Memorial Day Camping

Summer is here and for the Davis family that means camping. We have been anxious to use our new tent again since we only got to break it in once last year. We were so glad when our friends Matt and Andrea asked us to go camping with them. Andrea is one of my friends from work. She and I spent all last week during our breaks searching for a camp ground. Of course, all the state parks were booked for lodging. No surprise there. All of the primitive camping was first come first serve. The closest camp ground is an hour and a half away. We didn't want to take the chance of driving all the way there and not getting a spot. So, we found a camp ground only 20 minutes away from us in Adams, TN. We were very excited to find out that it was on the Red River and they rented canoes. So, we loaded up the pups (their dog Molli is one of Chloe's friends), and headed out to Bell Witch country. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the tale of the Bell Witch took place in Adams...not too far from our camp ground in fact. I was very familiar with the legend after having Mrs. Kirkham for 8th grade literature and also after watching "The American Haunting." I filled Andrea in on all the details I could remember. We then read up on it more once we got to the campground. Kinda spooked us a bit!


Once we got there, we pitched our tents right next to the river. That night, we didn't get much sleep. I won't go into this, let's just say there is a big difference between state parks and privately owned camp sites. The next morning, we packed some food and headed down the Red River. It was a perfect day to canoe. The sun wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze. Andrea and I were curious to see if the dogs could swim. I know it's probably instinct, but we had never seen them in water. Chloe confirmed she had swimming legs after about 5 minutes of being in the canoe. She jumped right out into the water for no apparent reason. It was quite funny. (Although, I was not laughing at the time.) Luckily, Clint was able to reach into the water and pull her out. Later in the trip, Molli did the same thing! Matt wasn't as lucky to catch her as she went by. He had to jump in and rescue her. The whole thing was comical! We know now, our dogs love the water.


That night, Matt and Andrea cooked a yummy meal of shrimp, fish, and red potatoes. Gourmet camping! We left Sunday because Clint didn't have off on Monday. Thanks Palomackis for a fun Memorial Day weekend!


Chloe's first swim (besides the jump in experience).



Molli's first swim


Drowned rats!


Clint and his girl


Cooking up some good food

The #1 Worst Place to Raise a Family

The award goes to (drum roll please)....Clarksville, TN! Yup, Best Life magazine rated Clarksville #1 out of over 250 cities. Boy, that's reassuring isn't it? It was even featured on the Today show. Lovely! Good thing we don't plan on raising our kids here. (Well, not if we can help it.) I have to tell you, it really doesn't surprise me. Out of all the places I have lived in Tennessee, Clarksville seems like it has the highest crime rate. The magazine also took into account other things such as education, unemployement, entertainment, etc. They used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Center for Education Statistics, the FBI, the American Association of Museums, the National Center for Health Statistics and the American Bar Association to evaluate 257 cities.
Since we are not raising children here, I can't really speak to the findings. I mean, Clarksville isn't all bad. But maybe we will take a look at the Top 100 list when thinking about our next move. :) I can tell you that we won't be moving to Honolulu (#1), but we could move close to my family in Lexington, KY (#100).

To view their top 100 cities to raise a family in, click here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24713234/

Year Old Cake

I love traditions. And, I would say our one year anniversary was very "traditional." I still don't know where the tradition of eating the topper of your wedding cake a year later came from, but I wanted to do it for "good luck!" I had been warned by all the girls at work that their cake was nasty and taste like freezer burn..ha! So, I prepared myself and Clint for a not so tasty cake testing. We both took a bite (holding our breath) and were pleasantly surprised. It was wonderful! I might dare to say that it was almost better than on our wedding day. I know the thanks goes to a wonderful baker and an even better cake wrapper. My Nana wrapped our cake up well and immediately stuck it in her freezer. Thanks!
We spent the rest of our wedding anniversary evening watching our wedding video and our home movies of Cancun. Ahh, it makes we want to go back now! Clint of course, is always so thoughtful and sent me flowers to work. This time he sent my absolute favorite: lilies and roses. They are gorgeous! Again, because I'm a traditional kind of gal, I got him a book (paper). I ordered it from the Blurb.com website which downloads all your blog postings so that you can create a book. I made a book of our "First Year Together." Since I started blogging right after we were engaged, the book follows us through that time until now. It turned our really well!

Our cake 1 year ago


Our cake now--still as tasty!

My anniversary flowers

1 year ago today...

I was
...getting ready for the happiest day of my life
...still praying for my voice to return enough to squeak out my vows
... so excited to see everyone I love in one place
...thrilled to be vacationing in Cancun
...stress free
...almost in tears at how beautiful my church looked
...on cloud 9
...extremely thankful at how hard my family & friends worked to make our day so special
...trying to take in every moment, but knowing I wouldn't remember most of it


1 year ago today I made the best decision of my life and married my best friend!

Back in the 'Boro

Clint and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary back in Murfreesboro. It seems only fitting to travel back to the place we met. We had not been there since we moved and I knew we would see some changes. Murfreesboro now has every restaurant known to man. We didn't have enough meals in a weekend to eat at all the places we wanted! Friday night we got there around dinner time. We had just enough time to check in our hotel and head to our favorite Mexican restaurant- La Siesta. We drove around campus that night and got to see all the changes that are occurring. It amazes me how much has already been added...like a new road running through campus!

I can never sleep in anymore with my early bird husband. So, on Saturday morning we got up early and went to find some good yard sales--another favorite past time. We knew just what neighborhoods to hit up. No big deals were found, but we had fun seeing the area. Chloe made a few dog friends on the way too! By the way, did I mention how much I now appreciate pet friendly hotels? That is one of the reasons we stayed in the cheapest hotel the first night and one of the more expensive ones the second. If you ever travel with a pet you will understand. But, I think we still saved money by not having to put her in a kennel. We also had a blast showing her "our town." After we exhausted the yard sales, we checked out of that hotel and grabbed some lunch. We took our lunch to Cannonsburg and had a picnic. This place is pretty special to us. Clint has since told me that he wanted to propose to me there on our favorite porch swing. But, he couldn't wait! It was such a perfect day outside. Chloe has mastered the game of fetch and is moving on to bigger tricks. She now will run back with the ball and if you hold open your arms, she will jump up into them...just like on the dog shows! (I warned you that you would learn a lot about her. Remember, she is going to be our only dependent for a long time...God-willing!)

After our picnic and hike we did a little shopping. Then, it was time to check into our other hotel. It was much nicer and the bed was A-Mazing! For dinner, we decided to visit Miller's Grocery. This is one of the places we miss the most. It was, as usual, delicious! We spent the rest of the night watching movies on our flat screen. It was such a restful weekend. We defiantly miss our 'Boro.

Cannonsburg

Miller's Grocery

Action Shot

We love visitors

Friday, I got a wonderful surprise at work when Bridget showed up at my office. I felt like 2 parts of my life met for the first time: my college life and my big girl life(aka Work!). Bridge had never been to my office. So, it was so nice to have other MTSU alum in the building. She rode up with some family friends and had to leave late that night. Still, we squeezed in a trip to the mall (naturally) and a Red Lobster visit. I can always count on her to make my day even better. Miss you already Bridge!
Saturday, we cleaned house in preparation for the Davis family (the original Davis' of course). Joe and Lo arrived late that afternoon. As usual, we had a blast over the next two days. I love when family comes to visit and we can show them around. While they were here, Joe and Lo purchased a GPS system. Okay, I've seen these gadgets in friend's cars, but never actually used one before. What a cool invention! For a person like me who is directionally challenged, that little thing is a jewel. I really want one. I know, it's not a necessity, but I defiantly wouldn't argue with Clint about purchasing one.
My in-laws are so thoughtful. Clint and I had been complaining about how our yard was looking. Being renters, we cannot really control when our grass gets mowed. So, 99% of the time we live in the Amazon. Chloe gets lost in our backyard when we let her out. We also don't really have much of an area to landscape. (Therefore, my southern girl gardening skills will have to be honed later.) But while here, Joe and Lo purchased some flowers and mulch to fix up our tiny area in front of our place. It looks so nice! We really can't thank them enough. I'll post pictures later. They left Monday morning headed out west to the Lonestar state. We wished we could have tagged along, but maybe next time.

New Website

Once again, I get to brag on my talented husband. (Especially, since he would never tell anyone!) Visit the link below to see the website Clint made all by himself for work. Be sure to allow the pop-up and turn your volume on so you can hear the song he wrote especially for Clarksville 7up. Yes, he makes me proud!

http://clarksville7up.com/