Family Fun Day

It’s family fun day! These days are too far and between now, but with Evan in town for the weekend, the timing was perfect to catch a Vol basketball game in Nashville. I use the word game loosely; it was a highly disappointing performance. 

My thighs and knees might not survive the beating they took the last two hours sitting in a seat meant for half of me. Those rows and rows of empty seats in the nosebleed sections never looked more inviting. 

This Sunday was no fun day.

Walking Horses

The extended family and I attended the Walking Horse Championships’ opening night. I’ve never seen such a disparity in the haves and have nots in one place! You had the good ole boys, the city executives, the stable boys, the horse trainers, and the horse owners - all in the arena cheering for their favorites. The two week competition brings people from all over the US to middle Tennessee. 

The horses were beautiful! 

I had no idea what any of the words the announcer used might mean, but I looked good in my cowboy boots. 

The Last Dinner

The struggle with maintaining the various eating habits of eight people has been real this weekend. We eat one big meal a day. She eats two meals he a day. He eats three big meals a day. They eat five meals a day. I won’t lie. The food shortage, having the appropriate food, and the timing of meals has been difficult for me to manage. So we went out to eat for lunch today. We drove to downtown Franklin and had lunch at one of the locals’ favorite places. After our fill of southern food, we played a game of Top Golf. 

Today we said goodbye. The cousins had a great time playing Apples to Apples, a video game or two, and hide-and-go-seek. 

I’m off to plan today’s lunch for a party of four. 

Down on the River

After church this morning, we spent the afternoon at The Narrows of the Harpeth. We hiked to the top of the overlook for a beautiful view.  

To Wes’s great dismay, the kiddos literally sat on the edge of the precipice. 

Climbing back down was easier than going up, but we had to hike our way back up on the second trail that took us to a small waterfall. We skipped rocks, got in the water to cool off, and climbed to the top of the waterfall. 

After stopping at the creamery for double scoops of ice cream, we are headed home before the storm hits. 

Family Fun Day

The boys are finally out of school. To celebrate the official start of Thanksgiving break, I had big plans for our day of fun. Unfortunately, Wes was at work and Keagan + his girl > family. 

We started with a game of Top Golf. None of us can play well. Half the time we swing and miss the ball, but we still had fun. I want to mention I won both games. 

Evan’s expression is a result of hitting the said ground one too many times and deciding the only way he was going to get points was by throwing the ball! 

Next up was The Glow. The lighted displays were impressive, but I’m not sure it was worth the cost of admission. We stood in line 62 min to ride the 5 second alpine slide! But the first half hour walking through the lights was very enjoyable! 

Some how we managed to pull this off with Santa. 

We wrapped up the night at Five Guys with burgers and fries because #traditions. 

Family Fun Day

Family Fun Day has us completing one item on Evan’s AP Bio scavenger hunt. 

We hiked one of the trails of a state park in Kentucky. 

Here’s Evan trying not to laugh at Keagan’s park ranger story about “wild ants.”



Here’s Keagan relishing his moment in the spotlight while making us all laugh. 

That 1/4 mile trek around the lake made the boys hungry, so as soon as we were back within cell range both were googling ice cream shops. 

Football Fans

The long awaited event has finally arrived! For months the NFL Draft has been on the family calendar. For months, Evan has pontificated on first round picks. The only way this day could have been better for Evan is if Dallas had a pick. 

Wes took the afternoon off of work, Evan skipped soccer practice, and the two made an afternoon of it. 

I asked Evan what he thought about the event when he got home and he said, “200,000 people and rain and I was unfazed by any of it.”

Christmas Family Fun Day

Evan and I spent our morning serving meals to the low income and homeless in our city. It was a very rewarding day; even Evan commented that he didn’t mind the day (as long as he didn’t have to clear dirty place settings and empty plates of food.) Once our shift was completed, we started our family fun day.

Few places are more beautiful at Christmas than the Gaylord. The poinsettias. The lights. The waterfalls. The decorations. All perfect!

We wrapped up our late afternoon with German food and Radlers. The only thing missing was our extended family.

Where did Summer Go?

I feel like we are just getting our summer started, and it is already coming to an end! My five weeks flew by!

Keagan was diagnosed with Osgood Schlotter disease last week, and we were told to have him rest it for two months. Two months is an eternity! So we got another opinion. That doctor told us to ice the knee as much as possible and minimize sports practices. That meant we took our week and did NOTHING, or at least very little athletic wise.

But after a week, we had enough rest and decided to spend a couple of hours st the trampoline park.

The boys loved it! And now the knee is paying for the fun, so we are back to resting. 

Where did you go, Summer?

Family Time

My family is spending the week with us because Wes is pulling duty on the holiday. Thanksgiving day will be filled with food and football, but we needed some where to go/something to do the day before the holiday. 

 

 

Everyone has told me it's a must see, but it took us four years to actually believe them and go. Today we toured the Opryland Hotel and Gardens. It was far better than anyone's explanations or pictures! The flowers and water falls were just beautiful

 

All three gardens were decorated for Christmas and just seemed to go on and on with no end.

 

 

I'm so glad we followed the local's advice and made the trip. Another great family day!

 

We Almost Made the News

"Well, let's hope we don't do something to make it on the channel 4 news tonight." We started our morning canoe trip all smiles and laughing at the absurdity of a possible rescue and making the evening news. The scenery was beautiful, and I couldn't believe we had waited three years to float down the Red River.

Our smiles were short lived, though.

We floated, tread, swam, and almost sank in the river all in just a matter of minutes. Evan blames my paddling; I blamed the current. Nevertheless, the two of us were left hanging from a tree branch when our canoe hit a stump and tipped. Keagan was laughing at the mishap until the canoe filled with water and we could not lift it to empty the water to save our lives. We were stuck! Keagan and Wes tried to yell supportive advice from the opposite bank, but I thought for sure we would need a rescue. After half an hour, we figured out a way to use the tree, the same tree I clung to for my life just a few minutes prior, to lift the canoe and dump the water. 

Evan and I were back on the water ready to go when Keagan tripped on the bank and sprained his ankle! I saw the soccer season crumble in front of my eyes. But Keagan got up and hobbled back to the canoe - there wasn't much else he could do.

We were now all four in the water ready to finally have "fun" when we realized we lost a life jacket in the fiasco. Wes and Keagan attempted to retrieve it, and then their canoe tipped, too! 

At this point, all anyone could think about was dry land. We were paddling like crazy trying to get to a safe spot when Evan lost his paddle!

One sprained ankle, one annoyed teen, one scared mom, and one wet dad made for a real "fun" group. At this time in the trip, Keagan asked who was having fun.

It will probably be three more years before we do it again.