Maymont

 Had a wonderful time visiting in Richmond in October.  We took a beautiful walk and had a picnic at Maymont.  

Goodbye to Jingle

Somehow Terry and I have managed to live sixty years, most of them with a dog as a pet, without ever having to do any elderly dog care or think about putting one down.  Jingle had declined a lot this past year and was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy.  We knew she was not going to get better.

We scheduled a visit to the vet, and Noah scheduled to come home for the weekend.  We had a lot of good times with her before we said goodbye.  It was still hard, and it was the saddest day of 2021 for me. I’ve got some other photos but since we all have our ugly cry faces, I won’t include them.

Jingle was a great dog.  Terry and I had both always had cocker spaniels, but Jingle has sold me forever on getting a puppy from the pound.  She was well-loved and lived a good life.  We will miss her.  

August Trip to Arkansas

 Rebecca and I traveled to Arkansas to spend a week visiting with family.  It was originally supposed to be my 40th class reunion (which was rescheduled from 2020), but that got cancelled due to Covid (again, sigh . . .)

Rebecca takes photos of Ann’s grandchildren

Cousins at the pool

Gran feeds him a lime for the first time!

Rebecca and Grace and their sons.  Grace’s mom was one of my best friends in high school.

Great lunch with UBC gals (including Grace’s mom, Teresa), Christine (front row)

And Jennifer, me, and Brenda (back row). 

Several could not come due to Covid, but we definitely need to do this again!

Adventure with a Friend

 Sometimes all you have time for is a one-day adventure.  I got to make a fun little day trip to meet my good friend, Noel.  We met for breakfast and drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway, chatting all the way.

Little Oak 2021

 We weren’t able to get our favorite spots, all of the family couldn’t make it to join us, and we had boat trouble, but we still had a great time!

This was Jingle’s last camping trip

Baseball!

This was a great year for Tennessee baseball and Arkansas baseball (though Arkansas really should have won the NCAA title and didn’t!).  Anyhow, there was a lot of excitement around here for a while.  Here we are at the game when Arkansas came to town.  Woo Pig Sooie!

We had great seats right behind home plate!

Waterfalls

Terry and I took a spring hike to some nice waterfalls that we had never seen before.  My favorite was Cummins Falls where we hiked in from the creek below.  You must get wet for his hike.  I slipped at one point and hurt my hand.  Found out about three weeks later that I had broken it.

We also hiked to Burgess Falls.  The water volume was excellent!

First Birthday!

Pi Day is a great day for a birthday!  Actually any day is a great day to eat pie!  I love these photos that Rebecca took of our grandson enjoying his first birthday pie!

A few days after his actual birthday in Richmond, they all came to Knoxville for a baby dedication.  The baby dedication ending up doubling as a baby ANNOUNCEMENT!  We have another grandchild on the way this November.  Here are some photos made at this celebration:

   

  

We had fun having them here for about a week and getting to do some hands-on grandparenting.  

Watching March Madness

Wearing his “Current Family Favorite” outfit