Yay, vacation! First stop: Nashville, TN.

We arrived back from our family vacation safe and sound!  We had a great week, enjoying stops in Nashville to visit a good college friend and her family, Gatlinburg with Grandma and Grandpa, and then Louisville for a night while visiting my Uncle and family.  While it truly was a great week, there's just something special about being home :)  I know not everyone would agree with me (ie, my husband for one) but there's nothing like the familiarity of home for me after a wonderful vacation away!

Last Saturday we headed out for the longest of our 4 part road trip to my friend Esther's house in Nashville.  Knowing it was going to be a long drive (about 8 hours before you include any stops) I knew we needed to plan some time out of the car en route.  Columbus, Indiana was about halfway and I had vaguely remembered my friend Julie (a long time resident of Columbus) telling me about a fun, free indoor playground there called The Commons.  Sure enough, the boys loved it and it was just what the doctor ordered!

After some free time playing, a quick lunch from an Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor, we were back on the road to finishing up leg one.  I have to say, the boys did phenomenal driving!  I was incredibly impressed, particularly from Reid, at how content he was.  We left the house at 7:45am, and finally, at 5:45pm, we rolled up to our destination.  Micah didn't sleep at all, and Reid slept from 10:30-11:15...and that's it!  Still, right around Nashville (we still had 20 minutes or so in the car) Christian and I looked at each other and wondered if we still had children in the car :)  That's how well they were doing, thank goodness.

Esther and Daniel were ready for us and had a delicious dinner all prepared.  They have two boys (Stewart just turned 5 and Thomas will be 3 in November) and the four boys all played incredibly well together.  You never know how kids are going to get along, and I'm happy they seemed to mesh so well.  

Stewart hugging Reid.  It may not look comfortable, but Reid really liked the attention!

Sunday Christian stayed home with Reid so he could get a good nap while Micah and I headed to church.  Reid's vocabulary has started increasing, adding "Hi", "Ball", and "Cheese (with a smile)" to his repertoire.  I sure am in love with this little boy!

That afternoon Esther and I headed to our college friend Brooke's house to see her little 6 day old peanut, while the big boys took the little boys to Monkey Joes :)

 Esther's neighbor kindly offered to come over and watch all 4 boys (ours were already in bed, thankfully!) so that we could enjoy a night out on the town.  We had a great time out, though unfortunately Esther came down with some food poisoning which put quite a damper on the evening.  Although she was not completely better come morning, she was not in the queasy stage, and with a little more rest and fluid, was feeling a bit more like herself.  We decided to take the kiddos swimming at their clubhouse, to try and tire them out before leg #2 of our trip.  They certainly had a great time, which was success #1.

Daniel and Stewart

Beautiful!  

Thomas hangin in the kiddie pool with Reid.

"Hi Dada!"

"Dada!"

Micah decided he wanted to be a big boy and not wear a shirt :)

Christian also took some photos of the boys.

Sweet brothers.

And another set of sweet brothers :)

We had a wonderful time, though short!  It was so good spending time with the whole family, and I am so grateful for my friendship with Esther.  She is one of a kind, and one I know will always have a special place in my heart.  Thanks, Es, for such a wonderful friendship and for your kind hospitality while we were with you!  I love you girl!

And here is our documentation of our tired boys on our way to Gatlinburg.  (I might add, however, that Micah's nap lasted all of 9 minutes.  True Story!)