Our last day

In addition to it being Ramy's and my fifth anniversary, it is also our last full day here in Tennessee. We head back to California tomorrow evening. We've had a really great time here, and I am not eager to get back to the West Coast, particularly considering that I have to start work next week and we have a long hot sumemr there ahead of us!

On Tuesday morning, we had some pictures taken at Portrait Innovations in Huntsville. Rebecca was only interested in sitting in the rocking chair or exploring the rest of the room and studio. After we'd done all of those pics we wanted and wanted her to do other things, she was in kind of a snit and was less than cooperative. Nonetheless, we got several good pictures. I've posted a slideshow over on the right side of the website.

Tuesday evening, Ramy and I got to go out on a date to celebrate our anniversary! Rebecca stayed with Grammy and enjoyed going out to dinner with her and Aunt Margaret. With the undivided attention of those two, plus "Spakes-peer" (Shakespeare) to laugh at, and all kinds of fun things to play with at Grammy's house, how could she have missed mommy and daddy? I think we were largely out of sight and out of mind! Ramy and I had dinner at the Melting Pot and then watched The Hangover at the movie theater. It was nice to have an adult night out to celebrate our anniversary.

On Wednesday, we left the house early and headed east to Chattanooga. We went to the Tennessee Aquarium. Rebecca was loving all the ocean fish, penguins, and butterflies in the first building. We had made up names of fish for some silly reason, and so we had to "find" those fish at the aquarium. In addition to finding Nemo, we also saw Finn, Goldie, Gill, and Fishy Wishy. There was almost a catastrophe, however, when the first gift shop we went into did not have a plush Nemo. They had a small Nemo, and Rebecca was briefly placated by it and the stuffed penguin that she held hands with and "walked" with. After that, she was kind of over viewing fish, and we went pretty quickly through the river fish building. After lunch, we saw the IMAX 3D movie of Under the Sea. Rebecca was a bit scared by the loud sounds in surround, and she was sleepy and promptly fell asleep on daddy. The 3D thing gives me kind of a headache, but it was a cute movie. The best part of the IMAX thing was that the gift shop there had a stuffed Nemo! Praise the Lord! Since that time, we've had to sleep with Big Nemo, Little Nemo, and the stuffed penguin we bought that Rebecca named Pedro. We drove around Chattanooga for a short while, and I revisited some of my college haunts and felt old when I realized how many things had changed!

On Wednesday night, I went it alone and had dinner with my girlfriends. Ramy and Rebecca played outside at Grammy's house, riding bikes and doing other fun stuff. On Thursday morning, Rebecca, Grammy, and I drove to Nashville to pick up some fabrics at various fabric places so that Grammy can make some cute outfits for Rebecca. Thursday night, we had dinner with Brian, Stephanie, and Baby Benjamin at Cahoots. Ben is such a cutie! He's so tiny and precious but looks older than he really is because he has a lot of hair (not to mention that he looks wiser than any 5 week old). Clearly, Brian and Stephanie are great parents and are enjoying their sweet little boy and their new roles. Why didn't I take pictures??? We made some pies and cheese straws and took them to the Caudles' home in Taft.

Today, we chilled at Grammy's house and had biscuits and sausage or jelly for breakfast. We played outside and Rebecca had a great time blowing bubbles (rather, using the little tools that blow them for you, which are much cooler!). My friend Molly's aunt passed away, so we went to the funeral home for visitation in Ardmore and then on to Huntsville for a nice dinner out with us and Aunt Margaret on our last evening here. I had taken some pictures of my mom's flowers and have been making her some note cards online with them, so I'm finishing up that and putting off trying to pack up! I think I'm going to play like Scarlett and think about that tomorrow! Luckily, our flight isn't until 5pm, so we'll have time to be leisurely in the morning before heading out for Nashville with a stop at the Cracker Barrel. Hopefully we can fit everything in the three suitcases we brought with us with only one extra box to add to the mix. I'm also hoping that we can sneak some of Rebecca's beloveds into the checked luggage and that we don't have to have three babies, Big Nemo, Little Nemo, and Pedro the Penguin all on board with us.