VA CA!

Wow, I feel like I've been gone for a year!  Just got back from Gatlinburg on Saturday and it was AWESOME!  I realized once we got there that this is the first time Danny and I have taken a trip together just to take a trip together.  We weren't visiting family, there weren't any friends to stop in and say hello to, we had no schedule, no time restraints, and only vague ideas of what to do.  Which is what I will recommend to anyone who wants to take a truly chill vacation.  We had a really great room in a hotel at the end of the strip and walked a TON!  It felt so good to get out and really stretch my legs for the first time in months.  We played putt-putt (I won, no big deal), ate the largest stromboli on the planet, went swimming, looked in Ripley's Believe it or not, and logged a lot of hours reading, watching Say Yes to the Dress, and napping.  We capped it all off on the last day with a visit to the Aquarium and the Dixie Stampede, which were two of the coolest things I've ever done!  The Aquarium was incredible - there was a long walkway where sharks, giant sea turtles, and sting rays swam right next to your face and about a foot over your head!  And then lets not even get started on the penguins!  I'm pretty sure Danny would still be there if our feet hadn't been killing us.  The world is such a beautiful and eclectic place - I saw crabs big enough for a toddler to ride, tiny neon blue, green, and yellow frogs, eels straight out of The Little Mermaid (completely disgusting), and the most beautiful jellyfishes ever.  Really extraordinary.  AND THEN WE WENT TO DIXIE STAMPEDE!!  Okay, so I'm willing to admit that it could be considered cheesy by some and they may have gotten a little carried away with lights, sequins, and glitter sewn into their costumes, but I couldn't help but have a rip-roarin' good time!  The food was exceptional and you got a lot of it.  We watched a lady ride around standing on two horses and a lumberjack literally launch himself straight up a pole like a puma and watched all of these trick riders dazzle and amaze.  I was SO into it.  The best part of Gatlinburg was that it was mostly untainted by cancer.  Thank you so much for all of the prayers for us to have a good time - it seems like a little thing, but it was just what we needed.  I had a couple of breakdowns when I just became overwhelmed with what was to come, but they were short and I was easily distracted (we ate a lot of ice cream :) ).

Today we had a chemo cleaning party!  Woohoo!!  I am indebted to some really incredible friends who volunteered to come over at help Danny and I deep clean every square inch of our home.  Now I can go into chemo knowing that I have a clean and hygenic place to come home to.  We started at 11 and worked through until 2:30ish.  People were on their hands and knees, scrubbing our floor, sweating and red faced.  What an incredible labor of love.  We are so thankful - there is no way we would have had the steam to do all of it by ourselves even half as well.  After we were done and I took a long cool shower, we went to a really fun (and beautifully decorated) party.  A great day all in all.

Tomorrow is my last day before chemo.  I have to work 11-7, but I'm hoping to have time that night to just relax and get ready.