April

Trying to find a way to keep this kid happy during a baseball practice at the park.

Limes.

He never made a single face.

After fishing out multiple dirt clods from his mouth (the fields were aerated) I determined he was born without taste buds. 

We gave my parents tickets to see The Importance of Being Ernest at Hale Theater. We ate at Nico's Heirloom Kitchen first, then walked over to the theater. I've heard of this play and read it was a comedy so I thought it would be interesting. Welllll, it was interesting. 

But also a little hard to follow. 

Funny...

But kind of long. 

The actors were amazing with their British accents though, and never missed a beat. I was VERY proud of my Dad for not falling asleep! I had to stifle a few yawns myself. We finished by walking across the street to a new ice cream place called Creamistry. YUM. And ran into Jimmy and Rachelle, out carousing in their mustang. We were up way later than tired parents should be, but it was a really fun night! I'm on board with these date night gifts vs. "things". 

Check out this kid's "ready" stance. It's like he's a bear getting ready to attack. It gave me the giggles all season.

Olive was invited to Andi Lamereaux's unicorn birthday party. They painted signs and got these amazing cookies to take home. Some parents really bring the skillz to the kid table!

Just a regular night at Grandmas.

Weston was in the 2nd grade school musical performance, Chicken Little.

He sure is cute. Unlike Collin, he'll do all the actions and smile while on stage. ;)

It was a tad repetitive... as the story goes... but I guess that's what you get with 7 year olds.

Look at those widdle toofers coming in!

The night I got home from Nashville, I picked up Tanner and could tell he didn't feel good. He was whiny and not acting like himself. We got him home and he had diarrhea in his diaper. The next morning the diarrhea and fussiness continued. Then around the 2nd or 3rd day he started throwing up. EVERYWHERE. I didn't even know what was happening! He has never thrown up before. I tried to convince myself it was just a lot of spit up, but he kept doing it and kept doing it. He'd cry and gag and throw up some more. I had kids running all over the house, but couldn't even clean half of it up because he needed me to hold him. I sent a may-day text out to Trav to hurry home! It was the end of the day anyway. Got him in the tub and just held up the rest of the evening. Luckily, he only woke up once in the early morning to chug down some Pedialyte and didn't throw up any more. The diarrhea continued though for a couple more days. Ugh. I swear this always happens when I get home from a trip. It's God's way of keeping life balanced. But I'm glad he was sick when I was home so I could comfort him. I would have been so worried about him if I was gone.  

I love his little "goo goo, gah gah" baby sounds. This was first thing Monday morning when I realized we had a real, runny problem on our hands. :(

Entering the "gets into everything" stage!!!

We met the Porters at the park for what was probably our last good weather day! These two boys are three months apart and pretty darn cute together!

When you don't have lime rinds, orange peels will do OK.

The slightest bump of the hand sent my whole smoothie onto the counter. BAH!

We have been so busy we've hardly used our bikes this season. That makes me sad because family bike rides are my favorite!

Stopped half way through for a picnic at the park.

Collin was so helpful getting us ready to get out the door. He offered to make the sandwiches and I figured, why not?! Travis opened his up and laughed. 

That night, Travis took the boys to the Little League night at the Diamondback's game so I was just bumming around with Olive and Tanner, going to Target and grabbing Filibertos for dinner. Then Marcie text me that it was prom night and Craig was doing their dinner at Mom and Dad's house if I wanted to come help. (My parents were still in Hawaii.) I didn't think it would work so last minute, but Marcie convinced me and in 15 minutes, I was showered, dressed and flying down Lindsay road, stuffing a burrito in my mouth. I got Tanner down to bed in their pack n' play and was ready to help just as the first couples arrived! I was so glad I went! Marcie and I served them their food to make it feel more fancy. I have a new appreciation for waiters! It was a bit hectic getting dressing orders for their salads, plating the food, switching out old plates, getting dessert orders, refilling drinks, etc. Dana and her friend helped in the beginning which was nice. At one point, Craig threw open the back to door to shout, "Lanie's choking!" We could tell it wasn't a joke and I panicked for a quick second running out there, trying to review the Heimlich in my head. Right before we got there, she had thrown up and could breath again!! Poor girl!! I cleaned it up and she was laughing at her own expense. It was quite the event! There were 10 kids total and they all seemed like such nice kids. Craig's date was a girl named Camille Skinner from Highland. It was so fun visiting with them, seeing their pretty dresses and taking pictures! Olive was a bit whiny, until she finally fell asleep. We were there late, washing the china and putting everything away. Travis got home way before I did!

I bought some roses to give a lady I visit teach for her birthday and there were a couple that didn't fit in the vase so I kept them. They BLOOMED so beautifully and stayed that way for an entire week! Seriously! I have NEVER had store bought flowers do that. Not ever! I wanted to know what amazing greenhouse/farm they were from! I just bought them from Target was all. They reminded me of the roses my Grandmother would grow in her garden. She always had fresh flowers in vases around her house. I loved it.

I needed someone to help with Tanner while I made dinner so I asked Weston if he would read to him. How adorable is this? Tanner actually sat still for a few minutes.

Then he crawled away and I ASTOUNDED to hear Weston still reading. Out loud. He really doesn't like reading at all. A rare moment, indeed.

Nashville Day 5- Sunday

We woke up bright and EARLY (likkke 5:30am early) to get on the road back to Nashville! I think Abbey wanted to strangle us! But we didn't want to waste one minute of our last day! Luckily, not quite as much rain as the drive out! The scenery was so pretty.

We read lots of recommendations to go to Franklin, TN which is about 20 min south of Nashville. It's supposed to be a really cute, little town with fun shopping and restaurants. We had already gone to Biscuit Love, but there was another location in Franklin, so why not go again?!

The guy manning the line outside told us to try the Bill Neal which is a bowl of cheese grits, Gulf shrimp, applewood smoked bacon, mushrooms, lemon Tabasco sauce and green onions. It was named the #1 appetizer by Bon Appetite magazine. 

Guys. This did NOT disappoint. We were just going to share it, but SO glad he recommended getting our own. I could have licked my bowl. Who dreamed up lemon Tabasco sauce anyway? A god. That's who.

Had to throw a biscuit on the side. 

With our southern bellies full, we drove over to see the temple. It's right next to a church building where church was being held. It also happened to be COLD. Friggin' cold. We parked, walked over to take some pictures, then RAN helter skelter (think- the Phoebe run from FRIENDS) back to the car. Brrrr!

Attending a Baptist church sounded a heck of a lot more interesting than a Mormon church on this trip, so that's just what we did. Good ol' google helped us find one that was starting soon so off we went. 

It really was a fun experience! When we walked in they were saying a prayer, so we waited in the hall. I noticed this bulletin board and had to have a picture. I love learning about similarities between our religion and others. Our Primary theme for the year! Being a Child of God.

There's so much to say!! I liked how they had a video camera set up, recording the service and displaying it on a TV in the hall. Once the prayer was over, we filed in and sat somewhere in the middle. We were trying to be as inconspicuous as the only 4 white people in the room could be. There was a man in a regular suit who seemed to be conducting the service. The gave some announcements then the choir sang. They had a man on the drums in the back corner, in a sort of glass box. Don't know what that was about. Another guy was on the key board. The choir director was ANIMATED. He'd be leading the music fairly normally, then he'd get more and more excited. The more excited he got, the bigger his arms waved. Sometimes they seemed quite independent from his body, flailing about energetically as though they'd lift him right off the ground! I found myself swaying along, enjoying the enthusiasm and message of the verses. Very different than what we're used to. The songs were interesting... basically just the same couple of lines over and over again. They would last quite a while too. I would start to wonder how many times a person could sing the same 3 lines when all of a sudden, it was over! And everyone ended together like they just knew that after the 53rd time the song was done. I couldn't figure it out! Then came the tithing part. Or alms, I'm not sure what they called it. There was a slip in the program that you put your money it and there was a method to how you donated. First, the man conducting and the pastor put their envelopes in the baskets that the deacons carried up. Then the choir. Then the congregation all stood up and moved, row by row around the room to drop their envelopes in. I felt weird staying in my seat. Maybe we should have donated as a sort of thanks for being there that day. I don't know. Then it was time for the pastor's sermon. I think Shelley was ready to splitskies by then, but this was the part I was most excited for! And he didn't let me down, either! He led us all in a couple verses in Phillipines then waxed strong about Jesus Christ. He gave a funny real life analogy about having a bad day and related it to how we need Jesus. Everything he said resonated with me. What I loved most about it, was it really felt like WORSHIPING. It seemed like every other word was "Jesus". As he spoke, everyone in the congregation would murmur "amen" or " uh huh" or "yes", quietly or not so quietly. It was like constant encouragement or support and it unified the room and brought energy to the talk. I loved it. The pastor started walking around as he spoke and even accidentally knocked over a plant which he made a joke out of. He said we all need to be humble, not take offense and be self-less. Everything was related to Jesus Christ and His character. It was so different than an LDS sacrament meeting, but it was refreshing. It was inspiring. And I really left with a happy feeling of encouragement and like I had just spent an hour praising the Lord! I couldn't help myself, and I took a couple of videos. Sure wish I could have spanned the whole room though! The women had fun hats on and the men wore bright suits and you know what? They were SO friendly!! No one gave us a sideways glance. Actually, we got lots of smiles and they seemed genuinely glad we were there. I LOVED this experience. For sure, one of my favorite parts of this trip.  

From there, we drove about 10 min. to Leiper's Fork, a little rural village we were told you might spy a famous person at. No luck with that, but it was a cute place for antique shopping! We wandered through several stores but all I came away with was a bag of grits!

This was the view from the back porch of one of the antique shops. Amazing.

We were almost out of time, but stopped in at the Franklin Antique Mall for one, last looksie. SOOOO glad we did! My cousin, Molly, said we needed to try Five Daughter's Bakery and it just so happened they had one there! Plus, a Jeni's Ice Cream so I could get my beloved flavor! My only regret was not getting a dozen donuts!! I was so full and figured I'd better not break the bank, so I only bought three. BIGGEST MISTAKE. I tried the maple, bacon one on the plane and about died. It's a cronut!!!! That name is trademarked though, so they call theirs the 100 layer donut. It was absolutely one of the most delicious things I've ever put in my mouth. I couldn't even believe it was real, it was so yummy. I tried to research how I could make my own at home and after reading a copycat recipe I immediately decided flying to Nashville would be easier. I've never read anything close to that complicated before. It takes THREE days to make. Ugh. I'll just keep dreaming about my next visit!

 Good-bye Tennessee!! 

I am in love and wish I had a reason to move here. If I didn't like the fecal colored, box houses of Arizona before, this trip definitely convinced me we live in a stucco nightmare now. :( 

At least I had my amaze-balls husband and cute kids to return to!! Walking in the door of my in-laws house and snuggling my baby, completely beat eating a million cronuts. Travis was crazy awesome for taking off work and doing all the baseball games, dance classes, preschool carpool and bed time routines solo. How is he real? I am so dang lucky. 

Big fan of this country music boasting, green hill rolling, biscuit loving state!

Totally wasted good grits on my kids. They will no longer get any of this goodness! Don't know a good thing when it hits their mouth. 

I like the idea of buying Christmas ornament souvenirs, so here's my little guitar waiting for December!

 Olive and I making our modeling debuts...

 The boys got wooden, rubber- band shooting guns. I was stumped on what to get Travis. Seriously, what do you buy a man in Nashville? I decided on a few food items, but sort of bombed out getting him pralines. He doesn't like pecans. *face palm* I knew that.