Tennessee... the game

Although the ball game didn't end the way we would have liked, we had a great time!  We watched the Tigerband march into the stadium.  Bryce actually walked right past me.  I could have reached out and kissed him!  Instead, I practically whispered, "hey, Bryce".  So cute to see the corners of his mouth turn up in a little smile.  (They are not supposed to move their heads or smile at all).  All season long, we have tried to get him to smile when we see him :)

 

 

 

The girls got to stay at Rachel's with a sitter for the game (everyone was much happier that way!).  The girls and I hopped in the car right after the game and drove to Memphis to stay the night at Paige's.  Then got up the next morning and drove home.  They were so good!  It is fun that they're getting a little older and more independent.  This is the farthest road trip I have ever taken by myself so I'm pretty proud of myself.  We got home, unpacked, repacked and headed to Disney 2 days later!

Tennessee Part 2...Nashville

Rachel and I have been friends since kindergarten.  We became inseparable in highschool and went to LSU together.  I was also good friends with her husband in highschool so we all go way back.  We haven't lived in the same city since those LSU days, but we have remained close.  Her 3 children are the exact same ages as my boys.  We have gone to games together through the years, and when we found out LSU was playing their bowl game in Nashville...I just couldn't stay home.  We had such a great time hanging out with Rachel's sweet family and watching my band baby. 

The night before the game, there was a battle of the bands in downtown Nashville.  We had a great time!

Rachel thought the girls would love sparkly makeup for Christmas!  Oh...they loved it alright!!  :)

Coated rice krispie treats.  These ended up being rock hard but worked out good because they knawed on them all night!!  Wesleigh even lost a tooth eating it!!!

 

 

We found our Bryce!

Her tooth came right out!

If you look close enough, you can see our reflection in this tuba :)  lol...  

 

 

Funniest story of the night:

Derek was holding Gracie because we had been standing there for quite a while, and she was having a hard time with that.  As the band played, Derek was bouncing Gracie up and down.  She looked at him and said, "Could you please not bounce me...I'm going to tee tee on you!" lol...  She didn't...but I guarantee he didn't bounce her anymore!!

Tennessee Part 1... Memphis

Our Christmas holidays have been absolutely crazy!  Dec. 26, Cade and Richard left for Miami for a baseball showcase and Braden left to help guide a hunt.  Dec. 27, Bryce left with Tigerband headed to Nashville for LSU's bowl game.  One of my very best friends in the world lives in Nashville, so I decided that the girls and I were not going to sit at home...we were hitting the road!  We did.  And we had such a great time! 

We were even able to make a pit stop in Memphis to meet some precious girls!!  Paige and I have traveled all over the world together (Minnesota, China, Hawaii) but we have never met each others' girls!  It was so much fun!

 

 

Her Janie and my Gracie were both part of the Pearl River Outreach program while they were in China!  We have pictures of them together!!  They don't seem to remember each other from then, but I still love that they share that history.

 

 

Of course, they all bonded over dress up!!

 

 

 

 

 Thanks, Paige for letting us crash in on you!!!

Nashville

You will be surprised to know that I really didn't take many pictures while in Nashville. It really wasn't a "touristy" trip. Instead, we just hung out and did life. We did, however, visit a pumpkin patch with a group of moms and we thoroughly enjoyed that. Wesleigh was so excited about the pumpkins!



She also loves chickens. I know these aren't really chickens, but she didn't and she loved them!







Wesleigh and Rachel's youngest, Cooper. He took her down this slide a couple of times.







These are probably the only fall colors we will see all year!




Caitlin, Cooper and Wesleigh



Finding her pumpkin.



Making a new friend. These two were adorable. They stood there and "talked" for quite a while.





I can't believe that I didn't even get a picture of Rachel and myself. Oh well, just one of those things. We had a great time, but were very happy to get home. Wesleigh missed those brothers...and they missed her too! In the airport before we boarded the plane, we called home and Cade answered the phone. She was so excited to talk to him and started up their "baby" game all by herself. I wished I would have had a video camera because she was dying laughing and covering her mouth while she kept calling Cade a baby and he did the same. I'm going to have to try to get that on video very soon.