Nashville

I spent the weekend in Nashville with a super fun group of ladies! We had a fun-filled weekend jam packed with activities thanks to these ladies

After we picked up our super hot minivan from the rental place we hightailed it over to Hattie B's for some Hot Chicken and beer. It was delish! Afterwards we checked into our hotel and then headed down to check out Music Row. We did quite a little walk and ended up walking through a little bit of the Vanderbilt campus. We made it back home in time to get a little touched up for dinner then headed out to Puckett's for some good ol' Nashville cookin' and live music. 

And the selfie stick made an appearance. 

This guy was really good...he played 'our' kind of country music. 

More selfie stick fun. At least we think we are funny.

 

Selfie in the street. 

 

And then someone asked us if they could take a pic...since we looked so ridiculous trying to take selfies with our stick. 

 

On Friday morning we piled into the mini and Lindsey drove us out to the Loveless Cafe for some hot biscuits and country ham...

Just being a little touristy

Next up - Belle Meade Plantation. This venue was the perfect mix of beautiful scenery, history and good ol' fashion girl time.  The history behind Belle Meade is rich with thoroughbred horse racing and even played a significant part during the civil war.  We all loved the guided tour of the mansion - all of the tour guides were incredibly knowledgeable and even dressed in period attire.  The mansion has been restored and they have managed to acquire most of the first residents' items including family pictures, letters, furniture, ect. Afterwards we received a free wine tasting and ended up buying a bottle to enjoy out on the patio. Perfect afternoon!

 

Enjoying a little wine :)

When we left Belle Mead we drove through some of the surrounding neighborhoods and 'oohed and awed' at all the beautiful houses and large lush green lawns. Makes you wanna pick up and move your family there. Or at least I did.

Since we didn't get tickets for the Bluebird and we had time to spare...we did a drive by. In case you didn't know, it's in a strip center. It's possible that you might miss it because it's tiny. 

We headed back to the hotel and got ready for a fun dinner out at Cabana. 

Also known as the night I drank a bottle of wine. But I digress.

 

Martini flights - yes please!

 

  

Our reservations were at 6pm (that was the latest they had) and we had our own little semi-private cabana. Woot Woot! After dinner we headed out to check out Printers Alley. It kinda reminded me of 6th Street in Austin - lots of bars and lots of live music. We didn't last long...

On Saturday we started out by visiting the Ryman Auditorium. It is such a beautiful building with so much history! We opted for the self-guided tour (although I hear the backstage tour is worth doing if you have time) which started with a great video. Afterwards we wandered around and checked out all the original items they had on display. A definite must see if you are in Nashville!

After the Ryman we headed out to see the Grand Ole Opry.  I believe the shows were all sold out so we decided to do a tour. Another great tour with lots of knowledgeable people sharing all sorts of great stories. Wow that was vague. ha!

 

After our little country music tours we headed downtown to Acme Feed & Seed. Such a fun place right on the river

Mikes Ice cream was amazing. 

Lunch Acme Feed & Seed
We got dressed and headed out to Pinewood Social for dinner.

When we woke up on Sunday we headed out to The Southern for a little brunchy brunch before heading back to the Big D. Such a fun weekend with these ladies! Can't wait for our next trip!

Spring Break - Day 3

 

Little H and I were up early so we decided to snag a cabana for the family. It's some serious work...you can't just throw your belongings on one and leave...you have to man it! Totally understandable as it is incredibly annoying to go down to the pool and see chairs/cabanas that people have 'claimed' and they aren't even there to use them. Grr! Well, not here! If you leave your cabana unattended for more than 30 minutes, the staff comes around and removes your belongings. Oye! I witnessed two cabanas being reclaimed...however, most people stayed in theirs so there wasn't really any issues. Once the pool opens you don't really have to worry about it any longer...mainly because you are most likely there.

On this morning Sarah and her parents headed over to the workout center to do a little yoga. Kevin & Michael hung out with the kiddos and Hayden and I headed up for a little nap. When she was up we headed down and found the kids participating in the treasure hunt!

 

At 10:30 the kids club did pirate face painting and sword making (although our kids didn't get there in time for the face painting).

 

All the kiddos on the treasure hunt though the hotel...

 

Searching for treasure at one of the restaurants/bars. The last clue brings you to the pirate pool.

 

Where the good and bad pirates put on a little show for the kids!

 

Watching the show...pirates fighting...saving the pirate princess.

 

And afterwards of course there was a treasure chest filled with....candy!

 

Happy little girl hanging in her cabana

 

Getting a little tired....

 

Sweet cousins

 

Surprise bubble bath (on the patio) with balloons. The hotel put this together for the boys - it is one of the cute little kids things that they do for kiddos. The balloon was a big octopus that was sitting on top of the bubbles! The boys had a blast!

After baths we got dressed and took the boys down to the kids club to hang out for an hour. Kevin and I were kid free! Nope...just kidding. We still have little Hayden :) We walked around and had a nice little happy hour drink.

 

It was crazy windy

 

Walking back we came across this crazy looking animal.

 

We picked the boys up from kids club and headed to an early dinner with them at Bana (the Asian-fusion restaurant).   Grayson was a fan of chop-sticks.

 

After the kids ate we took them back to the room and left them with babysitters so that the adults could have another dinner sans kids. 

 

Kid free :)

After dinner we decided to explore a little of the night life... There was a big dance party going on in one of the open lounge areas so we hung around for a little bit...but it ended at 10. We tried another bar but as we got there the live music was wrapping up and the crowd was leaving. It seemed like wherever we showed up the party ended. woomp woomp. So we tried one last club...

 

apparently the party hadn't quite started

 

As you can probably tell...there weren't a ton of people there. We weren't sure where everyone was but we didn't last super long. 

 

We really needed a selfie stick. 

 

Although we couldn't find 'the party' we still had a fun night out!

Spring Break - Day 2

 

Hayden woke up around six am so after nursing we set out to explore the hotel grounds. After a little exploring I grabbed some coffee and we headed down to the beach to watch the sunrise. 

 

She was a fan of the sand. I had to keep her paci in or else she would have tried to eat all the sand. Once the boys woke up we met them for breakfast and then it was time for Hayden's morning nap.

 After her nap we headed down to the pool. And sidenote:  I must say that shopping for this trip was incredibly exciting for me - I love all the adorable spring/summer girl clothes!!! I love love her flamingo swimsuit!  It's adorable...and she even has some tail feathers (ruffles)  in the back!

 

Another little hotel 'perk' is the photographers that they have walking around. Well, I'm not sure if it's classified as a 'perk' since you pay extra for the pictures but I thought it was a nice little touch since we didn't bring our big camera. And of course they loved little Hayden as their subject :)

 

A little dip in the pool - she loves it!

 

The boys headed down to the beach. Showing off their muscles!

After a day in the sun we headed back up to our room to get ready for dinner. This time was a little touch and go with the McDonough family so I was glad I packed a few activities for the boys to play during their 'witching' hour.

 

Thanks you $1 spot Target.

 

All ready for dinner!

 

A little wine before dinner

 

Our dinner was actually in the 'adults' hotel. Some of the restaurants allow children early and then later turn to adults only. I'm sure some of their guests get confused about that...

 

Hanging out at dinner - so happy to be sitting next to Lyla. 

 

And loving on Aunt Sarah!