Mini-Vacay in Mentone

When we found out our friend, Afshin Ziafat, was speaking in Chattanooga last weekend, we booked some time with him and his wife, Meredith, at our friends' mountain house on Signal Mountain in Mentone. It was as charming and beautiful as everyone told us it would be! And we had some great couple time with Afshin & Meredith -- mostly sitting on the back deck watching the sunsets and playing our fair share of gin rummy and Cranium's Whoonu (so fun!).


Danny & Sheen. Friends since college ... 19 years.


Meredith and me on the back deck.


Meredith and the monkey.


The cabin we stayed in belongs to a sweet family in our church who were generous to share it with us.


One of the sunsets we saw from the deck. The little white building is actually the church where Danny stood before the floor of Presbytery to be questioned and approved for ordination (of all places a tiny church in Mentone). Britton was still in the NICU back then!


We can never get a decent family pic anymore!


Britton loved Sheen.


Sheen & Meredith.


Somehow, Britton conned Sheen into giving him his iPhone (or maybe he just took it). Britton loves iPhones.


The crow's nest on the back deck.



This trip was actually our second annual summer gathering. We met up last summer when Sheen was speaking at a camp in Chattanooga. Here we were a year ago: