Gatlinburg in the Fall : My Favorite Time of Year!

My favorite things about fall: Gatlinburg, TN, leaves changing color, caramel apples, brisk cool air, cozy sweaters, making pumpkin bread with my Dad, shopping for Christmas... and playing games with my hubby like a 6 yr old instead of a 26 yr old! Did I mention that I won???

We had an excellent trip to the mountains, 16 of us in one cabin with 2 babies, a toddler, a 7 year old and half a dozen adults who still act like kids. It was great family time and a chance to rest and relax like we all needed!!!

A glimps of our cabin...you know its not just a shack in the woods when it has a dozen bright green emergency exit signs...

Oh! The joys of the nasty smelling Fanny Farkle!

After many days of stressful marathon shopping (in hopes of boosting the large economic downturn,) the girls sat on the porch and contemplated the serious problems of the world...and how our recent purchases could benefit mankind... :)

Nathan and I celebrated our birthdays with ice cream cake in the cabin after an excellent dinner in downtown Gatlinburg at the Peddler.
Talk about an excellent steak!

The whole crew...a wild bunch to say the least!

Gates Cambridge Alumni Dinner

The George gang at the Gate's Alumni dinner.

Last weekend, Nathan and his friend Andy planned and coordinated the Annual Gates Cambridge Alumni Dinner. All the scholars in the U.S. that could make it out, gathered at the San Francisco Yacht Club. It was gorgeous. I was lucky enough to get to do all the decor and print media, which was super fun. Bill & Melinda Gates weren't able to make it (they were invited thought!), but everyone else was very fun and engaging.

This is how I designed the tables and programs. I made the centerpieces out of succulents and blue satin fabric.



The food was really good to as you can see! It was a totally huge success and very great experience all together!

Napa and the Vineyards of St. Supery

Aaron and Shauna came to visit us from NC. (nathan's bro & his wife) We had a great time with them in Napa and went to St. Supery's Vineyard and winery.


We were lucky enough to actually see them harvesting the grapes and beginning the wine making process. We even got to go out into the fields and pick grapes off of the rows. Really makes the whole verse about the vine and branches really become clear.

John Mackenwho?

This summer we also went and saw our other pro athlete friend play tennis: Patrick Briaud. It was an extremely fun tournament in Sacramento where Pat's team actually beat John McEnroe and his team! It was great fun and we were super proud of Pat and his New York Buzz team. (note the pretty white hats!)

Hamilton Machine...& Baseball

Quite Frequently this summer we have gone to watch Josh Hamilton play baseball. He is an outfielder for the Texas Rangers. Nathan played ball with him as a kid. Josh is quite a guy with quite a story. A testament of faith to say the least and a genuine guy. We enjoyed watching him play and chatting afterwards every time the A's faced the Rangers. Sad to say we only got to see Joseph Blanton once with the A's before he got traded.

Fun with the Fulton Manor Fam!

Showing off my balancing skills in the grocery! My Iphone is great! We take pictures all the time now! Even running errands !

All of us kids in the "Fulton Manor" house made dinner together and then rocked out on our roommates new Rock Band game. It is so fun! Especially the drums!

Pat "Pat Masterson" (his band name) singing his heart out!

Sarah - the genius behind the gourmet hamburgers we grilled!

Me posing as a Drummer!

Pat, Margarita, and Tony...

March Fun!

Nathan and I have a good friend named Paulie who is giving us boxing lessons in Oakland! It is really fun, but geeze I was sore! We met Paulie through our Tuesday night Timothy Disciple Group. We meet for dinner and then the guys study Ephesians (they are translating from the original Greek text!) while the girls pray and have fellowship. It is an awesome group....our family out here! We have been really supported and blessed by the group, and we are all learning to knit!!!
(Just the girls!)
I am making a blue and white cotton scarf!

We went to a convention in San Francisco and then out to dinner at a quaint little French resturant nestled in an alleyway. We walked quite a while to find it but it was worth the wait and messy-directions!










Last week we had friends from Oklahoma come visit while they were in town for a convention in San Francisco, Cat and Roderick Greene. Cat is from Germany and runs for the German Paralymipcs Team and Roderick runs for the US Team. They are super fun and in excellent shape! They were the figure-heads for the company that sponsors them and makes their legs. They are both missing there right shin and foot. Cat even has a leg so she can wear high heels! We went out several nights in a row to spend time with them, and it was great. We even went dancing! You would never know they had prosthetic legs!



















We went to Girahidelli Park and got giant ice creams down by Fishermans Warf.
Good times!