Tennessee Trip

 We knew we wanted to go my nephew Jordan's farewell but we didn't realize all the conflicts we were going to have for the weekend. SO to keep it simple we decided to fly to Tennessee to hear him speak in his singles branch and miss the farewell. It just so happened that he had always wanted us to be there when he went through the Temple so he scheduled that for when we were going to be there so it worked out really well! We headed out Friday Oct 26. It took the whole day to get there of course because they made us go through San Diego (like that's on the way!!) So it was later when we got there and since we were starving from feasting on airplane food we drove straight to Jack's BBQ. Seriously we didn't even check in to our hotel first. Just the smell at the door is killer. By the time we got our food we were ready to gnaw off our arms. So I did a little face book update so Beth could see where we were and feasted on BBQ.

We checked into our room after about an hours drive to get there and our room was so strange. It was next to a mechanical room or something and there was a hideous humming and vibration the whole time. Since we were going to be there for 3 nights I wanted to complain but it was late when we checked in so just made do. Seriously there were ripples in my water in my cup when I put it down on the table?? SO I didn't sleep that great all night with the racket. Mendis slept through the whole thing. Lucky guy.
The next day we headed over to breakfast at IHop. So that's a pretty popular meal in the south on Saturday morning because the line was out the door. Seriously it took about an hour an a half for breakfast! We didn't have much time left so we raced over to Stones River Battle field since it was right down the street from our hotel so Mendis could commune with history a bit.

As you can see it was beautiful and we just loved the fall colors! Apparently we missed the good stuff by about a day but we were thrilled anyway. It was amazing to see how fast the leaves fell because they were pretty much over when we flew home. So we headed to the Nashville Temple to meet up with the family.

 This was our first time going through a small Temple. It was the coolest thing. They have everything in miniature! Loved it!! It was just beautiful and a very special afternoon. We were so happy to be there for Jordan and the family. We are so far away we miss alot of special times.

 Before you have a heart attack let me explain. Jordan was working on the facial hair to complete his Wolverine costume for Halloween so he didn't shave and get a haircut until Thursday. I saw the Halloween pics and he looked pretty good I have to say. Then promptly turned into a missionary.

Love these kinds of pictures.

We all trooped down to Golden Corral to feast afterwards. We met some of the family's good friends and ha a great evening time. We swung by our room and changed clothes then headed down to Tullahoma to Beth's house to play some games.

Killer game of Settler's of Catan!

Jordan asked for it...he really wanted to wrestle...

So after a couple of hours of treats and games we headed back to our room about 45 min away. We got up bright and early the next morning to be at Beth & John's Sacrament meeting because it was the primary program and Beth was leading the music. She promised us she was tired enough to fall of the stand but she hung on without mishap. Primary programs are always so cute. So we headed back up to our motel for a quick 30 min nap and then headed to Jordan's talk in singles. When that was over we went back and changed clothes and headed back down to Beth's for dinner and more games! As we were driving back and forth we really enjoyed the scenery:

This adorable spot was right down the street from the chapel where Jordan spoke so Mendis slowed down so I could get a picture before anyone could ram us on the road! Isn't it the coolest spot ever!

You see these barns painted all over Tennessee and many other states. I just love them. See Rock City and Ruby Falls. Brings back good memories of other trips to Tennessee.

There's another billboard way off in the distance.

The next morning Beth, John, and Jordan met us at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. It was so fun to visit one last time before we went our separate ways. Mendis and I headed to the Hermitage which is Andrew Jackson's home in Nashville that we haven't ever seen before. It didn't disappoint because everything was original. Of course you can't take pictures inside either. IT was pretty pricey though so don't think we will be returning any time soon.

The gardens were nice but freezing to death!

The back of the house.

It was really windy that day and cold. Hurricane Sandy was just fixin to come in as they say in the dirty south. That was for Beth. Whatever the dirty south is. We spent the rest of the day in airports and headed home. It was brief but it was a super fun trip. It makes me nuts that we all live so far from each other and can't be there for every thing but it was fun to get to one thing anyway! Good luck Jordan. He is out serving his mission right now and is in San Jose California! We are so proud of him.

The Pumpkin Patch!

 

When our kids were in kindergarten everyone of them got to have a field trip to the Hardy Farm Pumpkin Patch to pick out their very own pumpkins. It was always so fun and I got to go every single time. So when I heard that the Ag farm was going to do a pumpkin patch of their own this year as a fund raiser I was all over it. It worked out great because I had lots of days off in October just when I needed them. So on one of those days off I went to Vegas to get the grandsons right after preschool. The plan was to have a little nap in the car on the way home (them not me) but with the stupid construction that didn't work out so well. We played for awhile then it was time to go to the field. I loaded them up and when I got there I discovered it didn't open for another half hour so I thought they would enjoy the Logandale park. Well we got there and discovered it was closed for renovations. No problem, we could go to the Overton Park. Nope closed too!! They were being pretty patient so we did the valley tour. Seriously I drove around and pointed out the tank, the library, the museum, Simplot or as we call it Grandpa's sand pile. We even checked out the elk and bear statues down by the museum. Desperate times man. Finally it was open so off we went.

Boy were they excited. Rees made it his mission to walk the entire patch which was no small feat. Cooper had a rougher time because we didn't think to get some shoes besides sandals for him. He did pretty well most of the time but he wore down early.

 Hey look Grammy there's cows over there. (I know that's what Coopers was trying to tell me.)

 Cooper had a bit of a trip-fest with all the vines but I tried not to laugh right out loud. It was pretty cute.

It's hard work picking just the perfect pumpkin! 

Cooper was busy picking other more important things!

It was starting to get a little more crowded and I had left my purse in the car unlocked so I was getting a little anxious to get going. Hurrying them along just really didn't work out...

Cooper found his pumpkin early on and finally Rees picked his favorite. Meanwhile Cooper thought everything out there was his favorite. There were melons and squash that he loved all over the place.

 Heading back Rees took a spill and dropped his precious pumpkin but luckily nothing disastrous happened. The stem got a little broken off but he was happy with the idea of gluing it back together. Hey I was worried about my purse by this time and was getting desperate.

After retrieving my precious purse the boys wanted to check out the cows. (I figured it would be safe here in the valley but you really never know) Cooper was so into that and Rees not especially but he was patient while we indulged Cooper. After the successful pumpkin reaping we headed back. Cooper was needing a nap. This child was OUT...

It was quite an effort to finally wake him up so we could go eat after Mendis got home from work! We headed for the children's gourmet mecca...McDonald's.

I gave Rees the camera so he could get this awesome picture of grandpa. After our yummy supper. It was time to load the boys up and get them back. It was awesome listening to Cooper sing his version of batman all the way back. Those boys were pretty excited. When we got to Henderson Rees showed us how he was still staying in shape as per Uncle Hayden's request and gave us a demo of his push ups.

I am so bummed I didn't get the camera out fast enough to get Cooper doing his too. If you look at the back of Cooper's shorts you can see how he was entertained pouring his water bottle on himself in his car seat all the way back. What a fun day. This little break gave Ashley a chance to clean her house and finally get a much needed nap. It was a super fun day and I am so glad they live close enough that I could do this for her and ME!

October

We had a pretty awesome October this year!To start the month off we met my Aunt Kathy & Uncle Andy in Las Vegas one night. 

We actually met up at the Temple, did a session together and then went out to dinner. 

We introduced them to Memphis BBQ and the favorite deep fried dill pickles. Love those.

October is general conference time and we love that. We managed to see all the sessions on tv and it was just wonderful. We love conference weekend so much it just recharges our batteries. It is such a blessing to be able to participate in all the sessions. What an exciting announcement the prophet made about lowering the missionary age to 18 and girls to 19. It was so neat to hear that first hand and listen to the audible gasp in the audience! Looking forward to seeing what that announcement brings to the world in the next few years.

I got to help Lori do a cake top for Travis' wedding and it was such a fun morning. I was more than a little worried about my decorating skills after all these years but it turned out pretty well. It was so nice to reconnect with her after what seems like years and years even though it hasn't been all that long. We attended Travis' wedding and reception that weekend and I have to say he looks super happy so we wish them both well in their new life together.

 One of the highlights of our month was Christina coming home!! She had fall break and spent it home with us. 

To make it even more fun Ashley came out for the weekend to visit too. Benjy took the boys to Delta for the weekend and the girls wanted to spend some time together. It worked out great. The three of us went up to the MVHS homecoming parade. I skipped last year so it was good to go and see everyone for once. Christina and Ashley and I totally skipped the homecoming game (sorry boys). Beth and Rob came over to visit with us that night and it was so fun to see them. We are all so busy now it's not easy to see them that much. We remember those days and totally understand how busy and crazy it gets! Later that night Alisha came over and we had a girl's movie night.

We got a super late start (10:30pm) so we were up until about 2 watching the North & the South. One of our favorites and Ashley had never seen it. That was fun but exhausting. Benjy and the kids came by so Christina could play with them. Then Ashley was off too. Can you believe I don't have even one picture of our weekend!! It was a really fun long weekend though.

The MVPAC had the Piano Guys Monday night so I had to be up there early to take tickets. It was an amazing show though and I wish all my kids could have been there darn it. We fed the missionaries a couple of times this fall which we love to do. We got to go to the Temple when Kelan went through and Jordan (Nephew).We think it's pretty cool that we went to 3 different Temples this month! I did 72 hour kits for the ward and went to a Medicaid conference in Vegas. So I guess it was another busy month! Posts to come for the Pumpkin Patch with the grandkids and Tennessee for Jordan.