I was so excited to be able to attend the Medallion Ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame tonight with Mom and Kerry!!!
Mom, who was inducted in 2012 (along with Pig Robbins and Garth Brooks), had the honor of inducting Johnny Gimble, who went in along with Dottie West and Ricky Skaggs, tonight. It was an AWESOME night of music, and I loved being able to share it with my big brother and my sweet mommy.
We were so blessed to be able to go camping over Fall Break!!! It was definitely on the chilly side but so worth it to just get away from it all and be out in nature together…what a great way to ring in the fall season.
We are so grateful to one of Tom’s good friends from the Nolensville Volunteer Fire Department, Marc Fielder, who graciously lets us camp out on his land a few times a year.
We loved hiking, collecting and chopping firewood, drinking hot chocolate, eating s’mores, and hanging out around the fire.
We are SO grateful to our dear neighbors for scoring us 5 tickets to the Titans game today!!!
Tom traded in the jet skis (much to the heartbreak of the boys…Xander cried, bless him) for a jet ski boat. We have been having so much fun taking it out on the lake with the boys and enjoying these last few days of summer weather.
Tom and I went out by ourselves on Friday while the boys were in school and enjoyed lunch on the boat and a rest in the hammock…here’s the boat next to a little island we love to frequent…
This is how happy and peaceful we all become on the water…just look at these two beautiful boys!!!
The boat is great for tubing and deck surfing…
Even though the jet skis were on their last leg this summer, we still enjoyed taking them out on the lake with the boys. Jonas and Xander are daredevils and like to ride with Tom. Roman prefers to take it easy, so he rides with me. They all really love cliff jumping…especially Xander…he’s our resident wild man.
Tom is going to be working with Jonas, Xander, and Roman on boy scouting skills at home!!! A few of the skills he’ll be teaching the boys include: fire starting, how to shoot a bow and arrow, how to shoot a BB gun and a rifle, basic first aid, water purification, shelter building, camping, and service.
This weekend, he taught the boys how to start a fire (I know, I know…it makes me nervous too). But they were very serious about it, respectful of it, and safe with it. They were super into it, and I loved seeing them all gathered around their Daddy.
We went tubing at Henry Horton State Park this morning. What a fun summer adventure!
Tom and I took the boys to the Nissan Stadium downtown to see the Titans practice. It was SUPER hot but definitely worth it to get to see them up close from the front row and for FREE. We even got to high five Delaney Walker!!!
We headed out this morning (with Tom…there’s NO way I could’ve done it without him) to Rutledge Falls in Tullahoma, TN to join some friends from the Nolensville Moms group on a Friday morning adventure.
It was a short walk down a path from the roadside, a steep walk down big rocks and over roots, and a freezing cold walk through the water to the falls. It was so beautiful…I love Tennessee.
We had such a wonderful Sunday afternoon at Henry Horton State Park!!!
We started out hiking on the trail but ended up following the dry creek bed to the river, where we trail-blazed over rocks and around bends and eventually almost all fell in the water by the muddy river bank and finally clambered back up to the trail. Phew!
After that, we took a dip in the park’s Olympic-size pool. The boys could not get enough of the diving board and pretty much took turns diving the entire time we were there. Xander amazed us with his fearless forward and backward flips.
Here are a few pictures from our hike…
I loved being able to tag along on the Smyrna Outdoor Adventure Center’s kayak float this morning. We paddled about an hour down Stewart’s Creek (just until it met Percy Priest Lake) and back. Kayaking is SO my new favorite thing. I adore just being in the great outdoors on the water…soaking up the peace and the beauty.
We had a laid back 4th of July. We stepped out in the morning to take part in our annual 4th of July neighborhood parade, we walked while the boys rode their bikes/scooters behind the firetruck around the block and enjoyed a popsicle afterwards. We spent the afternoon at the pool and ended up at McDonald’s for dinner where the boys had a blast monkeying around the indoor playground. Neighborhood fireworks started up after Xander and Roman were already fast asleep, but Jonas was still up and enjoyed hanging out and watching them with us.
Tom took Jonas golfing (on his 3rd grade teacher’s golf course) to celebrate a good week at VBS. I know they both enjoyed their special time together.
Only Tom would use a blow torch to light his birthday candles…and that’s one of the many reasons why we love him so much. Happy Birthday, Tom!!!
The boys and I went strawberry picking today at our favorite place in Wartrace, TN…Valley Home Farms. We picked strawberries, petted the goat, and enjoyed farm fresh treats (the boys had blueberry ice cream and I had a strawberry honey pop…so delicious).
Until they invent a plexiglass, soundproof divider between the driver and the backseat of a minivan…
Xander made his first communion this afternoon. We are so grateful that Grandma and Grandpa were able to be here with us to celebrate. Congratulations on your big day, Xander!!!
I loved being able to go to the zoo with Roman on his kindergarten field trip.
Xander and I had SO MUCH FUN on our Mommy and Me trip to Wilderness at the Smokies!!!
We left on Sunday morning after breakfast, ate an early lunch at Cracker Barrel just off of our exit, checked in and got all settled into our room, played at the indoor water park (water slides, wave pool, hot tub, etc.), hung out in the arcade, took warm showers, ate dinner at the hotel, went out for ice cream, snuggled up together and watched “The Emoji Movie”, and slept for 11 hours.
On Monday, we ate breakfast at the hotel, painted pottery, played in the adventure forest/arcade (ropes course, bowling, black light mini golf, etc.) and ate lunch there, played at the indoor water park, had some quiet time in our room (Xander had some tablet time and I took a nap), took warm showers, ate dinner at the hotel, played in the adventure forest/arcade (laser maze, laser tag, etc.), went out for ice cream, snuggled up together and watched “Smurfs: The Lost Village”, and slept for 10 hours.
On Tuesday, we ate breakfast at the hotel, packed up, and headed to the indoor water park for one last hoorah before heading home.
What a blessed time that we will always remember!!!
For more pictures, click on the “Mommy and Me Trip with Xander 2018” picture page to the right…
