Fall Break

This past weekend was Alan's Fall Break and we decided this would be a good time to go home to Knoxville. It was so great relaxing and spending time with our family and friends!

We arrived Wednesday night just in time to have dinner with my family. It was great seeing them, especially since we would miss them the rest of the weekend because they were going to Washington DC for Knox County's Fall Break. Figures...

On Thursday, we had a wonderful lunch with Jessica & Brian Strutz at the Apple Cake Tearoom. It was so much fun to catch up with old friends, I just wish our time could have been longer. Alan and I were able to get a few "Knoxville" errands done that afternoon, and then we met Nicole & David Lipsey for dinner at Aubrey's. We enjoyed celebrating their recent pregnancy and Alan passing the Bar. I was sad about forgetting my leftovers...we don't have Aubrey's in St. Louis!

Friday morning was woke up early. Our plan for the day was to go hiking in the Smokies! We decided to hike the Chimney Tops which is a beautiful trail this time of year. It was a gorgeous October day and the trees were dressed in all of their fall glory! The hike was about 4 miles which Alan and I felt every step of it by the end, but it was worth it! We even ran into a few friends on the trail, what a small world! That night, we met his family at the boat and took it to dinner at Lakeside Tavern. You don't realize how much you love the lake until you move away from it! It was fun cuddling up in blankets and cruising to dinner as the sun began to set. It was pretty cold on the way back though!

Saturday, Susan, Katie, and I went to get manicures at SoHo in Turkey Creek. You definitely need a little bit of pampering on vacation, and my nails needed it after our hike on Friday. My only request for this weekend was to go to Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge, so that's where we headed next followed by shopping at the outlets. It doesn't get much better than that! That night we celebrated Katie's birthday at the Moore's house with hamburgers, sugar-cookie cake, and presents.

Sunday morning we went to Cedar Springs and were able to connect with a few more friends there before heading back to St. Louis. I will say that it wasn't much of a "break" since we were so busy but Alan and I came back refreshed by feeling emotionally encouraged and socially caught up. Now we are back to school and back to work!