The 5 senses of Christmas!

Just a little FYI, as I write this I want you all to be aware of the pants I am wearing.  They are some comfy Christmas pajama bottoms that I'm not sure I have words for.  Just imagine patches of different colored snowflakes, we've got some polk-a-dots, a little red ribbon and a whole lot of greens and reds.  They are rather embarrassing, but at some point I thought they were a solid gift so I'll sport them on this eve of Christmas eve.  

So my family is HUGE on traditions and I guess I can take about 80% of the blame for making us that way (if we do something once, I insist we do it again the next year, the EXACT same way).  

The eve of Christmas Eve is the night my family piles in a car, Trevor in the trunk, and we drive around listening to our favorite Christmas CD (Hilary Duff, of course) and look at Christmas lights.  We then come home and watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, that's what we're doing right now.  We're all sprawled out on the couch in the media room, enjoying homemade creme brulee!  All is right in the world. 

I wanted to share the 5 senses of Christmas, according to me!  

When I think of Christmas, this is what I expect to see:

Lots of wrapping paper, ribbon and tissue paper.  Wrapping is an art form here at the Huante's house.  

Along with al those wrapping goodies the way my house is decorated is what Chritmas looks like to me.  This view gives me the warm in fuzzies in a way that nothing else can. 

This is what Christmas tastes like:

Mom's cheddar potato soup.  One of our many traditions is eating this delicious soup & finger sandwiches for dinner on Christmas Eve.  Mom made a huge pot today so we'll get to eat it tomorrow night, then the next and the next, until all that cheesy goodness is gone. 

This is what Christmas smells like:  Mom's toffee.  This is my most favorite thing about Christmas time.  Mom probably makes somewhere between 8 and 10 batches a year.  This stuff is indescribable.  Just imagine a pound of butter, 2 cups of sugar, pecans and a whole crap load of chocolate all put into one.  Making this stuff requires a special touch and my mom has it!  I cannot remember a Christmas that she wasn't making this stuff.  The smell is wonderful, it lingers throughout our whole house for hours after she makes it (she made a batch about an hour ago and the smell is stuck in my nose).

(This was taken before all the chocolate was spread.  HOLY YUMM!) 

This is what Christmas sounds like:  Hilary Duff, Disney Christmas, Aly & Aj.  Go ahead, laugh.  We laugh too, but these albums are TRADITION.  We jam to these for a month straight, put them in a drawer when Christmas is over then pull them out 11 months later.  

This is what Christmas feels like (substituting for touch, because what is a "touch" of Christmas supposed to mean anyway):  Peace, joy, love.  This picture was taking a few days ago when my family went to downtown Fort Worth to walk around.  Being surrounded by these crazy fools is exactly what Christmas feels like.  We all turn into 5 year olds during this time of the year, hints the Hilary Duff Christmas CD.  I love these people!!

Well friends I'm going to go enjoy the rest of A Charlie Brown Christmas with those crazy kids pictured above.  I hope you all have the most Merry of Christmas' :) 

HAHAHA before we made our way upstairs to start this movie my dad snagged this photo of me blogging!  Check out the pants.  Festive, huh?  

Grandma's & shopping.

On a day to day basis my favorite kind of people are parents.  The way they love, the way they cook, the way they want to be apart of every aspect of my life.  It's cute, really.  But on a day I get to spend time with either of my Grandma's, grandma's are my favorite kind of people.  

This woman's name is Nana and she is British.  This lovely lady was raised in Manchester, England then moved to the States when she met my Grandaddy.  It's a great love story, but maybe it's only great to me because they're part of my story too.  Rather than boring you with the sweet details of how he had to ask her to marry him 3 times & move across the world so they could build a life together or the beautiful story I've heard 736 times (approximately) about how she waited under the clock tower in Germany for him I'll go ahead and move onto why she is the most precious lady on planet Earth.  She probably beats out all the Nana's on Mars and Jupiter too, but really I can only speak for this planet.  She drinks tea almost every afternoon.  TEA.  Because she's BRITISH.  She appreciates every single second of the day and all of the little adventures that come along with being 88 years old.  We went and visited Nana in her adorable retirement home last weekend & we brought Christmas with us.  We brought her a few presents, but before she unwrapped them she hugged them!! She then peeled off all the wrapping paper with such technique leaving the paper completely intact.  The way this woman appreciates life is BEAUTIFUL.  The way she loves is BEAUTIFUL.  The way she gives so generously is BEAUTIFUL.  In this picture Nana was sharing old photos with me.  We went through about 4 albums.  My dad and her told stories about my Grandaddy that I never got to meet.  In one of those albums was a picture taken by him of JFK the day before he was shot (HOOOOOWWWWW COOOOOOOL!!!!!!).  He was a professional photographer for the the government!!  I can only dream to be as cool as him, or my Nana.  You can learn a lot from your grandparents.  Lots of old wisdom that can only be given by such sweet souls.  

Now this is Grandma and she is as cute as a button.  She told me she loves reading my blogs so here's you're little shout-out Grandma!  I am blessed by this woman's love.  We ventured to Grandbury yesterday for a little shopping day.  We spent a good two hours at BABES (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) talking about love languages (my favorite topic for any conversation) and such.  We then walked and talked and walked and talked and she stressed out about buying the perfect Christmas presents for everyone.  Shannon & I played dress up then took a fat nap in the car on the drive home.  

Grandma's, they're the sweetest, cutest, most lovely people and although I'm a little bias, these are two of the greatest this worlds got! 

Just a few pictures from our shopping day: 

I realize this is only half of Shannon's face, but I LOVE this picture.

Remember those RIDICULOUS popcorn shirts from forever ago?  Confession:  I always wanted one.  Thank you Mom & Dad for never following through with my requests of owning one of these… shirts that fit anyone.  

This is our attempt at a sorority girl pose.  Nailed it? 

Written on a whim.

Well my plan of being asleep by 8:15 tonight has been shot.  First it was, oh I'll watch one episode of Vampire Diaries (guilty pleasure, sorry I'm not sorry), then I decided that re listening to the Song of Solomon podcast by Ben Stuart (YOU ARE NOT ALOUD TO DIE IF YOU HAVEN'T LISTENED TO THEM) was a good idea, then my roommate sent me the link to a blog filled with super great inspiration, now it's almost 11.  

So I write, a lot.  Like I consistently write in 3 separate journals.  They each serve a different purpose.  Then I have this nifty thing, it's pretty censored, but it's stuff I'm comfortable sharing with everybody, rather than just Jenny, God or myself.  Moving onto the point…

There are an infinite amount of dreams running through my mind write now and I planned on writing them all down, but I'll let you guys in on this stuff.  I'm just going to go ahead and throw all these dreams that have consumed my mind all over you guys.  I have no idea where this is going to go, but if it pops in my mind I promise to type it out.  On your mark, get set, go!  

Snuggly dogs, like the kind that will sleep with me every night.  But not just dogs, big dogs, that have lots of fur & the ability to love me for as long as they live.

  

Dark hair and blue eyes, swoon.  

Those horrible hair days that turn into great hair days with the use of a curling iron & a few bobby pins.    Wow, thank you hair gods for the art of a messy bun. 

A colorful, maybe like a sea-foam green, shirt with a great vest over it.  Add some jeans & appropriate boots.  Bring a picnic basket & I'll bring the wine I'm not allowed to drink yet.  We'll hike that mountain over there, bring our cameras & that big cuddly dog I promised to love forever & we'll have the best day of our life.  

Hearing songs that I wish were written for me, but they weren't so I go ahead and pretend they are.  Then I get goosebumps pretending someone really thinks I'm as great as the person being sung about.  Music, there are no words.  

Taking a photo that I'm REALLY proud of.  Like show everyone I know, proud of.  Like the lighting is perfect, the back drop is out of focus & the forefront is pristine.  It maybe off centered, but the perfect kind of off centered.  

Thinking about something that happened once upon a time & it made me smile so big remembering it that I actually turn into a piece of walking cheese.  We're talking the hard cheddar cheese kind of cheese here people.  This smile is taking over my face.  

Finally getting to wear THE outfit I've been thinking about since the moment I bought the shirt that would go perfect with the pants & the boots, but the weather doesn't agree with the outfit and the appropriate occasion hasn't presented itself yet. I'll try it on, altogether, several times waiting for THE day of all days.  Well now it's here, so I put it on, question myself, but then decide it's perfect. I walk out of the house with confidence & darn right I rock that outfit all day long!  

Mountains.  You guys may think I'm kidding when I say I think about the mountains all day everyday, but I'm not.  I've got the perfect little house in mind; the windows will be old, the floors will be tattered, the fireplace will be perfect.  Apple cider and a good book by Kristin Hannah with my big 'ole dog  sitting at my feet.  

Children with beautiful, big, brown eyes filled with the most pure kind of innocence. 

People that are kind.  Genuine lovers.  Sincere and considerate.  These people have desires and they have dreams and they want to share all of them with me.  I hang onto every word they say because every word they speak is of truth and purity.  They are kind and they dream.  They dream big dreams.  Kind, kind, kind.  Hearts that are kind.  They love me and I love them.  Conversation with purpose.  Kind friends that dream.  

Quotes are my soul food.  

Butterflies.  It's the idea of uncertainty and nervousness, but it's happening in my stomach?  Sometimes those darn things flutter all the way up to my throat.  Honestly though, all it takes is a hug from my roommate, the anticipation before asking a question, opening the door to my apartment to the smell of my favorite candle to bring those things to life.  They fly high and often around here.

My dreams are my hope and my hope is my future and my future is lying in the palm of the One who placed those dreams in my heart years ago.  Circle of life people, circle of love and dreams.  I have so much I am so excited about experiencing and conquering.  Patience and persistence will pay off.  Hard work will pay off.  

I will go to the ends of the Earth with my dog, my dark hair & blue eyes, my perfect-bad hair days, the best days of my life, my songs, my perfect photo, my hard cheddar cheese smile, that perfect outfit that is still hanging in my closet, the mountains with the windows and fireplace and books upon books, those beautiful children hand crafted by the Lord, the genuine lovers in my life, the quotes that awaken the butterflies and all that hope I have bottled up.  The patience and the love and the kindness and everything else, wow!  

My life is just getting starting.  Thank goodness!! 

Oh, baby.

This picture was taken the summer before my freshman year of college.  It was about 6:20 AM and I was in the back seat of my mothers van driving with my family to my favorite city on this planet; Crested Butte.  It popped up today when my photos were flipping through, so I went and looked at again.  I stared at it for something like 10 minutes and decided that the moment this photo was taken is a moment I will never, ever forget.  

Things I love:

Finding quotes that spill out everything I wish I could express.  I have a hard time putting words together, so finding my exact thoughts right in front of me, but written by someone else, blows my mind.  This has officially been my favorite quote since March:

"The road to happiness does not end with a ring on your finger. Glass slippers are tucked within the hearts of strong and amazing women who have romanced themselves with adventure of hope and assurance. I believe that where there is hope, there is love. For the brokenhearted, there is healing. For the lonely, there is comfort. For the weary, there is rest. For the anguished, there is peace."

Clarensau.  The most beautiful music my ears ever have heard.  I've been obsessed since December of last year.  I play their songs at least twice a week & lucky for me their new album comes out on November 13th.  Go check them out. Dance With Me is my favorite and I plan on dancing to that song on my wedding day. Mhmmm, love. 

www.clarensau.virb.com 

My new space car that has a sunroof. 

Having a great group of best friends that I get to be reunited with in a week and a half.  These girls are my heart  & soul.  

Love.  I am thankful for love.

Everything that is great about my FAVORITE season.

Weather, weather, weather.  It’s the most frowned upon conversation and it happens every day to every single one of us.  Around this time of the year the talk of the town is the weather and how it is too hot, too cold or too indecisive.  Well I feel like I've been having the weather conversation with everyone recently and I always get asked what my favorite season is.  The question has always been followed up with a long pause and then a long preface explaining why I liked all the seasons.  Well I will no longer be pausing after being asked this question; I have my answer and it is fall.  There are several reasons for this answer but rather than boring you with my love for trees, shades of oranges and reds, football season and I am going to jump to…

For the longest time I have said that the Saturday before Halloween was my favorite day of the entire year and I am sticking to it.  It is my favorite day because when I was in sixth grade, sitting in the back seat of my dad's old car, listening to U2's "All You Can Leave Behind" album, wearing a black volleyball jersey with a red ribbon in my hair, I felt a joy and happiness that I will never forget.  The sun was radiant, the smell of leather and coffee was lingering as I sung my heart out to Beautiful Day with my dad and sister.  It's almost like the day knows I am excited for it's arrival, because it has yet to disappoint me; it's always that perfect 70 degrees and the sun shows up ever year.  

I got to go home for the first time in 2 months this past weekend and it was just wonderful.  There is nothing in the world that can compare to pulling back the bedspread on your bed and seeing your favorite sheets sitting there all warm and ready for you to snuggle up in them, now that was one heck of a sleep.  Then to wake up in the morning to the smell of baked apples, biscuits and bacon is a joy in itself.  Wow, home is great.  I've come to realize that my parents LOVE to buy me things when I am home, weather it's clothes or grocery's they shove things in my hands and tell me to get more, this is one of the many perks of waiting two months to come home.  I'm not complaining.  A delicious dinner can always be expected on Saturday nights and of course my sister and I get to choose what the family eats, so all day we go through our options, the anticipation builds and then there it is: the best grilled chicken in the world, fluffy mashed potatoes, about 3 pounds of broccoli and the best kind of bread around.  Now home is great, but home is even better in the fall.  Mom had the house decorated with all things Halloween, the leaves on the pretty tree in front of my window were starting to fade into a pretty orange and I got to take a fat nap on my favorite couch with football playing in the background.  Pumpkins are all over the town, signs for Fall festivals are hung at every corner, haunted house advertisements are on half of the billboards and the whole world is crisp and familiar.  Home, home, home.  

Highlights from my weekend include: Jumping up and down and screaming my face off with my sister during the Tech/TCU game (welcome to the big 12 TCU!!), shopping with my dad, getting to hug my very best friend and my absolute favorite was helping my mom get ready for her Halloween party.  

A while back my mom told me she had been going to this dance/workout class, well a few weeks ago she told me the truth; her and a bunch of other ladies were really practicing the Thriller dance.  The purpose behind learning this dance was so they could flashmob at this Halloween party!  Can I be that cool please?  My mom dressed up as a zombie and my dad was a news director who got murdered with a clapboard, he had an entire script written up on his shirt and he wore the clapboard around all night.  It was so much fun helping them get ready.  I admire how much the two of them seek out fun.  They are too precious.  

Dad ironed on all of these cool news related things to make his costume super real. 

We could not get over how cheesy "gory gash" sounded! 

How creative is this? 

We found red "blood" sprayed all OVER the house after mom & dad left

Applying the gory gash. That stuff was sickkkk! 

My. Favorite. Picture. EVER. 

You can't read it, but he typed out an entire script that would have been read, had it been true BREAKING NEWS! 

Coolest parents around!! 

I haven't left my bed in 7 hours.

All I wanted to do today was eat fajitas (the Hispanic club is to blame) and go see Taken 2.  I hate One The Border and I was craving their fajitas, I had checked showtimes and had mentally prepared myself to go see this movie.  The only issue with all of this was that I did not have anyone to partake on my afternoon adventures with.  Once I set my mind on something I am determined to make it happen, it's the way my brain works.  If the thought of frozen yogurt pops in my head, I will be thinking about it until I eat frozen yogurt, if I tell myself I want a certain kind of necklace I will think about that necklace until it is in my possession.  This has served as a sever issue.  I had myself convinced I was going to eat fajitas and see this movie today even if I was going to do it by myself. 

I was walking to my car hoping someone would randomly call me, text me, see me and say, "Hey Heather, I am craving fajitas & I really want to go see this movie! Do you have anything going on this afternoon?"  I honestly believed that was going to happen, HA.  Well I ended up at home, sitting at my kitchen table with the same sandwich I eat twice a day and Grey's Anatomy on the TV.  I was let down, I was legitimately upset at my current situation and at myself for getting my own hopes up.  

After lunch I crawled in bed and watched more Grey's Anatomy, took a two hour nap, woke up, watched more Grey's Anatomy, read, caught up on all the blogs I follow and wallowed a little bit.  The reason I am telling you all this is because I hate wasting my days!  I got plenty of sleep last night, a whopping 9 hours, I was not tired when I got in bed this afternoon, but I slept anyway.  I wanted to go on an adventure today, I wanted to enjoy this cool weather my heart has been ACHING for, I wanted to have fun & make the most out of a plan-free Friday afternoon/evening.  Well none of that happened, I am still in bed.  I have gotten up for water and to grab my camera so I could capture my oh-so-eventuful Friday in bed.  

I have been trying this whole "having fun" thing out and I enjoy it.  "Having fun" means staying up PAST midnight, starting movies at 11 PM, enjoying the company of friends, driving around Lubbock with no where to go and saying "yes" when friends ask me to hang out, despite how tired and worn down I may be.  Before starting my "having fun" spree I was more interested in getting enough sleep than almost anything, I would always ALWAYS put school work first (and although that is important, go have fun, then do school!).  I AM IN COLLEGE, WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?! I need to have fun, I need to be adventurous, I need to enjoy what's left of my college career, so I guess that is why I got so upset that I wasted a perfectly good day in bed being unproductive.  However I really did enjoy it, in hindsight.  I am still a little bitter, but I am well rested…   

Sometimes, well actually all the time, the Lord knows what we need better than we know what we need.  Apparently today I needed sleep.  

[I still have fajitas & Taken 2 on my mind. Someone join me sometime this weekend/week :)] 

My view for the day. 

Wallowing. 

At least I had a good book, cheeze-its, my favorite sweatshirt blanket & "The Stars of Track & Field" to keep me company.  

Photography.

Being born with a camera in your face can cause one of two things to happen; you are either repulsed by photographs or you become obsessed with them.  From second 1 of my life, until now, I've had every minor detail and every major detail of my life photographed or video taped.  

My grandfather the photographer.

My Grandaddy and Nana owned a wedding shop in San Antonio called 'Julio Vera' back in the day.  Nana would do the invitations, dresses and wedding planning while my Grandaddy was back in the darkroom developing photos.  I don't know too much about him, but I do know he was an incredible photographer.  My dad tells stories of helping out in the dark room, stories of how difficult it was to transfer the prints over to canvas, stories about the chemicals and stories about how intrigued he was by all of it.  I've seen a few pictures developed by my grandfather and besides the fact that they are beautiful photos, they were taken by the man who inspired my father, who inspired me to love photography.  

My father the photographer.

I swear my father prefers to see things through the lens of a camera than with his own two eyes.  Every single event my siblings and I have ever been too or taken part in has been documented.  I mean seriously, EVERY SINGLE THING EVER that I have EVER participated in has a photo to go with it.  I don't want to say I hated the constant snapping of the camera, but I didn't necessarily enjoy pulling over on the side of the road to take bluebonnet pictures every year, or being embarrassed as my father took a first day of school picture at the flag pole.  I would complain because he would take to long to adjust his settings and the sun would be in my face and I didn't understand why every little thing I did had to be accompanied by a photo.  

Me, the amateur photographer. 

My sophomore year of high school I decided to take photojournalism as an elective class.  At this point I was asking my dad more about the photos he was taking rather than being annoyed by them and I was excited about using his old film camera because all I had ever shot with was a point and shoot.  The class was a blow off and I still kick myself for not utilizing the information I was being taught, but I did love the class.  The dark room was the coolest thing ever and I would have loved to just live in there, seriously LIVE in their.  After the class was over I had officially caught the photography bug.  Only 2 or 3 of my friends had an SLR camera, so I asked them questions and that's when I asked for a fancy camera.  For Christmas the following year my dad handed down his Cannon D20 to me & he invested in something WAY cooler.  He spent lots of time teaching me the basics of aperture, F-stops, ISO's and all that other photog lingo.  I had learned a lot in photo class, but I enjoyed being taught by father.  

For the next few years I would shoot around for fun, taking pictures of friends, animals, nature and anything else I thought was cool.  I then got asked to do my very first real photo session and I was thrilled; my dad let me borrow his camera, lens' and flash sending me out the door with some last minute tips.  I then got to learn all about photoshop and man was I overwhelmed.  I've been absolutely blessed to do sessions for several different families at super cool locations.  Every time someone asks me to take pictures for them I am unbelievably humbled.  Are you sure you don't want someone more experienced, with a nicer camera and nicer software?  Today the Lord spoke to me in a very special way while driving home from a session.  

He told me: "Heather I have given you a special eye for photography.  This is something that is special to you, so it is special to me.  You are blessing these families with pictures they can cherish forever.  You are sharing the love you have for Me, with them as you spend time with these people.  Allow them to be a blessing to you as well.  You are special and your photos are special.  I love how excited you get about lighting and facial expressions.  Continue forward and never doubt the talents I have blessed you with."

Touche God, touche.  

There is nothing in the world that compares to getting the perfect shot.  There are always one or two photos that are better than all the rest.  Here are my three favorites from today!!  

Don't you just want to love this baby forever?  Look at those pretty blues!! 

#United2012 (my best friend is a superstar)

One of the down sides of graduating high school is that you will never have a REAL summer again.  When I say a real summer I mean that they will be filled with work, work, school and work and school again.  Lucky for me I can only speak for the work part (I will never have to take summer school, SCORE), but the days of sleeping until 3 and staying out crazy late are brought to a minimum.  I have had 2 REAL days of summer this year, it's almost August…  Along with getting my summer taken away I've been mourning the 'death' of mission trip and camp.  My two favorite weeks of the year, never to happen again.  When I say mourning, I mean tears and lots of laying face down on the floor.

Lucky for me, this year my church decided to do a community mission trip.  They worked within our county, rather than traveling to a different state.  Such a fantastic thought.  Of course, I was working so I couldn't help out as much as I would have liked to, but I got to attend worship and the message all week which was a sweet sweet treat for many reason.  

Reason number 1:  I love my church so so so so much, any time I get to spend with those people is a special time. 

Reason number 2: Time travel.  Sitting in that pew listening to Johnny Brower, the great, speak truth, brought me right back to those precious times of Breakaway and mission trips before.  If someone were to walk up to me and tell me I was a Sophomore in high school, I would have believed them.   

Reason number 3:  Seeing my brother worship and lead in prayer.  Swoon.

My favorite reason:  Watching my very best friend lead worship every night.  She was leading in songs we had been singing along to for years.  She was the one on stage and it was so pure and clean and beautiful- so Shelby.  It was just the most special to hear her sing Come Change Our Hearts- Josh Tullis.  One of Shelby and I's favorite songs is Weightless by Natasha Bedingfield, these are some of the lyrics, "Surround yourself with friends who only call you a Superstar."  Well Shelby, I'm not just saying it anymore, you really are a SUPERSTAR.  

Traffic, family & murder in KY.

This is how each family member feels about traffic… 

Hitting traffic on a 12 hour car ride is as inevitable as finding a comfortable sleeping position on a 12 hour car ride.  Our steady 0 mph speed resulted in watching ridiculous youtube videos & taking some pretty funny photos of double chins & goggly eyes. We would also take turns blurting out "shake your butt baby! WORK IT SMOOCHIE!!" and boy oh boy did my father find it hilarious.  If you don't know what youtube video I am referring to, you have lost my respect.  

Normally family reunions are awkward because all of these people know you & you would really rather hide in a corner than talk about yourself or hear about 'funny' stories that took place 20 years before you were born.  When I say 'normally'  I mean that is how I felt about family reunions when I was too young to understand the importance these people had in my grandparents, aunts', uncles' and mom's life, back when I had no interest in any of these people or any of their stories.  However, somewhere between a 3 hour breakfast and watching my Papa break down into a puddle of tears while watching a beautifully put together video of the Frederick family through the years, it was more than just being there because I knew I needed to see these people and spend time with them.  These were the people that my mother was surrounded with growing up, the people that knew her the best as a child, teenager, young adult and now mother of 3 grown children.  That is special.  Plus having my awesome cousins & RIDICULOUS uncle Mark cracking jokes the whole time made for a good ab workout!  Did I mention how bummed I am that I didn't get the pretty Frederick glass blue eye gene?  

Hillbilly Heaven y'all.  If I were a serial killer this is where I would go to have fun. I was convinced we were going to get murdered in this cabin.  Hillbilly Heaven was going to be my resting place & there was nothing I could do about it.  It took 3 gravel roads and an uphill battle (Suburban vs. hill) to reach our cabin. The beautiful cabin overlooked a private lake and was surrounded by unbelievably green Kentucky trees.  After plotting out how we would escape if someone came for us we enjoyed lots of hiking, zip-linning, star gazing, games of CLUE, fishing, story telling and laughing.  The cabin was inspirational & truly indescribable.  The bugs I could have done without, but everything from the sky, grass, trees, clouds & smell was so alive & fresh.  

That was our little adventure to Kentucky! We also stopped off at Mammoth Cave & that was a whole experience in itself.  I slept in 4 different beds last week, after that NOTHING beats coming home & resting my head on my own pillow!