Lucky 13

Right before Christmas, on December 21st, Tyler and I celebrated being married for 13 years. It was a pretty simple "celebration" of him taking the kids to the dollar store for family night and my Christmas shopping (oh yeah, this year I scored some pink ankle socks, gum, and a black Bratz doll pez dispenser) and I stayed home and wrapped some presents for under the tree. We did go to dinner over the weekend, and in we've-so-been-married-for-long-enough-not-to-make-a-big-fuss fashion, we decided the dinner at Cheesecake factory with our friends would serve as our "anniversary dinner" after the fact. We didn't really exchange cards or anything fancy this year, just a couple texts throughout the day, and it was just right for me. Nice. Sweet. Simple.

I love being married to Tyler. The longer we get married, the more co-dependent I become on him, which says a lot for an independent person. I miss him when he's not home (even day-to-day) and it makes my life just feel right when he's around. We've definitely been working out the normal marital kinks over the past 13 years, and I imagine we'll work out a few more bumps the next few years (for example, how to get him to take a normal picture without making a silly face). I am glad that fateful summer of 1996 we decided that dating for fun just wasn't enough and that we should get married. We were young. We were dumb (even though we totally thought we had it worked out, we had no clue!!!) But we were in love and we knew we had a great chance to marry for eternity and build a great family.

Now, 5 kids later, we are in the midst of that great family. I always knew Tyler would be a great dad, and I have a hard time seperating his dad-ways from my strong affection for him. I feel very blessed to learn from him and to strive to follow his example. You know, the example of not blowing his mind in frustration with the kids. He's good at that. Me? Not so much. The kids all love to do stuff with him and I appreciate so much that he takes time to be with them when he has so many other things vying for his time.

I guess, when looking back, I want to remember this 13th year as a good time. Tyler makes me laugh and I've been able to crack a few funnies here and there. We have done some great things together and we have a great hope for our future. Being married definitely takes patience on both our parts, and I nag him far too much (still waiting for a constantly empty garbage can), and he lets his snarky side show when we are having "discussions." Under all that, though, I love him and can't imagine my life without him.

13 things to remember about "us" right now.

1. Our favorite place to eat our together is Viva Mercados

2. Tyler falls asleep nearly every time I make him go to the movies, but since we rarely agree on what to see, he lets me go often with my Mom and girlfriends without complaint. I complain when he rents his movies to watch at home.

3. At night, I play on facebook and he peruses youtube from his itouch

4. He serves as the Young Men's President in our ward and I am in nursery

5. Our favorite show to watch on TV together is "The Office"

6. While Tyler prefers to go camping, I prefer to go shopping (both are expensive, don't let him tell you otherwise)

7. He wears Dirty English cologne and Curve and I wear Victoria Beckham's perfume and White Diamonds

8. Tyler prefers to shop at Perry Ellis and I get my duds at Target usually

9. For his past times, Tyler likes to go fishing and he plays weekly basketball and softball. I enjoy lunch dates and girls' nights with my friends, reading, and scrapbooking.

10. Tyler now claims he's a Libertarian. I am still a Democrat.

11. Tyler's in charge of all the yardwork. I am in charge of all the housework. We both dislike our charges.

12. Tyler naps on the couch. I nap on our bed.

13. Our favorite thing to do together is go on dates . . . especially away, no-kid ones.

12 Days of Christmas all for ME!

Warning: This post may seem as self-indulgent as it really is . . . proceed with caution ;)

If EVER anyone calls me before 8am on a Sunday morning, I am ROYALLY irritated. Who does something like that? This morning, I was that person. I called my parents' home and they, still recovering from my dad's rockin' faculty Christmas party the night before, were still asleep. I didn't leave a message. My mom called right back, all bleary-sounding and cozied in her bed (I'm sure.) To add insult to injury, I asked her for a favor. To add salt to the injury (which is like a wound), it was to babysit 4 of my kids this morning while we went to hear Tyler's folks' speak in their ward's sacrament meeting.

Why share so much background? Pretty much, Mom and Pops deserve a shout out (and Uncle Mike, who apparently heard EVERY word the kids spoke while he was trying to sleep in) because they watched our kids this a.m. and THAT deserves an intro. BUT, another reason is to explain this little idea I had for myself during my father-in-law's thoughts. Today is December 13th. That leaves 12 more days until Christmas and I need to do a "12 days of Christmas." However, I decided, since this year we can't do a secret Santa-y one and since I'm just not as well-connected as Andy (from The Office), I was going to make it a personal mission to do something that would allow me the opportunity to FEEL more, to better BE, to more easily DO the Christmas Spirit. I'm not exactly sure WHAT I am going to do each day; I think I will make that a conscious matter of prayer. Mostly my good, sweet friends and family and even my neighbors that I don't really know are on my mind, so I'd like to include them in my own little celebration . . . somehow.

This is a weird year for me, Christmas-wise. I haven't been able to "want" anything for a bit, so the idea of coming up with a list seems kind of foreign and selfish. However, I decided this morning, in that 9am sacrament meeting, that I do want to feel more of the Christmas Spirit. We've eliminated a lot of our hustle and bustle this season (by complete happenstance, not by design) and I have found more quiet time a blessing, unnerving, but in a good way . . . I think.

Anyhow, for the first day of Christmas, I wanted to take time to appreciate my testimony and the opportunity I have to be a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm grateful for my faith and my relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Savior. Family is such an important aspect of my mortal life, that it just feels right when I broaden those ideas and feelings to an eternal nature. I know, even when (rather, ESPECIALLY when) I struggle, have burdens, or feel low that God cares about me. He does. He hasn't forsaken me because we had to turn off our cable. He sees what our family experiences and goes through and He wants it to be good for us. Further, I believe my elder brother, Jesus Christ, KNOWS how I feel (not that I think he cares that He misses watching Project Runway, but He cares for me and that it makes me a teensy bit sad); that He can relate to me on a level nobody else can. And THAT's who I want to have the strongest relationship with; for that very reason. Today, for our church service at 1pm, Tyler and I took shifts since Brock stayed home sick from church. One of the speakers, a recently returned missionary, talked about having a complete love for our Savior, a love beyond any other relationship we have, and I so appreciated that thought. I thought of all the different relationships I have (wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, etc.) and how they would be so incomplete without the Savior's atonement and without His example.

Anyhow . . . THAT knowledge is precious to me. THAT relationship I have has been confirmed in my life in really sad moments AND in really glad ones too. The whole reason we celebrate this season is BECAUSE we have a Savior, not because we have Santa Claus or ward parties or goody plates on our doorsteps (however, THOSE goody plates and Christmas cards [shameless plug for how much I adore fun holiday mail] are a really great part of the season for me . . . it's like friends and sweets and keeping touch and love and sweets all in one, you know.) I plan on making sure I remember all that this year. I'm going to push past my pride and my bad attitude and REALLY enjoy the next 12 days. Hopefully blogging about it won't feel like eggnog forced down your throat. It really will be a Merry Christmas.

Family Photo Shoot

This is a post dedicated to Chanel who, for some odd reason, is being obstinate about joining facebook where these pictures have already been posted . . . But here I can tell some of the story about how "we will NEVER get family pictures again." (-quote by my dear, sweet, handsome husband.)


I knew it was time to replace the family portrait hanging in our house. Ya know, the one that is from fall 2005 when Brock was a baby. My mother-in-law requested a big group picture, too, so I figured if we were all going to go through the efforts of individual pictures we should just gather at once and get-er-done at one time.


Ok, so that presents STRESSOR #1 with family pictures. Where/who is going to take the pictures. We knew we'd outgrown the studio-package places for the big group. The womenfolk discussed some different people who were into photography. I know there are a lot of REALLY good photographers (kinda feels like the thing to do sometimes if you have a decent camera and are looking for a way to make some cash while staying at home), but I really trust the work of my friend Chris Jenkins. [www.chrisjenkinsphotography.com] So, we booked her for the huge group and she agreed to not only do individual families, but also individual kids, and pretty much whatever else we requested. I'd seen some of her shoots with other friends at a local park here, so we went to Sonata Hills Park up in Seven Hills.

Then we agreed on "fall" colors, which was part of STRESSOR #2. What is it with our consumer economy that we are a full season ahead of what's happening? Christmas decorations out at Halloween? Easter at New Years? Ya know? Anyway, as I was looking for options that would stay in our budget I was irritated at all the Christmas colors out already. Tons of reds, black, gray, turquoise blues (which is the "in" color for winter . . . who cares that it was OCTOBER when I was shopping . . . CLEARLY still fall . . . grrrr.) ANYWAY. My theories of color-coordinating are not probably right or trained, but I know what I like and I had a vision of what I wanted for the fam in order to look good . . . we ARE going to plaster this photo in every Christmas card and on our walls, so . . . When we get pictures done, I'd rather have color than not, and with so many people, it's not okay to say we're going to do "purple" because then we'd look like a huge Grimace or "brown" or we'd blend to each other like a pile of poo. I like to have some pattern, if possible, and different textures. I don't think the girls need to have the EXACT same outfits (they're too old for that now and have their own style), but I am not opposed to it for my boys. I do think the looks should be all jeans OR all khacki, but on a budget I was willing to toss that one out the window.

And that's STRESSOR #3, the budget. Luckily we were all able to split the photog fee, and I was able to narrow our clothes options to what I knew we already had and what I liked: Tyler's golden yellow Nashville shirt (I really liked the shirt on him) and Mackenzie's purple shirt (love that color). From there I pulled out everyones jeans as I washed them (so I'd guarantee they were cleaned come picture Saturday) and then I started to lay the clothes out on the dining table to get a visual. I went to Target to see what options I had there and immediately say the yellow scarf. I love scarves, but don't have a need to wear them too much in Vegas BUT I knew it'd be a perfect match to Tyler's shirt and thought maybe Caylee could wear it (and bonus, it was on clearance for six bucks or so). I found a purple polo shirt for Brevin for $5.99 and the right yellow T-shirt for Brock for $3.99. I was looking for a plaid button up for Briggs, but didn't have any luck. When I laid everything out at home I realized we were looking like the Lakers sports team with the yellow and purple, so I decided to throw in a 3rd basic complimentary color and went for brown. At that point I pulled out my long sleeve brown shirt I've had for several years, my boots from Savers (seriously they cost $.99), Kenzie's brown shoes, and the boys church brown shoes. That left me looking for Caylee's top and shoes, and Briggs top. I went to my hand-me-down bins in the garage to see if I had any options there and found a cream waffle knit shirt that would do Briggs in a pinch if I didn't find anything. The scarf was too big for Caylee, so I decided it'd be my accent color, and Saturday after the early soccer game I swung by K-mart to score brown flats for Caylee ($10.99 - kinda more than I like to spend, but she can wear them to church through the winter or to school on non-P.E. days), and a PERFECT brown polo for Brock. Although it wasn't in the right size, I bought it knowing it would break up too much yellow with Brock and Tyler in the same color solid shirts. I also bought a two pack of tank tops for Caylee at K-Mart knowing I would have to find SOMETHING in purple or brown or yellow to go OVER the tanktop and fast since we were ticking down to prep time and arrival time. I ran super quick to a boutique Rhapsodielle (or something like that, very similar to Forever 21) and found a brown shoulder shrug in an XS that I hoped would work for Caylee ($7.99) and some fun dangley earrings for me in purple (my splurge $8.00) since we needed a 3rd appearance of the purple.

Not that you can see the earrings BUT, here's my law of 3's. There needs to be an appearance at least 3 times of accent colors in a group picture. Purple (4 - Kenzie's and Brevin's shirt, my earrings, Caylee's necklace), Yellow (3- My scarf, Tyler's shirt, Brock's undershirt), Brown (4- Brigg's pants, Brock's and My shirts, and Caylee's shrug), and white (4- Brigg's shirt, Caylee's tank, Brevin's undershirt, and Caylee's hair flower.) And now that you read all that . . . I KNOW!!! I think way too much about this.

I shouldn't really talk too openly about the other STRESSORS of family pictures for the sake of all familial relationships, but it's sufficient to explain I was pretty emotional about our family's pictures and bawled the entire way home. I am SO glad I pushed the point of having a great photographer because she was hard-working and got some amazing results despite a HUGE workload and a woman-on-edge (yeah, that would be me.) Thanks again Chris!!!

What are we raising here?

Yesterday my mom took me, my sister, and my sister-in-law on our annual shopping day for Christmas presents from Grandma Beth. A few years ago my mom decided it would be easier to bring the moms of the kids along with her and she could bang out her shopping in one swoop for all the grandkids. And now that there are 11 of them, it's a hefty job for one person. Bringing us along means we get to help share the load . . . AND she treats us to lunch AND we get to chat and visit and catch up. (And trust me, about 5 minutes into the day out we had pretty much covered the spectrum of conversation.)

Toward the end of the afternoon I called home to talk to this girl:
My Mackenzie had mentioned she would like a jacket from Old Navy that was on sale this week for 50% off. To get more info before going to that store (since i hadn't seen the commercial she was referring to with the sale info) I asked her:

"Hey, we're headed to Old Navy and I wanted to look at the jackets you were talking about. Can you describe it?"

Mackenzie: "Yeah, it has buttons down the front."

Me: "Is it longer, like past your butt?"

M: "Yeah, it goes down to the middle of the leg. It's a jacket that would go with skinny jeans and high heeled boots and looks like is one you would wear in a New York rainstorm."

Me: I'm THINKING, 'did she just describe an entire outfit and location to tell me what coat it is so I have a complete image right now?' So I say, "Okay. That covers it. Does it have a belt or tie around the middle?"

M: "Yeah, a belt that ties."

And there ya go. I don't know about other 10 yr olds that would describe a jacket like that, but I think my little fashionista is AWESOME and it made for a good laugh from her mom.

Some Ridiculousnesses

So, I was driving around today in Tyler's truck since my tractor done did break (that means my Excusion doesn't work) and I started to notice and think about things that I found to be ridiculous. Here's a couple of my thoughts (yeah, one of those posts . . . I don't even have pictures, I don't think.)


K, I am brewing a zit. It's on the right side of my chin which is where I normally sprout the beasts, I think because my cell phone rubs right there, and let's face it, phones are germ carriers (mine is, at least). I think adults getting zits are ridiculous. ESPECIALLY when I'm watching my 10 yr. old's skin tone to see if she'll be prone to the lovely pubescent adornments. I just don't think I should have to be worrying about by own too. There should be a rule that once you reach a certain age, like 18, you shouldn't have to have that on your stress list. And I guess it doesn't really stress me like it did when I was in Jr. High and High School, but it's like a constant reminder of yet another flaw I can't control . . . and it's RIGHT on the front of ma money maker. How about bacne if I'm gonna breakout as an adult? Whatever. At least it isn't the row of pimples I would get on my forehead when I was younger (thank you hairspray-ed bangs to heaven for clogging the forehead pores.) Ah, it reminds me of a ridiculous story from when I was in Jr. High I would obsess about all my blackheads on my nose. My parents would catch me staring, squeezing, examining, picking at my nose regularly and would warn me that I was making it worse. I totally thought they were crazy until one night I went after my nose with such a vengeance that I literally bruised my nose. THAT was ridiculous too, I realized, as I had to cover myself with some lame lie about how I got a bruise when my Jr. High friends asked me the next day . . . I couldn't explain that I had been picking zits, so I said my sister threw a spoon at me while we were unloading the dishwasher . . . don't worry, she outed me the following year since my friends REMEMBERED my ridiculous, lame lie.



And let me back this train up to talk about how ridiculous it is that the Excursion is broken. We have too many kids to lose the bus!! What is really ridiculous is that we had to take it to Ford Country. We dropped it off this morning and never heard back from them today. If past experience proves true, I will bet it's at least 3 days before the even diagnose what's wrong with our car and then many more to get it fixed. Isn't that ridiculous? At least we have a warranty and at least we have SUPER great family members and friends who have been willing to help us get from here to thar.



Hmmm, what else is ridiculous? K, since I was driving home this afternoon right at the time the high school kids are walking home, OF COURSE I noticed the RIDICULOUS fashion of boys with skinny jeans that hang halfway off their backsides. WHOOOO thinks that looks good? Can somebody point out to these guys that their pants are clearly too tight if their boxer shorts are PUFFING out the top? And let's be real, the sagging is to give some space in the nether-regions that enjoy some space (or so I've been told). I think it looks dumb, basically. Really, skinny jeans on many women is a touchy scenario, so WHY tempt fate with the boyfolk? Ugh, I think it's ridiculous.



This week I was released from serving in the stake Young Women's presidency. I was the 1st counselor for 4 years. Yup, FOUR! And some people think that's a ridiculous amount of time to be in one calling, but I have loved it. People were congratulating me on being released on Sunday. Really? I think that's funny. Mostly because I was kind sad to know I won't be working with the wonderful women and young women I have been serving with for so long; that I love. It's almost as ridiculous when people congratulate others on getting a calling. Example: "Congratulations on being called to serve as Bishop." REALLY?! Last time I checked church callings weren't really applied for and "awarded." And it seems like people say that more often when the calling is a bigger leadership calling. I dunno, I think it's funny when people say that. They might as well say, "Hey, good for you for being clearly more righteous than the rest of us and going to be sacrificing tons of time for EVERYONE else. And tell your family 'congrats' too since they won't be spending too much time with you while you serve everyone else."

I read something in an Ensign article a couple years ago about being offended and/or causing offense that really changed my life. When I am offended by someone I must consider the intent of the other person. Now, I know I don't know someone else's heart, so I can give the offender the benefit of the doubt that they didn't intend on offending me, or, if I don't know I can ask them if their offense was meant. THEN, I can let go of the hurt or offense once I know offense wasn't meant OR I can offer repentance or forgiveness for trespasses that caused the need for offense. However, there are times when the offense is continual or recurring and in those cases I should protect myself (however that may be). MY responsibility is to make sure I do not intentionally cause offense so that when my heart is examined by those who I may have inadvertently hurt, they will find me blameless, or, offense-giving-less.

That being said, I have decided that I have been spending a ridiculous amount of time and energy apologizing or smoothing over offenses that I never meant to give. I have concluded that there are some that are offended by my mere existence, which is unfortunate since I, well, ya know, exist. I know I have tons of faults/shortcomings/flaws. Heavens knows I am opinionated, am bossy, have control issues, obsess about presentation, and seek for approval from just about everyone. However also LOVE my friends and family, seek to improve myself daily, want to treat others as Christ would (I know, I fall REALLY short!), and I also do NOT seek to offend people, especially those I consider near and dear. And that's all I can control; others' feelings about me and how they judge me are beyond my control (ha, see, I am trying to get better about my control issues!)

*Sigh* I guess that got kinda heavy, so I will end with this last ridiculous thing . . .

THAT CHIC SERIOUSLY LOST 16 POUNDS ON The Biggest Loser?! CRAZY!

It Ain't Nothin' but a Good Time!

There's nothing like celebrating the hubbub of a back-to-school grind like a getaway for me and Tyler. And the fact that it happened a mere 3 days after school started, the end of August, is really beside the point. [And yes, I am counting as I am typing this realizing that it was 6 weeks ago. WHEN did time start to fly so incredibly fast???]



Our good friends, Derrick and Sherry Stewart, who are QUITE brilliant when it comes to planning good times (i.e. dinner dates, camping trips, etc.) headed up a fantastic trip for the hubs and I and our good friends, Jake and Robin Marshall, to go to Nashville, Tennessee to see the cutie batootie Keith Urban in concert. Because, really, if one is going to see a country star, shouldn't one travel to Nashville to do so? (See, don't you agree with Derrick's logic for all matters?) ACTUALLY, we had all wanted to see Urban in Vegas, but sense our menfolk are dedicated scout leaders and Mr. Kidman would be in Vegas when they were at Camp Hotbox, we had to go somewhere. Nashville is clearly the logical choice.



This trip was pretty indulgent of us; not really provident, ya know, considering the whole "own our own startup" situation, but I am so glad we got away. Tyler and needed a chance to just be together without the stress of kids and work and schedules. And we so enjoy the company of the Stewarts and the Marshalls. Add a LOT of BBQ, a couple of tours, and honky tonks and it was just what the Dr. ordered.



And for the sake of recording for all posterity that I and my husband are fun-loving, concert-going, KEWL people, here's out travel log. (Scan for pictures if that sounds more appealing.)


We went to the airport where Derrick had to break up with his phone so he could focus on our good times. Just kidding. He can do business from ANYWHERE . . .

We took the night flight to Tennessee arriving around midnight. And how cozy is Nashville? There were these cute rocking chairs around baggage claim (yes, yes, we had to check bags since TYLER couldn't slim down his packing to a carry on) AND the most interesting transvestite awaiting us. (Sorry no picture of the man/woman.)

We slickly picked up our stylin' minivan and headed to our hotel. WHICH, I didn't post this picture of us, but the hotel had red cowhide walls in the elevator. I don't know if they were going for sheek, but I found it semi-creepy. But, I digress . . . Our view from the ride:

We got our rooms all situated and enjoyed a liesurely morning with NO carpools, seminary, or packing lunches until it was time to head downtown to check out the local vibe. K, I pretty much loved all the areas of Nashville we saw, but mostly because it was GREEN. It was so thick with foliage you could hardly see past the freeway to see what was beyond the roads. Awesome. BUT, we were all serious about hitting the town to find some good food:

Can you tell how serious Tyler is?

We ended up at this really famous bar and I can't remember the name since I am typing this so long after the event (happy journal reading posterity!) We had our first of many BBQ lunches here, but the highlight was the free line dancing lessons that we did not participate in. We're losers in the embracing the culture so far . . . that happened later Friday night :)

Or I guess, that afternoon. Tyler tried on this sweet leather number. We almost considered buying it, but were too caught up in the buy 3, get 1 free boot sale. Really? 4 pairs of cowboys boots is a lot for one person.

So, after we walked around for a bit we found a tourist stand with this lady selling tours. She wore SWEET black eye liner around her lips and had big blond Dolly Parton hair. She sold us on the entire tour package and we were jazzed for the famous-people-home tour. The boys loved it:

See. I took all these pictures of homes and then forgot whose they were. I think I was most impressed with Alan Jackson's house and most uncomfortble at Trace Atkins' house who lives in a cul-de-sac and our tour bus stopped RIGHT in front of his home while his daughter stood and chatted with her friend. Awkward. Being famous must be hard . . .

We rested up and changed for our hot night on the town. We hopped from honky tonk to honky tonk and enjoyed THE best people watching. The musicians were great, playing for tips and working the crowds. The places were packed and gave Vegas a run for its money as far as wild, good, fun times. We went to this one place and Robin captured this gem of a couple REALLLY enjoying their good time.

Some places we had to wait to get in. This is at Tootsies. It's famous. Willie Nelson has slept on the floor here. And that's gross if you consider how dirty the floor is in these places.

Another highlight of honky tonkin' is all the people that hit on the Stewarts. Both Sherry and Derrick were the hot items in Nashville. I think that was one of the entertaining highlights of the weekend. Well, that, and Derrick getting flipped off from the lady he cut off on the freeway.

We stayed up REALLY late and got up the next morning to look for country shirts. That means shopping. Here's Robin and Jake.

Then we had a city tour, which was pretty interesting. We ate, obviously, more BBQ for lunch. Our tour guide had no teeth, but was much more interesting than the homes tour guy who was too cranky from yesterday.

I can't remember the name of this place either, but it's supposed to remind us of Athena's temple in Greece . . . but it's in Nashville. Don't be thinkin' we went all global or anything.

I think we hit the ice cream shop a few times :)

Tyler, Derrick, and Sherry couldn't hang with the super tourists, so I 3rd-wheeled it with the Marshalls while we hit up some of the famous sites (poster shop, record shop, Ryman Theater (where Grand Ol Opry was for years)). And look who was our tour guide . . .

Willie Nelson? Almost.

We went back to the hotel to freshen up for the concert before heading back downtown for dinner. Here's some of us waiting for dinner . . . it was . . . . yup . . . BBQ. Mmmmm.

The concert was AWESOME! Little Big Town opened and ROCKED it. Then Keith Urban came out and was FANTASTIC! He totally got down in the crowd and referenced being home to sleep in his own bed that night; that he loved being in Nashville. I told Robin I'd love a picture t-shirt of Keith, Nicole, and their baby, but that was not available at the T-shirt stand. All I'll have to do is remember the good times with some pictures and my memories, not a tacky shirt.

And thanks to Derrick who worked getting us great tickets. It was such a fun show!

And then it was more time in the honky tonks. There were way more people and the musicians were great. I wore these boots that were NOT meant for standing around in for 6-7 hours (bad planning), so I totally scored some Old Navy flip flops that were sold at one of the hot dog stands. No joke. Tyler got a Polish dog and I got some flips before we headed to more bars.

This dress was in our lobby. Totally made out of crayons. Cool. Yeah, those are big Crayolas.

And lest you think the hotdog/flip flop stand would be tacky, I captured it before we left on Sunday.

Sunday we completed our touring at the Country Music Hall of Fame and some last minute shopping for those we left behind.

HOWDEEEEEY! Hee Haw set. (My dad used to say you could smell their bad breath through the TV. He didn't care for the show, but I liked it.)

And before we went to the airport, we had to eat, so what's one more plate of BBQ? This was actually, the best joint we ate at, and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who's in the neighborhood.

All and all, I'd give the trip a resounding two thumbs up and Tyler would concur. We sooo enjoyed hanging out with the Marshalls and Stewarts and count ourselves very blessed to have such great friends. Nashville was beautiful, the people were kind, the jazz and country musicians were amazing, and the people watching was top-notch. Basically, we'd do it all again!

Until next time y'all!