Memorial Day {2012}

We usually aren't blessed with great weather on Memorial Day, but this weekend was quite the expectation. It was HOT! The frigid lake water felt amazingly refreshing. We were so proud of Lola for jumping in with us. She's my daughter--no fear. Can't wait to get her up on skis! Dad & Sue bought some delicious meats and John grilled them up to perfection--Johnny ate his first Rib. Looking forward to many more trips up this summer!

Memorial Day {2012}

tessa.7

Happy Birthday, Tessa Christine! We loved seeing you on your birthday at breakfast and hope you had the BEST time at American Girl Place :) It's been so fun watching your grow! Give Tate a BIG hug for us...

A star is born.

Today was Lola's last dance class of the year. Next Saturday is her first recital, so they had an in-class dress rehearsal today. To say she is excited and well prepared for her debut is an understatement. Her sweet and sassy personality shines when those snazzy shoes are on her feet. 

Her dance class is a year-long gift from Grammy. It's so special. And to top it off, the gift comes with babysitting! Almost every Tuesday, Mom comes over so I can take Lola to class solo and sit there and enjoy watching her. Thanks Mom :)

So here is our sweetness, in all her dancing glory. In case you were wondering, this is what you get when you hit the "Daughter Lotto". We're so proud of who she is. 

Lovelss

If you're ever in Nashville, you pretty much have to stop at the Loveless Cafe. Their biscuits are world famous. Their jams & preserves are the perfect compliment! They smoke their own meats! (Yes, Uncle John and John loved their pulled pork omelets)....a great end to a great trip. 

A little bit country...

Our Saturday evening in Nashville was an AWESOME one. We perused the shops in Hillsboro Village, a trendy area that borders the Vanderbilt campus before we headed into Sunset Grill. I know "foodie" is an overused word, but I'd like to think I've been once since about 1987, thanks to my Dad. He schooled me on what it meant to eat well. I have been fortunate to order off some amazing menus in my life, and the Sunset Grill is on the Top 10 list, no doubt. What a treat to dine there!

After an amazing dinner (and some fantastic wine....that was a theme for the weekend!) we headed downtown to the Bridgestone Arena to catch the Miranda Lambert concert. We enjoyed a VERY fun show from floor seats! It wasn't a one woman show though--ML is a total spitfire and could have done it all on her own but she had some fun friends supporting her, including Jerrod Niemann (a friend of my aunt's), the Pistol Annies and her husband, Blake Shelton. It was a very country show, but when it Rome....we really enjoyed ourselves! 

And...I snagged my first set-list :)

Throwing pennies, making wishes.

Broadway

On Saturday morning, John & I went and played tourist down on Broadway Avenue in downtown Nash. Our first stop was Hatch Show Print. You'd know their work if you saw it. Those real cool, old-school posters that advertise live concerts? Yep, that's them. And it's all done in letterpress, which I love! We got a cool print to commemorate our vacation.

 There were several real record stores, complete with rows and rows of vinyl. Ah, those were the days. And of course, there was plenty of Johnny Cash memorabilia for the taking.

The cowboy boots sold on Broadway are works of wearable art. Usually, when you see a $325 price tag on any piece of clothing you balk. But these things were worth every penny to those who where buying. True craftsmanship went into making every pair we saw.

After we had lunch at Jack's Bar-b-que, we walked some more and shopped some more. A great morning, just me and my love. We relaxed for awhile that afternoon at the Zic B&B before it was time to get ready to hit the town Saturday night.

Arrington Vineyards

On Friday evening, we headed out to Arrington Vineyards about 30 minutes away from John & Mary's house. This place was GREAT! It was a small vineyard, but the wines were delicious and just a fun place to spend an evening. You have to purchase their wines if you want to drink on the grounds but you can bring in your own food and there are picnic tables everywhere for you to dine at. There were actually alot of families with kids there which I thought was fantastic. And of course, there was live music!

We felt pretty special--when we arrived, we had a gourmet, DELICIOUS picnic dinner waiting for us. Grilled chicken, pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables, caprese salad, pasta, cucumber salad and a wild rice medley. We dined with a Riesling and then went in and did a wine tasting, where we settled on a Gewurztraminer.

 There was a sprinkling of rain just before we arrived, so it was cloudy, otherwise the sunset from here would have been majestic. Still, a beautiful view!

 This was such an awesome mini-vacation for John and I.

 One of my aunt's friends, Lauren and her boyfriend Ken met us out after our dinner. We had a great time getting to know them and enjoying their company. Those Southerns are so friendly.  Beautiful brunettes, huh? Who says blondes have more fun?! LOL :)

Hostess with the Mostess

My Aunt Mary & Uncle John are amazing hosts! They show us the best time when we are in town. We LOVE Nashville but alot of that love for the city has to do with the fact that they are there :)

Uncle John was at work during the day on Friday, but after Mary was done with her work for the day (helping the Nashville citizens prevent and treat diabetes, heart disease and depression one Spin class at a time), she took us around the trendy Hill Place area for some shopping, after we treated her to lunch. Seriously, this woman is SO awesome at motivating people when it comes to leading fit lives. It doesn't hurt that she herself was featured in Shape magazine as a success story years and years ago. Her Spin class I took last summer was the hardest workout of my life. Wow. And the best workout of my life (read: most fun and exciting) was the 3-mile trail run she took me on earlier that morning in the gorgeous Percy Warner park.

 After Mary took me on the trail run, she headed to the Y to teach her classes, so John and I went to check out Phillips Toy Mart just down the street from their house. We haven't visited them all, but we're quite certain this is the BEST toy store on Earth. Period. They had everything you could possibly imagine, including a Lionel Train selection that would leave any little boy speechless--young or old. We left with some great selections--a strung guitar and pirate sword for Lola and a new set of big boy cymbals for Johnny. We found some old friends, as well. Here's John with Brobee, Plex, Muno, Foofa and Tootie.

Louisville Slugger

Headed down to Nashville, we always pass through Louisville on the way. We have been wanting to stop at the Louisville Slugger museum on past trips, but this was the first time we were able to. Since it was just the two of us traveling, we were making great time and were able to have a short, but fun and fulfilling visit.

 John got to pose with one of Paul O'Neill's game used bats.

Outside, there was a walk of fame with bats belonging to famous sluggers and plates commemorating their accomplishments. Here is Honus Wagner's...

 And me with the real Dottie from "A League of their Own"...one of my favorite movies.

We stopped at a cafe just a few doors down from the museum to grab a few slices. It was good pie--very authentic NY style. John decided to compliment the chef/owner, Luigi. Turns out he was the original owner of Cafe Luigi on Clark in the city--one of our favorite places and the ONLY place in Chicago to get NY style pizza. It was too good to be true that we would get to meet him. Luigi arrived in Louisville by way of Chicago, by way of Brooklyn, by way of, where else....Italy!

Being a girl.

Awesome.

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Johnny says...

It took 17.5 months, but he did it, just days before Mother's Day. My boy says "mama". He says MAMA! Looks right at me and says it.

Grandparent's Day

It wasn't planned but it worked out perfectly--Nonna & Papa's visit coincided with Grandparent's Day at Lola's school on Friday. I'm not sure who was more excited to go--Lola or them! She couldn't wait for them to arrive and join her so when I woke her up on Friday to tell her it was Grandparent's Day, she practically jumped out of bed.

She has such a special relationship with each of her Grandparents--a unique bond with each of them. She loves to play dolls with Grammy, go on adventures with Mimi, eat popcorn & twizzlers with Papa, make coffee with Nonna and go for walks with Papa. Her little heart holds so much love.

Parent's Day

Saturday was Parent's Day at the Academy. So Mommy & Daddy got to go to school with Lola! Her teachers talked about everything they do all day and then they went through a mini-class day to show us all they've learned this year. As always, we were so impressed. We know all she's learning from the weekly newsletters and what she tells us when we "play" school, but it was a treat to be in the environment in which she learns.

Their day is broken up between 3 great teachers and subject areas. Ms. Kelly is her homeroom teacher and after they do their morning routine of the pledge, songs and prayers, they focus on Concept which covers Math and Science and also where they do their Montessori jobs. The academy is a very structured environment but Dr. Noonan has always included Montessori into her schools so the children have time for independent, self-directed learning.

After that, she heads over to Ms. Loretta's class for Craft & Writing. There Lola focuses on her fine motor skills by practicing printing and doing their readiness papers. Ms. Loretta also focuses on manners and she has her snack during this time too.

Then it's time for Language with Ms. Tara. We got to hear the "A is for Amos" phonics song that they sing every day to learn the letter sounds. They also work on Sight Words with Ms. Tara as well as gross motor activities.

Lola knew alot going into Nursery school, so it was very important to us that she was in an environment that could challenge her and she could continue to flourish out of my guidance. At Noonan, we love that they teach to them above their level. Not so far out of their understanding that it makes no sense to them, but not being afraid to teach something that might be looked at as too challenging for their young age. For example, over the year Lola has learned to define the following words: aroma, cooperate, determined, effort, fabulous, grouchy, hilarious, limit, nonsense, observe, ponder, resemble, trample, vanish.

It's important that they aren't just repeating what they've learned, but applying all they have. Just the other day, we were driving and I said (must have been a long morning already!), "Lola, Mommy's exhausted!"--to which she replied, "Does that mean you're tired?" She did it again with another word, asking if it meant so and so--so I jokingly nicked named her our little "Thesaurus" that day.

Never stop learning. 

Lola and her best gal, Kyra

Modeling her little gift she made for us.