It's my birthday!

I love my birthday....8/23....best date ever! :)

Here's some pics of me at varying ages celebrating my birthday! I wish I had more more my scanned pics on this computer, but I'll just be quick and funny with this post. I think, above all, you've gotta have a sense of humor. You'll probably see that humor/corniness all over the place here!

Me, age 28 (I think)...

Me, age 13ish???, when we took a summertime cruise with the whole family.
(I'm the one in the giant Hard Rock shirt with the too-big hat on my head.)

Me, age 31, just taken a few weeks ago, as I attempted to have a faux-modeling
session in my living room.

Me, age 8ish??, helping my cousins and siblings tie Grandpa to a tree.
(I'm the one trying to give bunny ears.)

Yay for 32 years! Can't wait for more!!

Outlaws and Copelands in Gatlinburg

For one beautiful summer weekend, the Copeland clan descended on Gatlinburg for some hiking, eating, game-playing, hot-tubbing, and lots of chit-chatting. Any pretty pictures you see were made by Laura, my fantastic sister-in-law, with her "smaller" camera. (A plug: Go see her professional work! Hire her for your next big occasion!)

Isn't this gorgeous! (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

Now, my title may need a bit of clarifying. You see, my dear husband (Adam) and his siblings (Luke, Anna, and Bethany) are super-close...and they are all super-good-looking. (True story: When I first showed a picture of the Copeland siblings to a friend of mine [near the beginning of my relationship with Adam], my friend said, "It's almost creepy how good looking they are.") Okay, it's not much of a story, but the siblings like to have their picture together whenever they meet up. And they like to start reminiscing and chatting about stories of growing up. It's all good fun, but, well, sometimes it does make an outsider feel a bit like a....well....outsider!

In 2006, Craig married into this remarkable family. Laura joined in 2009, and I came aboard in 2010. Since we've joined the family, I think we've started to join forces. During Thanksgiving of 2010, we established that the three of us can have our own picture! And that our picture rocks! Early in this trip, the name of "The Outlaws" was created because we're just that cool. So, yep, the Outlaws and the Copelands all enjoyed a fun trip. And I'm grateful that I get to bond with the Copelands and with my fellow Outlaws. :)

So here's a little run-down and a lot of pictures of our great family vacation.

We did a LOT of game-playing. Ticket to Ride, cards, pool, air hockey, bowling, Catchphrase, and a few more. Various people won (although I never quite seemed to...hmmm...), but the best game was probably the Copeland family game that Anna created. We all had filled out elaborate questionnaires about our likes, dislikes, etc. prior to the trip. Anna compiled ALL that info (amazing job there!) and we had a test to see who knew everyone the best. Adam won, with Bethany a close second. Oddly, all the Outlaws finished in last place, but that's okay. Maybe next year, the Outlaws will rig it so we win! Until then, it was so much fun and Anna's hard work entirely paid off. Great job!

Bowling! (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

Downstairs of the cabin. (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

We went putt-putting and it was a blast! We didn't know anything about the place (Hillbilly Golf), other than that the name sounded funny. It turned out you took a little ride up a steep hillside and then the course (which was lovely) took the players slowly back down the hillside as they played. It was a lot of fun!

Yep, now you've seen it. Go there--it's pretty awesome.
(Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

The ride up to putt-putt, aka Hillybilly Golf. (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

Post-putt-putt. Also, we missed the ride down the mountain because of this picture. :)
(Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

We went to The Apple Barn, a great restaurant in Gatlinburg that Adam's family has visited many times. Actually, Adam and I went there together right before we got engaged! Good memories! It was lovely to go there with the whole family and to chow down on their delicious food...and their addicting apple butter. YUM YUM! After breakfast, we took time to have a good photo shoot session.

(Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

Post-Apple Barn breakfast. (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

Christmas in July picture! (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

Apple Barn pose!

Yummy apples

Those smiling, dark-haired Copeland siblings...

Angry/contemplative outlaws...you don't want to mess with us!

Smiling Outlaws...I've got to work on the hand-on-hip pose;
I'm seriously slacking in that department.

Swingin' by the Barn

On Friday night, Adam and I volunteered to cook for everyone. We made Thai food (one peanut, one teriyaki--all with shrimp). It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. :) On Saturday night, everyone cooked: Adam's mom made pizza and spaghetti; Adam and I made crab-stuffed mushrooms; Anna made a salad; Bethany brought some garlic bread; Laura made cookies. YUM! I was absolutely stuffed. So good!

Adam and I are cooking up some Thai food. (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

Bethany, Luke, Laura, Adam, and I went hiking for a bit on Saturday. We took a few wrong turns and did two shorter hikes rather than one long one, but we had fun!

The hiking crew! (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

The Copeland brothers trying to find a hiking trail.

Gatlinburg smiles!

Fun dip! Yum!!

Bethany, Laura, and Luke on a fallen tree/bridge to nowhere.

My man, contemplating nature

Waterfall

Luke, Laura, Cathy, and Adam by the waterfall. (Picture taken by Bethany Copeland.)

The two of us at the waterfall

Resting against the rock

Some smoky mountains, eh?

My attempt to photograph the beauty of nature.

And, just like that, time flew by and it was the end of our trip. Our cabin was wonderful, the company was extraordinary, and it was a great summer trip!

Group picture at the end of the trip. (Picture taken by Laura Copeland.)

As Adam and I were driving back to Harrisonburg, I snapped a few (bad) shots of the weird buildings in Gatlinburg. Oh, so weird...

Driving past the upside-down building

Driving past the Titantic replica. Adam thought it would be the actual size of the ship...heehee!

Outlaw Out!

Caving and Camping

(See my earlier post about my nephew's visit.)

My Mom and Dad came to Virginia to see us and to pick up Ethan and bring him back to Indiana. Originally, Mom and Dad were just going to drive out, stay in our guest bedroom, and drive back. But...they got a cool new RV, so they drove out in that, camped in Broadway on Monday and Tuesday, and then took a more leisurely time getting home and camping on the way with Ethan for several more nights. It was great to see my parents' new RV, but even better to spend time with them.

They arrived here around lunchtime on Monday. Ethan and I drove up to their campsite, visited, and swam at the campground. Then all of us came back to Harrisonburg and I showed them our house as we waited for Adam to get home from work. When Adam arrived home, we went to dinner at Clementine's and had a really nice time. Then my parents drove back to the campsite and Adam and I put Ethan to bed.

On Tuesday, I had to do a storytime reading at the Arboretum in the morning, so Mom and Dad came down and Ethan & I showed them a bit of the Arboretum. Then, as I read for about an hour to a big group of kids, Mom, Dad, and Ethan hiked and explored the Arboretum. It was a hot day, so I hope the forest shade helped them cool off a bit!

Mom and Dad, posing nicely at the arboretum. If you can see Ethan's face, you'll see he's being a goober! :)

Ethan pretending to own this rock at the Arboretum.

After I was done, we met Adam for lunch (he had taken a half-day), and all five of us went to Grand Caverns (America's Oldest Show Caves!), just about 20 minutes south of us in Grottoes, VA. It was a hidden gem.

We went on a 60-minute hike with a fun tour guide, and we saw all sorts of things. (No bats, to Ethan's disappointment.) We saw the differences between stalagmites and stalactites, learned how shields and draperies formed, saw water lines, and traveled more than a mile underground. The caves were used for parties in the 19th century. The caves were also considered "neutral ground" during the Civil War, so Union and Confederate troops were often in the caves, recuperating and relaxing together and then had to go fight each other the next day. The history is extraordinary! I'm posting pictures, but I'm sorry if they aren't amazing...caves ARE rather dark of course! I highly suggest you visit Grand Caverns if you're ever in the area!

Yes. We're going splunking. Rock on.

Mom, Dad, and Ethan looking about in wonder.

The group of us strolling through the cave.

Dad, Adam, and Ethan around one of the reflecting pools.

The beautiful Rainbow Room.

Dad and Ethan admiring the Rainbow Room.

Adam and I smiling in the Ballroom. They used to have dances down here in the 19th century! The ladies would wear one gown into the cave, then change into another one inside the cave...both dresses were absolutely ruined, of course, by the end of the night with all the dirt, dust, climbing, etc. Wow.

Adam and I by the 'Ghost Statue"--it was Harry Potter-esq!

Our wonderful guide!

Adam by a wall that has been signed by visitors since the early 1800s.
(No signatures allowed since 1970, but the history on this wall was extraordinary!)

Ethan at the deepest point of the cave, and also where they found another, deeper part of the cave in 2004 which only 11 people have seen! See the thermometer behind Ethan? It reads 58-degrees Fahrenheit. Brrrrr!!

Leaving the cave. The bars above was the original entrance found by Bernard Weyer in 1804. He started giving tours of the cave system in 1806...making this the oldest "show" cave in America!

Outside the caves, Ethan is feeling the wind blowing from the caves. Spooky!

Adam, Mom and Dad--post-cave!

The littlest explorer finally decided to show his face. :)

Mom and Ethan in a mini-train at a playground outside the Caves.

After the Caverns, we made a quick stop at the White Oak Lavender Farm so that my mom could see if their lavender was blooming. Adam and I bought lavender stress balls, my parents bought some presents, and Ethan petted a bunny.

Ethan petting a bunny at the Lavender Farm.

Then, we went back to our house, loaded up all of Ethan's stuff and headed to the campground where my parents were staying. We played putt-putt there, went swimming, grilled out, and toasted marshmallows for s'mores. (Well, my mom, dad, and I toasted marshmallows; Adam and Ethan chose to burn their marshmallows. To each their own. But why did Adam have to teach Ethan that marshmallow preference?) Anyway, it was just about the perfect summer evening!

Relaxing in Mom and Dad's swanky new RV.

Thanks for visiting us, Mom, Dad, and Ethan! We can't wait to have y'all come back now, ya hear? :)