A Rendez-Vous

Thursday afternoon and evening we got some pretty strong thundershowers come through while we were at the cabin in Pigeon Forge. Friday morning when we woke up we were surrounded by cloud formation from the fog, but the neat thing was that we were above the clouds due to our height in the atmosphere.


That day we spent the majority of our time just hanging out around the cabin and relaxing. That afternoon we went to the pool that was part of the resort since it was so hot. It was the hottest day of our trip, so it was the perfect day to hang out in the pool. Rebekah ventured out in the pool more than she had previously, so she was able to practice some of the skills she had learned from her swim lessons. (By the way, we have decided to put her back in another two-week session of lessons in July to give her more confidence in the pool and to build upon what she has already learned. She just does so much better with her instructor than she does with Darrin or me.) Joshua did fabulously in the water and had fun practicing his little tricks as well. He grabbed the wall of the pool several times and also practiced flipping over to his back after "falling in" the pool.

While Joshua went down for a nap Rebekah and I relaxed in the hot tub and then we all got ready to meet some friends for dinner. I went to college with Will and Sarah. Will was a percussionist, and Sarah was a vocalist and majored in music education with me. They have three girls, the youngest who are the same ages as Rebekah and Joshua. Poor Joshua was so outnumbered! We met up with them at Flying Horse Grill in Pigeon Forge. (You can read about the neat history of this unique carousel here.) Last time we had been to Pigeon Forge I had seen this restaurant with a carousel inside and thought it would be fun to visit. Everyone gets one free ride on the carousel, and each additional ride is for a fee.

Rebekah, Ashley, and Joshua


Will with his youngest daughter Hannah


Courtney pulls up the rear


Sarah and I laughed about riding in a carriage together


The girls in the little souvenir shop (I did not attempt to put Joshua in the mix because he was in a somewhat sour mood due to fatigue and teething.)
Courtney, Rebekah, Hannah, and Ashley


Joshua went right to Will after the last carousel ride. Not a happy child, but he was very content.


Rebekah was just warming up to the girls when it was time to part ways. Giving good-bye hugs and kisses.


It was a great end to our vacation before we went home on Saturday.

Celebrating a Decade

It's hard to believe that it has been ten years since I graduated from college with my bachelor's degree in music education. I received my BM in May of 1998 from Carson-Newman College after four years of singing or playing an instrument, practicing, practicing, practicing, or studying music from the crack of dawn until 10:00-11:00 at night. Well, maybe it wasn't constant all day, but music was the life, and what a great life it was! I absolutely loved it all!

One of the highlights of my college life was being a part of the A Cappella Choir, directed by Dr. Eric Thorson (a.k.a. "Doc"), during my four years at CNC. (The first three song audio files on this webpage were pieces we did while I was in the choir.) I have many fond memories of the choir including our trip to Austria.

Every year at homecoming the various ensembles from the music department perform a couple of songs for the Music Sampler. Since Joshua was too little to sit still for the performance Darrin took him around for a ride while Rebekah joined me for the concert. She really wanted to come with me to hear the music, and she did really well listening and sitting still for the most part.

Because A Cappella is the mixed choir of the music department they perform last in the Music Sampler. They always begins their concerts with a double chorus piece or a piece that works well with the men and women across the sanctuary from each other before combining in the choir loft.



Once the choir members learn the music well they sit soprano, tenor, alto, bass. I always loved hearing different parts around me when we sang!


At the end of the concert alumn of the choir are welcome to join the present choir on the stage to sing the benediction, "The Lord Bless You and Keep You". This is always a favorite part of mine of the Sampler, to join the rest in singing, as well as to reconnect with friends who sang in the choir with me.

Following the Music Sampler I caught up with a number of friends, many of whom were ACAP alumn. We then headed to where the CNC alumni registration was held, eat some lunch, and find other old friends along the way.

Sarah was a fellow music education major and ACAP alumn.


While I talked with friends Rebekah and Joshua played and walked around, soon to discover the Chick-fil-A cow. Both the kids loved the cow, especially Joshua!

Excuse me, Mr. Cow!



While we were in line to get our lunch the cow walked over to us to visit the kids. After a couple minutes the cow started to walk away, and immediately Joshua started fussing at the cow to come back! This continued a number of times; Joshua did not want the cow to leave! As you can see, Joshua was mesmerized by it!


After lunch we found the tent where the class of 1998 was meeting for our ten-year reunion. It was so much fun seeing old friends again! A number of us gathered for a group picture, although the guys didn't join us.

Left to right: Carrie, Karen, Emily, Julie, me, Jill, Candace, and Jen.


It is amazing how we are all spread out all over the country now after ten years, but it was such a precious time to reconnect with my friends, and I hope to stay in touch with them through the years.