A Tender Tennessee Christmas

Sean and I spent Christmas Day with family in Tennessee. What a great time we had!
We left out of Sea-Tac on Christmas Eve morning, not even the butt crack of dawn. Snow was predicted for the weekend, and we were prepared. I packed Sean's snowsuit, boots and gloves just in case.
Jewel, Bjorn and Parsla picked us up at the airport and it was a cold night.
Bjorn's brother let us stay in his beautiful apartment for the week and he stayed with his girlfriend. He was so kind and generous and even stocked the fridge. It was a nice place and we were very comfortable there.
Christmas Day we had already planned to head for the lake house in the mountains and the whole fam was joining us there. It was snowing, and Sean and I were excited. All but one vehicle was 4-wheel drive, so it was no problem getting there and out. It snowed all day. We spent the whole day there until dark. It's a beautiful place.

Sean on the deck at the lake house in Tennessee on Christmas Day.

From there we went to my dad's where there had been a house full of guests. We came as everyone was leaving, but we had a nice visit. It was still snowing.
The rest of the week we navigated the cold, snow and ice. Sean drove the 4-wheeler in the snow and did doughnuts on the road in front of Jewel and Bjorn's place and had a blast. He also spent some time playing their Wii and building the countless Lego sets he got for Christmas from the family.
I was able to visit with a couple of old friends. I met April when she was 3 and I was 2 and we grew up across the street from each other. I hadn't seen her in about 23 years. She hadn't changed.
Chera is a good friend from college. We were both in the psych program at ETSU and were great friends through those years and beyond. I hadn't seen her since I visited there when Sean was a baby, so about 8 years. She hasn't changed at all either.  It was nice to catch up with them.
The week was packed with activity. We spent some time at Bjorn's parents' home one afternoon, we went bowling one night with Bjorn, Jewel, Brett, Jen and Jean (Bjorn's mom) and had a great time.

Brett was pretty serious about his bowling attire. 

David and Grace took us to the Bristol Speedway in Lights and it was great! It was something to see.

Some of the lights were race themed. We got to drive on the track!

Once we had driven through the entire display we went to the pit and had some hot Russian tea and Sean roasted marshmallows in the fire as we all huddled to keep warm. There were amusement rides, but it was way too cold to do that.
The day before we were set to leave my dad took us on a trip to the shooting range. Sean was able to fire some real weapons, something he has wanted to do for a long time. I'm not really into guns at all, but he is. Dad is, of course, and so is David.
We also visited the Gray Fossil Site with Bjorn, Jewel, Parsla and Jean and I loved it. I think the facility will continue to grow and become a wonderful resource for the area. It's amazing to think that there were once camels in Tennessee.

I loved spending time with Jewel, Bjorn and Parsla and Dave and Grace. It was great to reconnect with old family too, who aren't really my family anymore but I still claim them. My former in-laws are just the best people in the world. I enjoyed visiting with my former sister-in-law too. She's always fun.
I wish we could have stayed a little longer, but I was also glad to come back. I hope to visit more often. I can't wait to see this little girl again!