Tennessee Part 3

Monday in Tennessee also happened to be Lily's birthday!

We had a fun day! 

We went to The Hermitage- Andrew Jackson's House/Plantation.

It was so beautiful and the headset tour was really interesting. I listened to the kid version so that I could talk with my kids about what they were hearing.

His wife loved to garden and they have maintained a beautiful garden where she kept hers.

It is also where they are buried along with a few of their really loyal servants/slaves. Yes, he owned slaves and it was interesting to hear how they presented his slavery. They said that he was not a good slave owner because no slaver owner was a good one. It was not good to own slaves. Again, I was listening to the kid version but it was a simple way to answer a question that nearly tore this country in two. 

We took a few gifts for Lily to open. They were all baby/doll related. She loves her baby dolls!

Lily you are the sweetest little girl and we love the way you make us laugh and smile each day! 

You bring joy to all around you!

First (and Second) Day of School

Monday was the first day of school!

Jon had his moments when he was not as excited but I think when it came time to go, he was excited.

Joey unfortunately started to run a fever on Saturday and threw up on Sunday.  By Monday, the fever was pretty much gone and he had not thrown up in over 24 hours but he still did not feel great so he stayed home.

What a way to start the school year! 

 Jon has Mrs. Garcia and she is really nice.  He said she turned into Mrs. Godzilla on the second day because they would not stop talking. (I do believe that is what she called herself not what he came up with.)

This is what we did at home on the first day of school for a bit of an adventure. Picnic in the shade.

Apple slice smiles!

 Joey after getting home on his first day of school, and the actual second day of school! 

He loved it and had so much to tell me about. His teacher has the 39 Clues books and so he has already borrowed one from her since he read all 3 that he was given in July already. I love that he loves to read!

Mrs. Barentine is his teacher and since she has lots of books I think they will get along really well!

Joey will also be getting his own Ipad from the school. It is part of a technology initiative.  I am interested to see how they will incorporate it into the curriculum. 

It will be a great school year, even if it had a bumpy start.

Tennessee Family Photos

I figure if I told you about the pictures I should share some of them with you! 

There were so many good ones but these are some of my favorites. 

 I have never photo bombed a picture but, there is a first time for everything!

 There are more adorable pictures of Arabella on this little toy- she makes me smile!

 Lily would "wing" all day if she could!

 Focus boys and you will get there!

Tennessee Part 2

Sunday morning we had a family picture shoot.

We all looked wonderful and most everyone was in a smiling mood at one point or another.

 The Booth Family

 The Wood Family

I don't know how we missed the Pope family but we did- sorry.

 Ben took pictures of the grandkids and they all loved seeing what he had captured. 

 Arabella is my sweet, sweet girl. 

 Jon and Grandma. 

 Grandpa and the girls.

 Peter vs the 3 kids (Lily did not want anything to do with it)

 Jon you are such a handsome little devil. I love you more and more each day!

 We attended sacrament meeting at a local ward in the afternoon and then enjoyed some games on the 10 plus acres the house sat on. 

Duck, duck goose was the favorite!

We ended the day with more yummy food and games with the adults after the kids (7 of the 12 I believe) all went to bed with Peter in our tent we brought with us- they all loved that!

I actually think they enjoyed waking him up by pillow fight in the morning even more than sleeping outside!

Tennessee Part 1

We left Friday afternoon for Tennessee and drove to Memphis and stayed the night.  We then drove the rest of the way to Nashville to spend a few days with Peter's family. 

When we got to Nashville we went to see a fort and it was under renovation and closed and then it started to rain.  We decided it was time for lunch. 

 We saw a Joe's Crab Shack and it was great! It was a large restaurant and so the tables were a bit more spaced out and so I was not as stressed about my kids wandering from their seats.  The waitress was fabulous and the food delicious.  It was truly one of the better sit down dining experiences I have had in a while. 

 We obviously had a great time with the camera and the hanging shark. 

 The rain had stopped and we headed off again.  According the GPS the other fort we wanted to see was only about 1.5 miles away so we decided to walk. 

 It started out great but it soon became humid and hot and the kids grew tired as most of it was a slow uphill climb. But we made it. 

 There was not a ton to see but it was interesting.  We did not stay long since the walk there had taken so long.  We figured out the bus route and knew which bus we would need to take and decided to start walking back until we passed that bus.  We never passed it but the kids did so much better walking down hill. 

It helps when you can pile 2 kids in the stroller and dad is willing to carry you on his shoulders.  Bless Joey, he did not get to ride in a stroller or on someone's back the whole time. He is a tough kid and I love him!

The night ended with everyone gathering at the beautiful house we were staying at and a family dinner.