Good Old Rocky Top

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - We road-tripped it to Knoxville last weekend to visit my brother Johnny and his girlfriend Natalie. My parents also made the trip, and we all had a great time. It was especially fun to see Emily and her Uncle Johnny get to know each other, since they'd only met once before.

We tailgated all afternoon Saturday and went to the Tennessee-Alabama game, but the Vols lost -- again. That's three Tennessee games for Kelley and I, and we have yet to see the Vols win. 

We had fun tailgating nonetheless, alongside many Tennessee and 'Bama fans - a huge, historic rivalry. It was Emily's first tailgate and she seemed to enjoy it - nothing like starting 'em early - although we can't wait to take her to Iowa when she's a little older for some real tailgating. 

The group

Emily and her Grandpa

 

Emily and Natalie

One of the tailgaters we were with happened to be from Atlanta, and asked us if tailgating is much different in the Big Ten than the SEC.  I have to say it's similar although everything we've experienced at Tennessee just seems larger and more intense than what we've seen at Iowa. The stadium, for one, is gigantic - like Kinnick Stadium with another level on top of it. It makes for a pretty awesome football experience.  This was the view from our seats:

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The woman who parked our car before the tailgate promised she would give us a spot where we could get out before kickoff, so my mom and Emily could go back to the hotel while we went to the game. Unfortunately, the parking woman lied and boxed in our car, then disappeared. It created a chaotic scenario that ended with Johnny borrowing his friend's truck so my mom and Emily could go back to the hotel. Johnny took his out frustration by throwing one of Emily's dirty diapers at a second-floor window of the house on the lot.  Nice.

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There's really no way to go to a game in Knoxville and not memorize every note and word of "Rocky Top." You'll know all the silly lyrics and have it running through your head constantly by the time you leave campus.  You can even buy a CD with various versions of the song (hip-hop, original bluegrass, extended mix, etc). Kelley and I were trying to keep track of how many times we heard it on Saturday. Hearing it over the Walgreen's PA system, blasting from the back of some guy's truck, on the radio and several times during the game, our count reached 14 before we lost track.  If you've never heard the "club mix" of the song, you're in for a treat.  Here's a sample. 

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There was a lot to like about the return drive, the Smoky Mountains, the changing leaves, a toddler who looked like this for most of the 9-hour ride home...

And this...

It's sad when cheap gas is so exciting that it moved Kelley enough to take a photo. 

 

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What made the drive back slightly disturbing and hilarious was listening to all the Sunday religious radio in Kentucky. For about an hour we just flipped from one fiery preacher to the next. 

One guy was making sure everyone knew that when they stepped into the voting booth, God would be there too, so make sure to not disappoint Him by voting for someone who supports abortion. He then spent the next 15 minutes talking about how the country has gone downhill since women have been given more equal opportunities, and that this is not in line with the Bible's teachings about the proper role for women (his words, not mine). 

It was appalling, although in the end we weren't sure whether he wanted us to vote for Obama even though he supports abortion rights, or McCain even though he has a woman on the ticket. I guess we big city folk are just too slow to understand his backwoods Kentucky logic.

Coming soon: Highlights of Emily's first trick-or-treating experience

Fall and Family

This past weekend, my brother Sean and his wife Amy were in town, which was lots of fun.  They live in Los Angeles so we don't get to see them more than about 2-3 times a year, so it was nice to be with them, if only for a few days. We spent some time at my parents' lake house in Wisconsin, and the summer-like weather made it possible to go on one final boat ride for the season.  I didn't love the warmer weather (I'm ready for those 60-degree fall temps!) but it was great to be up at the lake again.

 

For those of you who don't know, my brother is a media arts teacher in the Los Angeles public schools, in one of probably the worst areas in the city, riddled with gangs and crime. Several years back, he decided he wanted to do something with the sport he loved and played in high school and college, so he decided to start a lacrosse team at the school where he teaches, Manual Arts High School.   Now for those who don't know, finding a lacrosse team at high schools in this part of L.A. is hard to do.  And at a school with no budget, and kids with absolutely no knowledge of the sport, it has been an uphill battle for Sean - but he's done really well in spite of the challenges.  In fact, coaching lacrosse and helping the kids at Manual Arts inspired him to start a foundation called LAX in L.A. (LAX is short for lacrosse) several years ago, to teach lacrosse to underprivileged high school kids throughout L.A., to give them some structure when many of them don't have it at home, and to make a needed difference in some of these kid's lives.  The program has expanded to neighboring schools, and has garnered lots of attention in the area.  Two great articles about his organization are here and here.

Sean's wife Amy is a photographer, with her own business, Amy Brassette Photography.   She takes gorgeous photos, and was able to take several of Emily during the weekend:

We're a little biased but we think the photos are pretty great.   If you live in L.A. or know people there who might need a photographer, give Amy a call.  She also took this photo of our family, capturing one of the rare times when we're all together:

...and Iowa won their game last weekend, so all was good.  Hooray, fall.

Emily updates

We've successfully broken Emily of the bad habit of screaming herself to sleep. It was our own fault because we taught her pretty early on that if she fussed for a while, we would go check on her. We cut ourselves off of this bad habit, and now Emily is putting herself to sleep with minimal fuss.

Emily loves to grab any cord plugged into an outlet because she knows doing so gets our attention. We tell her no, and she smiles, thinking it's a game. She grabs, we say no, she smiles. Grab, no, smile. Grab, no, smile. Over and over and over. This would go on forever, or maybe even until the Cubs win the World Series, if we didn't eventually distract her with something else. 

Kelley gave Emily some broccoli and cauliflower for the first time today. She liked it. By she, I mean Emily. Kelley still won't touch the stuff.