Carving Pumpkins

Our kids are too small to use the mini saw/knife for carving and it takes a bit of time to carve FIVE pumpkins so, we broke out the power tools. We finished in half the time and they looked great.

Tucson phone number

FYI, our old Tucson phone number is now officially dead -- it was finally time. We knew because the ratio of telemarketers and wrong numbers to legitimate "wanted" calls finally passed 10. =)

The new number is 2641959976 less than our old one in Tucson, including area code. If that makes sense, give us a call and lets us know!

Monte Sano 15k

Today was my 15k race day. I use the word race very loosely because finishing was my only goal. The 9.3 mile course was described as a rolling, shady, and scenic. I guess rolling is a nice way of saying never ending hills that will crush your spirit and will to run. Thank goodness I was with a bunch of other runners who were feeling the same exact thing. I know that sounds weird but it was very comforting at the time. And with a little bit of encouragement from them, I was able to finish the race. I also beat my best time for that distance. Considering it was only my third time EVER running that far, I was pretty pleased with myself.

If you'd like to check out the race results you can find them at this site.

Here are the only pics we got of the day events. Thank goodness :).

Me before the race with my awesome V.T. partner/friend/reason-why-I'm-running-these-insane-distances: Ann (and one of her friends).

After the race. My face beet red, hair fro'd out and sopping wet with sweat. Ahhh, good times.

And check out the sweet shirt I got for the $12 entry fee:

Fall break, day 4

Here's the last batch of pictures from our trip.

Hooray for a great vacation!

Fall break, day 3

Day 3 pictures here.

Today was a visit to the Tennessee Aquarium -- I was impressed that they had so many types of marine animals that I had never seen before, or even known existed. Ever seen a turtle whose neck is almost as long as its whole body? Or a fish that looks sort-of like a feather standing on end, but that swims sideways? Or a crab the size of a car tire? Me either!

The big surprise of the day was lunch -- some "Mongolian" place called "Genghis Grill". You have to pick out all your own ingredients (including raw meat!) then they grill it for you. But I'm terrible at picking out ingredients to make something taste good, that's why I let others cook for me when I have the choice. Somehow, though, my pick turned out awesome and I left feeling terrific. Kyla and the kids loved theirs too.

Another great vacation day.

Fall break, day 2

Somehow I managed to narrow down 239 pictures down to 36, but a little too many for a blog entry -- so check them out here.

This morning when we left the Choo Choo (which is in downtown Chattanooga), we consulted the TomTom as to how long it would take to get to Lookout Mountain -- the response? 8 minutes. Huh? We can't even see any mountains from here! Sure enough, though -- that's about how long it took. Pretty tight grouping of fun for one day. I drove longer trying to find a binky at 10:30 pm tonight than we did driving to Rock City, Incline Railway, and Ruby Falls!

Tonight we went for dinner to "Mojo Burrito" -- the food was okay, I guess, but I got a kick out of the name. Sure, I know what they were going for, but obviously these people aren't Spanish speakers. The Spanish verb "mojar" means "to wet", so "mojo burrito" means "I wet burrito". I guess mine was a little soggy.

Some great quotes:

McKinley: "Dad, how much is this?"

Me: "13 dollars."

McKinley, realizing she'd asked the wrong question: "Is that a lot?"

That made some old folks in the gift shop crack up laughing.

Kendy, who had just found a cheeseburger hat: "Mom, I'm in a cheeseburger!"

If anybody could do it, sweet girl, you could.

Some girl standing by a slide to Kendy: "Hey little girl, you stay by the blue slide while I climb up on top."

Kendy, who probably didn't understand 2 words of what that girl had said: "O-kaaay. Wa-duh-wa-duh go over 'dere!"

I love these kids, they say the funniest things.

Great times, fun day.

Fall break, day 1

We heard that Chattanooga is a great getaway for Huntsvillians (villians? Huntsvillers? Huntsvillites? Huntsvillicans???) -- so here we are!

We're staying at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, which in most ways seems like an impressive 4-star-ish facility from the 1970s. It's a little run-down now, but still has enough character to be interesting.

And now for the part you've all been waiting for!

	At a rest stop about 20 miles outside of Chattanooga (sorry for the terrible lighting)
	See how happy we are when we're ignoring Kendy? =)
	She found the river, and was so excited to show it to us.
	At the Chattanooga Choo Choo caboose (sitting out in the middle of the parking lot)
	The crew.
	A real crowd of drifters.
	Those cars are actually guest rooms (but we didn't land one, unfortunately).
	Sign overhead at night.

More tomorrow!