Back In the Game!

So, well, it's been a million years since I've blogged. I haven't had any real reason not to, I'm just not into it, I guess. However, I'm taking a LOA from this blog and using our MobileMe account through Apple. Therefore, if you are a follower of this blog or a very fabulous family member or friend, send me a private message so I can add you to our email list for our other blog. Hope y'all are doing well and loving life, because we are!

Annika

Great Christmas Cards!

My dear friend, Amanda, custom designs Christmas cards. She lives out here in Texas with us. She has amazing taste and an eye for great design. She is a degree in graphic design and also does amazing photography work. She is giving away 25 free cards on this website here:

http://www.aroomsomewhere.net/2009/10/ajh-creative-holiday-card-giveaway.html

Graceland Photos... Finally!

Not part of Graceland, but this is Sun Studios, where Elvis first recorded his songs.
Nate and some of Elvis' awards, gold and platinum records, and other memorabilia.
Yep, those are the real jumpsuits!
Elvis wore this in a famous photo. I can't believe I saw this in person!
Me and Linnea paying respects to Elvis and his family... they're all buried at Graceland, except for his stillborn twin, Jesse Garon.
Waiting to go on the "Lisa-Marie," Elvis' private plane
Elvis' famous "Pink Cadillac"
Our souvenir photo. So excited!
One of our favorite rooms of Graceland. The ceilings are carpeted in green shag too!
The Phillips' Family outside Graceland

Missing

I miss Nate... that's all there is to say. Nate has been EXTREMELY fortunate to be part of the Duke Class of 2010 MBA cross-country program. What does this all mean? He's part of an MBA program in which he gets to travel to different countries every six weeks for about 1 1/2 weeks. This past week and all next week he's been in London, England for orientation and his first classes. It's a very special program because only 150 students have been accepted and it's a one-of-a-kind experience for those interested in global business. If you want to know more, his blog is n8phillips.blogspot.com. He is blogging his journey through the next 16 months.

What does this mean for me? I don't get a husband anymore :) He is super busy studying and going to classes. We get an occasional phone call, text, or web cam session. We (meaning Keilah, Linnea, and myself) miss him terribly and can't wait to see him. We're so very, very, very proud of him being accepted into this program and putting in so much effort. I know he's going to do amazing things!

So, while Nate's off in London, me and the girls flew out to Utah. We've been here for a little over a week and have just a little bit less than a week left here. I basically was being a wimp and didn't want to stay in Texas all by myself for 2+ weeks. We've loved our time out here with family and friends. It's been great for Keilah to see everyone (she's grown so much since we were last here in January). and for Linnea to meet a lot of her family she hadn't previously met. It's been relaxing for me to have Grandma (Phillips) and Mormor (my mother) as well as aunties and uncles take care of my girls so I can do simple things I haven't been able to do (like shower, blow-dry my hair, etc.). We are so lucky to have wonderful family who've let us crash and invade their lives!

Graceland

I've been trying to upload pictures of our trip to Memphis for days now, but for some reason they just don't want to be on blogger! We had so much fun and I loved every minute of our trip. Graceland really was a dream come true. I couldn't stop smiling the entire time. It was super hot and humid and I didn't care because I was at Graceland visiting Elvis' home and stuff! We got to tour his house, the grounds, see all his cool clothes (even the white jumpsuits!) and see his car collection and the "Lisa Marie," Elvis' private jet. It was so great! Nate was a sport and humored me the whole time I was there. In fact, he might have even enjoyed it a little bit! It was amazing that I was there where Elvis once was. He was definitely one-of-a-kind and it showed in his taste for decorating, fashion, music, and friends. I could really go on and on about Elvis, but I won't for sake of y'all getting bored really fast.

After our tour of Graceland, we went back to our hotel and swam for a bit. We then went to Central BBQ for some "real" Memphis BBQ. Holy cow (or pig, in this case) it was amazing! We chose some "wet" ribs and a pulled pork sandwich. It was seriously some of the best BBQ I've ever had (Rudy's is still #1 to us). Central BBQ even had the "authentic" look about it. It was a dive and really stunk like and old building. There were people drinking and eating left and right and a guy warming up to sing for the "live music hour." I think it made the food taste "just that much better."

We toured Beale Street afterwards, but not before happening upon Sun Records, where Elvis first started recording. It was a real piece of history! Beale Street is where the blues were born. There are blues and jazz clubs all up and down the street. Almost all the clubs/restaurants have hecklers trying to get you into their establishments. There were street performers and bands playing out on the street too. It was really cool for Nate and me to see, but our girls were so tired by this point that we went back to our hotel and crashed.

Saturday we went to the Memphis Zoo. It apparently is the #1 zoo in the country (Fort Worth is in the top 10 by the way). It was a lot of fun and Keilah had a blast looking at all the animals. There was a really great China/Panda exhibit that reminded us all to "save the pandas" and the earth by planting trees/bamboo. We saw a really cute sea lion show where the sea lions actually balanced a ball on their noses! The cutest thing to see was the polar bear. He was in the water and was playing with a ball. The polar bear would toss the ball up into the air and try to catch it, only to fall into the water and swim around for us all to see. It was like he was showing off! The Memphis Zoo was really clean and had a great layout. If only it weren't so humid right next to the Mississippi!

Our girls were pretty good for the 8-hour drive. It was only supposed to take 7 hours, but between feeding Linnea, potty breaks, and letting Keilah get some energy out, it was almost 8 1/2 hours. However, Linnea and Keilah were angels. Keilah read books, had snacks, and watched "Dora" on a Nokia n96 (advertisement!) most of the time. She occasionally slept, which was nice :) We visited Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee (and Texas!) on our trip. Just a few more states to cross off our list now!