2010 December: North

We have had a wonderful Christmas vacation this year! The story of this Christmas vacation starts a few weeks before Christmas. We got an email from Becky’s sister Emily, who until two days ago was a missionary for our church, was stationed in Clarksville, TN asking us to come to Clarksville for Christmas and stay with Becky’s cousin who is stationed there at Fort Campbell and we could all visit together for a few hours. She said that she wanted to visit with us, but we all know that she really wanted to visit with her brand-new niece. We thought we’d have some fun, so we told her that we had already committed to other plans for Christmas and that we were sorry. Then we made plans with Becky’s cousin to come and visit.

Fast forward a few weeks. My last test was on Friday the 17th; it felt so nice to be done with homework for a couple of weeks. We spent the first few days just hanging around the apartment, sleeping in, watching movies, and reading books. A friend loaned me the last book in the Harry Potter series and so I spent a lot of time at the first part of the break reading it.

On Thursday the 23 we packed our bags and left for Clarksville, TN. We encountered some bad weather on the way, but arrived safely. Becky’s Aunt, Uncle, and 2 other cousins were also visiting as well, so we had a full house. We talked and played games, and drove around to look at the lights. Sophie was the center of attention for most of the time. On Christmas Eve we called to my family gathered out West and listened while my younger brother opened his mission call. He has been called to serve in the California Arcadia Mission, English speaking. We are very happy for him!

On Christmas Day Emily had scheduled a baptism for one of their investigators. She knew that her cousin’s family would be there, but she didn’t know Becky and I would be there. When we walked in the door her jaw dropped. She ran and hugged Becky and said “You lied to me!” It was a fun surprise. The baptism went well. I was even asked to give the closing prayer…in Spanish! I took a year of Spanish in college, but my Spanish has rusted a little over time. I was grateful for the chance to participate in that way. After the baptism Emily and her companions came to visit at Becky’s cousin’s house. We had a houseful! It was like a mini-family reunion in the East while the rest of our families met out West. We had a delicious meal and spent the rest of the day talking and mingling.

The next day was a Sunday, so Becky and I attended an early morning church service and then hit the road. We drove for 5 hours and stopped when Sophie had had all she could handle of driving. We spent the evening in a hotel in Sevierville, TN, which, we learned is the hometown of Dolly Parton. The next morning we went to Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. We really loved the exhibits there. It was expensive, but worth the money. The neatest display there is a tunnel that takes you underneath the pools. It feels like you are diving in a coral reef, with fish, a giant turtle, and even sharks swimming all around you. There are lots of pictures and videos posted on our blog. We really like Gatlinburg, TN. It’s a neat little family-friendly vacation site. It kind of reminds me of Jackson Hole, WY, only bigger. After the aquarium and a delicious lunch at Corky’s BBQ we headed for home. This will be one of my most memorable Christmases ever I think. I really enjoyed the trip, and I’m so glad that I have my favorite traveling companions with me: Becky and Sophie.