Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The South Fails to Rise Again


I love living in the South. Things are just a little different here, and Nate and I have found that we thoroughly enjoy learning and immersing ourselves in the culture. Culture lessons this weekend consisted of going to our very first Civil War Reenactment! For those of you who have never been to one, just picture that scene from Sweet Home Alabama. It was just like that.

They started the show off with a bang... literally. The Rebels shot a giant cannon right next to the crowd. Everyone gave a startled cry and then laughed at being caught off guard. After that the Union returned fire, and the battle was on. The cavalry charged, the infantry followed, the drummer boys drummed, the cannons fired, the wounded fell, but it seemed neither side would relent. (The cows in the back field certainly retreated though. I've never seen a group of fat cows book it like that. Poor things thought their day of doom had come. )

As the battle raged on and the outcome was still uncertain, I heard whisperings throughout the crowd of "Did we win....Does anyone know the actually story....Did we get 'um?" I wanted to answer, "If by 'we' you mean the United States (since that is your country), than yes, we won! If you mean the Confederate States, than no! I hate to break it to you, but they were defeated and no longer exist for you to affiliate yourself with." However, I chose not to share my thoughts on that, and by the end, I found myself rooting for the South. Hey, everyone else was doing it, and I found myself caught up in the excitement of the crowd. Plus we're just trying to adopt the local culture. In the end, the Yankees won the battle much to the disappointment of the spectators.

This is near the beginning of the battle. If you look closely, you can see the cows in the background. Unfortunately, you can't see them running in a picture.

Here is the Rebel retreat

Casualties of war

Saturday, December 4, 2010

A Thanksgiving To Be Thankful For


The Feuz's braved the blizzards of Northern Utah and Wyoming to make the long drive out to Arkansas for Thanksgiving. At first, we were worried they wouldn't make it at all. When it became clear that they would, our next worry was they would get here too quickly. Our house was a mess, we didn't have any food, our grass needed mowed; we had a long to do list, and time was running out quickly. I called my mom around 2:00 on Wednesday to ask what time they would be here. According to my calculations, their ETA was 7:00. However, my mom said according to the GPS, they would pull into our driveway at 5:30. 5:30!?!?!?! How would we ever be ready by that time? Fortunately, Nate and I were both able to leave work early and get through our checklist. As I was sweeping the floor and pondering how they were making such good time, it hit me. They forgot to change the time on the GPS when they crossed into Central time! They assumed it would changed automatically like their cell phones. With a sigh of relief, I called my mom to tell her the good news for me and bad news for them. They really wouldn't arrive until 6:30. In the background, I heard Shane let out a cry of "Christmas is ruined!" (his favorite thing to say when something is amiss.) Nonetheless, they continued their journey and made it just in time for dinner.

Other than the two day drive, I think my family enjoyed their time in Arkansas. I know Nate and I were happy to have them. It felt like Christmas to us to be surrounded with our family. Events of the week included: eating a delicious Thanksgiving feast, watching football, shopping on Black Friday, touring the town, Wal-Mart hopping (we checked out 3 of the local ones), playing basketball at the Walton Life Fitness Center, attempting to play tennis, watching cheesy holiday movies, building a puzzle, walking on some nearby trails, and just spending time relaxing together. Our little house was at it's maximum capacity with Mom, Dad, Brianne, Shane, and Emily here, but it now feels a little empty with them gone. We're looking forward to their next visit. Easter?

My Dad started this puzzle while he was here. Nate was so proud of himself for finishing it.