Tennessee Times

Last Thursday we loaded up the van and headed to Tenn to visit Dad's parents. Thanks to a thoughtful and sharing friend it was a rather uneventful trip. Our only stop was in Asheville for lunch. I attached the shared portable DVD player while we were stopped and for six hours the kids watched L*ttle Hou*e and other various videos provided courtesy of Mrs. Campbell (who has reached sainthood in my book!:) We didn't stop again until we parked by Pawpaw and Nana's house.

And the fun began the moment we arrived. Pawpaw had a full tank of gas in the 4-wheeler. The hammock and swing were ready as well as croquet, horseshoes and other various games. The neighbors next door have a swimming pool that they generously allow us to use when we're visiting. We found out their daughter, who was home from college, was available to teach swim lessons so on Friday we signed up all four kids. Miss Morgan now has her own fan club!

Saturday we played around the house and waited for Brian, Debbie and Jessica to arrive. Later that afternoon we went to Nana's family 4th of July get-together for dinner. Our children ate more homemade ice cream than I would have thought possible. There were a few tummy aches later but everyone recovered fairly quickly.

Sunday Dad preached at his parents' church. We always enjoy going back to visit Mt. Carmel Baptist in Cross Plains. That is the church where Dad grew up. After church Stephen and Connie joined us at the house for lunch. Shawn, Heather and their 4 children drove up to spend the afternoon with us. We tried to swim but the rain came so we had to move the fun inside. The cousins played where ever we were and I had fun lovin' on my 6 week old niece, Ava.

Hangin' in the Barn waiting for the rain to pass.

H and Baby Ava with the doll H made for her the day before we left for Tenn.

The fun didn't stop once we went inside.

The sunshine finally returned so the kids headed outside for some croquet and riding the 4 wheeler. I like this photo because Stephen's barn is in the background. Anyone who knows B knows that "thinking" look on his face. Every shot counts!

Our sweet E.
These 5 photos courtesy of Uncle Shawn's Photography. :)

Monday came and we had to get Dad ready to fly back to NC. After lunch at Cr*cker B*rrell and one more fishin' trip to Uncle Stephen's pond, Uncle Stephen drove Dad to the airport while I took the kids to the pool for another round of swim lessons. Debbie had driven Jessica up to spend the night with her cousins so the kids enjoyed playing with her that day and Tuesday.

Jessica went home Tuesday evening after another busy day of playing outside and swimming. My 4 were exhausted! But they woke up the next morning recharged and ready to go again.

Wednesday morning the twins stayed with Pawpaw and Nana "all by ourselves" while I took H and B to visit Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage. We'll be studying about him this year so it was a good field trip ("Mom always finds a way to do school...even on vacation!" -B) My longtime friend, Betsy, met us for lunch with her daughter, Tara. Her son, Jake, stopped by and so we saw him too briefly. Betsy and I don't see each other very often so it was good to see her if only for lunch. We had enough time for swimming again when we got home. I put the kids in bed an hour early and I think they were asleep before I had left the room.

We had planned to go to Jessica's house Thursday but she had a fever so we stayed at Pawpaw and Nana's to avoid any unwanted germs. We went swimming one last time then the kids had an afternoon LHOP marathon. I think they were too tired to do anything else. Let's just say that we all needed a break from "doing".

Friday morning I took the kids to Purity Dairy in Nashville for a short field trip (see B's comment above!) then we walked across the pedestrian bridge by the Titan's football stadium. It goes over the Cumberland River. We ate lunch then went to the state capitol building. There were lots of statues and monuments to see outside. When we went inside, a tour was beginning and the guide asked if we wanted to join them. Naturally, I said "yes!" (much to B's dismay) and so we learned much more in that 45 minutes than we would have alone. The highlight of the afternoon for the kids was walking through "the tunnel". Ask them about it and they'll tell you all you need to know...plus a little more, I'm sure.

We said our "goodbyes" to Pawpaw and Nana this morning and headed south of Nashville to Shawn and Heather's house. Grammy is here too. The cousins are all playing upstairs, Ava is sleeping and I'm checking email. (Pawpaw and Nana don't have internet so I've been "offline" for over a week now.) We'll be here for 2 nights then head toward Ridgecrest with Grammy.

More adventures await...

Photos to follow when I get home and upload them to my desktop.