More on our Tennessee trip

Mike left a couple of days after Alayna's birthday party to go back to work out in the field in Wyoming. Alayna and I are planning on staying here until December 1st. It's hard being apart for so long, but with Mike out in the field all the time he leaves early and gets home way after Alayna's bedtime, if at all, so we hardly see him there anyway. This way I have Mom, Dad, and others around to help out and keep us from getting so lonely. Plus now it's already really cold and snowy in Casper so we're really happy to be here in Tennessee. Here we are at our favorite restaurant, The Soup Kitchen, to send Mike off.

Mom's birthday was a few days after Alayna's and then mine was a week after hers, so we have had lots of celebrations and probably way too much cake since we've been here. Mostly, we've been spending our time going for walks, picking up pine cones and pecans, working on quilts and photo projects, eating yummy food, and playing around the house. We went to the Clinton Antique Festival, and every Saturday of course we dress up in orange and watch the UT football game!

Alayna's Great-Grandma Simpson is living with my parents now so it has been really nice spending time with her. She is 91 years old and still going strong! Even with her and Mom helping out, Alayna is still a big handful. When I was cooking one day, she got into the cupboard and found some blue food coloring and of course got it all over herself! She's getting more and more sneaky all the time.

She has also had the opportunity to play with lots of little dogs so far, and boy does she love dogs! She squeals every time she sees one and chases them all around. We may have to get a little house dog some day, if Mike will let us...