4th of July
We didn’t know what to expect for our 1st Fourth of July in Tennessee so we ended up buying some of our own fireworks. We had fun setting them off at the end of the driveway but it didn’t last very long. The neighborhood ended up filling in the gaps really well with a ton of fireworks going off all around us.
Alpine Coaster
We took two trips to the Alpine Coasters – Goats on the Roof and Alpine Coaster in Pigeon Forge. They are near each other and maybe 45 minutes from our house. We agreed on “no brakes” down the hill. The boys also did the “mining” where they got a bucket full of sand and rocks – they loved finding the nice rocks in the sand and both got an “arrowhead” that was at the bottom of the bucket. They also managed to bring home a bunch of the sand which is still in the back seat of my car.
Lookout Tower
Dad came and visited us on their way to Nashville. We didn’t have a bunch of time before they had to leave for the Grand Ol Opry, so we just did a quick hike up Lookout Tower which is 15 minutes down the road from our house. The kids like to scare me climbing all over the boulders there.
He also brought his really nice B&W 803 speakers and Emotiva monoblock amps for me which is a really nice setup and sounds awesome though a bit cramped in our little music room.
Anniversary 15
15 years! We did a lot this month, but we tried to be intentional with each other. We had Escargot at Foothills Milling, we also ate at Bella and we went to see “Barbie” at the drive in theater. The movie was almost impossible to see because a thunderstorm had rolled in and for some reason the car would only play the sound through the back right speaker. We still had a lot of fun, but I am not sure I can tell you what that movie was even about. The drive in theater is a pretty cool experience though.
Boating and Breakdown
We took the “new” boat out for the first time this month (two times actually). There is so much water around us, but for our first outing we chose Tellico lake as there are a couple boat ramps less than 30 minutes from our house. I had spent some time cleaning the boat up and getting it water ready. I tore out the carpet and replaced it with a foam flooring and got rid of all the rotted out padding. Our first outing was fun, but we didn’t have a tube so we just boated around and did some swimming. On our second outing our 1986 ski supreme boat that was built right here in Maryville broke down. The velvet drive transmission was slipping and I think water is getting in through the oil cooler – we were able to limp back to the ramp. I have since replaced the oil cooler and fluids, so we will see.
Home Alone
Stacey went to Cinci for a week, leaving the kids and I at home alone. We went to their school orientation and we ate out together a few times, otherwise, we hung around the house (I still had to work).
Beetle
We have looked at a few Beetles and even test drove a really nice 1966 standard, but we ended up with this 1973 VW beetle convertible. It has a few minor issues, like the parking blocks and some very minor rust in the floor pan. The paint isn’t the best and it hasn’t been washed in a long time, it smells like fuel and I can’t get the drain plug out of the transaxle. But mechanically it is pretty strong and someone kept it nice for a while.
Ratatouille
Mr. George (our neighbor) gave us some of his vegetables from his garden – Christian has been into cooking so he made Ratatouille for us (and Mr. George). They also caught a big snake in his garden and Christian and Wes took it over to Maryville College woods to let it go.
Time with Grannie
Last month, Wes spent a couple weeks with Grannie in Cincinnati getting spoiled. Christian and Joss went for just a few days in July – Christian has been to King’s Island 13 times so far this year.