Nashville & More Family Visits

Aaron was asked to speak at a conference (June 26-29) and since all of our children were accounted for, I decided to join him for a few days.  Nashville is a favorite city of Aaron's - it was a first time for me.  After getting checked into our hotel, we wandered over to a nearby mall to get a bite to eat.  It was a late dinner and as we finished up and walked back towards our hotel, we passed by the Grand Ole Opry House.  We noticed crowds of people had joined us on the sidewalks.  About that time, I heard my phone ding with a text message.  It was in Aaron's back pocket.  Thinking it could be our children trying to get a hold of us, I reached for my phone to check.  It was a text message from my Mom who is currently serving a mission in Independence, MO.  She was letting me know that my sister, Libbie, was in Nashville attending the Grand Ole Opry that very night.  What?!?  How did my Mom know I was in Nashville?  What was Libbie doing in Nashville?  My thoughts began to race and I quickly sent a text to Libbie then stopped to call.  Before the first ring sounded, I stepped off the sidewalk to get out of the way of oncoming crowds, turned around and notice Jeff and Libbie about 10-15 yards away from me.  They, too, had stepped off the sidewalk into the street and were preparing to cross towards the parking lot where they had a rental car parked.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing!  I ran towards them waving my arms like a crazy woman and shouting their names.  They both turned and were equally shocked and slightly disoriented at seeing me coming towards them. The timing could not have been more perfect.  Seriously, a miracle given the circumstances.  It was so fun to see how the Lord orchestrated our little get-together!  

Libbie and Heather - meeting in Nashville

Aaron, Heather, Libbie, Jeff at Grand Ole Opry House

Aaron & Jeff

We hung out together and talked until late.  Plans were made to meet up the following day for a late lunch after Aaron's presentation and their visit to the Nashville Temple.  Jeff and Libbie were on their way back to South Carolina after doing a family church history trip.  Afterwards, their children had flown to Las Vegas with Jeff's parents for a visit so Jeff and Libbie were enjoying a few days on their own - exploring along the way home.  It was Libbie's first time to Nashville also.

On Wednesday, Aaron and I showed them around the fancy-schmancy Gaylord Opryland Hotel where we were staying and ate a light lunch of sushi at an on-site restaurant.  We talked and talked and talked some more until it was time for Jeff & Libbie to hit the road.  My favorite part of the trip - literally running into each other and being able to catch up a bit since we don't see one another very often.

Aaron's sushi roll

Libbie noticed our almost 'twinner' outfits right away.

Aaron, Heather, Libbie, Jeff - good-bye selfie

Inside Opryland - lots of beautiful vegetation

Wednesday night Aaron and I attended the evening performances of several extremely talented musicians.  Neil McCoy concluded the show with a powerful patriotic tribute.  It was such an awesome night.

Thursday was a "free day" for us so we did the 'touristy' thing by renting a car and checking out a few sights in the area.  This building is an exact replica of the Parthenon located in Athens, Greece.  Yes, there is a story behind this.

Nashville Temple in Franklin, TN

We explored beautiful communities outside of the downtown area and even toured a model home because we like checking out various real estate markets.  I must be Kristen & Steve's daughter:).  A serious thunderstorm passed through the area which made the daytime sky so dark it seemed like nighttime.  Later that evening, Aaron and I attended a bluegrass concert at the famous Ryman Auditorium.  It was a diverse crowd and an interesting experience.  Towards the end, we got a case of the giggles and decided to leave a bit early to avoid the crowds/traffic.  Some of us were done with the twangy-twang.  Win-win!

Proof - we did exercise during our stay...

Heather & Tammy K. 

Although I was really bummed about missing out on hearing David Archuleta personally sing "Glorious" (he quietly came and sang it as a favor for Lane at the conference), Tammy did show me a video of her surprise birthday party David threw for her the night before we left town.  She and Lane have become personal friends with David in recent years and since he now lives in Nashville, they got together a few times.

Final meal in Nashville at the Bavarian Bierhaus 

Best reuben sandwich to date!  Yum-yum.

Our time away was delightful and then we hopped on a plane and made the long trek back home arriving at 1:30am (Sat.).  We knew the kids were in good hands attending Patriot Camp in UT with cousins.  Camp ended on Friday afternoon so Tif drove them back to our home where she and Abigail spent the weekend with us.  Anna returned home from basketball camp in Oregon.  Jantzen had a good experience at High Adventure in Montana. A busy weekend of laundry/unpacking:).

Jameson, Thomas, Quinn

Elsie, Jessica, June holding Preston

Elsie, Quinn, Abigail -
In line for lunch at the grand re-opening of Valleywide.

I scheduled a massage for Tif on Saturday morning then we spent the day doing various activities with the kids including taking them to jump at Gravity Factory.  They came with us to church on Sunday then joined for an extended M. family birthday party at Chris & Julia's house for Cameron.

Abigail, Quinn, Elsie

Cameron & Aaron

Happy 44th Birthday Cam!

Abigail, Anna, Elsie, Jett, Quinn

Chris put together quite the little fireworks show out front of his house.  

The kids had a BLAST! (literally)

Elsie, Faye, Abigail, Anna - watching from the back of a car

Quinn, Jantzen, Aaron, Chris, Cam

Somehow Tif and I forgot to get a picture together.  At least we remembered to snap one of Elsie and Abigail before I took them to the AmericInn on Monday morning where they rode a shuttle to the SL airport for their return trip to Texas.  Always fun to have family in town!