-unison.html

I've heard about this phenomenon for over a decade, but have never had the opportunity to go. Lucky for me, I had some vacation time to use, so Ted and I went up on a Wednesday afternoon since he didn't have trips on Wednesday or Thursday. We got a camp site at Elkmont.

The rain poured...and poured...and pored some more. We even had to pull over on our way there. But the rain stopped for a few minutes so we could set up camp, and then we cooked dinner, and then went on a short hike to find the fireflies. They were out in all of their majesty because of the rain, but there were still enough out that it was amazing!

A soaked self-portrait:

Ted putting up the tent:
A sleepy Ted:
The lantern Ted has had since he was very young...you can guess how many years that is:
In case you were wondering...
So, don't pollute and clean up after yourselves!

You can't take pictures of the fireflies. If you haven't seen it, you must go next year! You won't regret it!

If you want a campsite on the weekend, book early.

Here are some other links, courtesy of my fellow blog friend Mauri:

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/fireflies.htm

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=88721&catid=2

http://yoursmokies.blogspot.com/2009/05/synchronized-firefly-show-in-great.html

http://www.mysmokymtnvacations.com/content/view/34/40/

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/46082337.html

http://www.terry-1.com/fireflies.htm

http://www.whnt.com/news/sns-ap-tn--synchronousfireflies,0,4136033.story

Introducing Juliet to one of our Traditions

I would say at least 2 times a month we venture to Mr. Gatti's for the pizza buffet. This picture is from Juliet's first time there!

Mar Mar is Growing Up!

Martha, my younger cousin, has reached a huge rite of passage...she graduated from High School! I can remember the day she was born, the day she fell in love with Don Henley from the Eagles, her electric guitar and Barney videos...and now she is making plans to pursue a degree in nursing. My how time flies.

This was Ted's first visit to Smithville, TN, where my family roots are. Naturally, I made him stop at the "scenic overlook" for a self portrait.

This picture is from Martha's high school graduation. She's got a good 4 inches on me now!

This picture is from my high school graduation with one eight year old Martha...almost nine.

After graduation, we drove to Cookeville to have dinner with the family. After that, Ted and I headed to the river...it took us almost 5 hours to get there. With losing an hour, we arrived close to 5:00am!

But in the South It's a Religion...

"In the East it's a cultural exercise. On the West Coast it's a tourist attraction. In Texas it's the big stakes. In the Midwest it's a slugfest. But in the South it's a religion!"

I would usually insert a Go Vols! here...but in the spirit of keeping all of you happy...Roll Tide, Roll!

[the Tide has a special place in my heart]

Evening Nap

So the past few nights when I get home from work, etc, I've had the opportunity to spend some couch time with Baby J. This allows Mom time to do her things and Miss Pam can go to bed early...well, who am I kidding? I don't really know what they do upstairs. And, my holding Juliet is not really all that important as to helping them get things done. But, I get to spend some time with her and I like that.

Check out this little pose from last night.

It is somewhat difficult to handle the Nikon D50 with one hand, but I got the picture!

My New Lunch Hour

I try to fight it and stay at the office, but I usually end up at home to see this little girl on my lunch break...

This is a picture of the little onesie that I made for Juliet...

Here is the front of it!

Please! No more photos!

Introducing Uncle Clint!

This past weekend Mr. Smith and Clint came to Knoxville. Here are some great pictures of Tara showing Clint how to hold the baby! He's going to be such a good little uncle!

Ta-da!

I was out of town on Saturday and Sunday morning, so I missed the whole family visit. It seems like they had a good time, though! Oh! And, Great Aunt Nancy sent ribs from Dreamland...the people ate well!

Tour de Tellico

Here are some boaters at Baby Falls...

Here is Bald River Falls....it looked awesome since there is so much water right now:

I think the aforementioned phone is making me have wrinkles around my eyes...look at that!