Nashville

At the end of April, we had a wedding for our good friend's daughter in Nashville.  Sydney is also Maren's best friend, and Maren was her Maid of Honor.  Dustin and I had never been to Nashville, so we were excited to go out to support and also see a new part of America.  As we got planning, we realized how difficult it would be to have a family vacation this summer (the girls were moving to California), so we decided to take our kids along for the trip.  Then, in a family discussion about what we could do for Lana for her 80th birthday this year, we decided that we would bring her along, as well!  We flew in the day before Lana on a redeye flight.  Kind of miserable, but it makes it a little cheaper for all of us to fly!  

We stayed in an Airbnb called the "Glamshell" and it was glamorous!  It was centrally located and had plenty of space and felt a little fancy, which was fun. 

After we arrived in Nashville, we bought some groceries for our trip and then headed to the Glamshell to rest for a bit before Sydney's Rehearsal Dinner that night.  The rehearsal dinner was at a farm in Franklin, TN.  Maren had to be there earlier than us, so Dustin and I dropped her off and then explored downtown Franklin for a bit before driving the scenic route to the farm.  It was so beautiful!  

The McClellan family!  We not only love Sydney, but Mark and Kylee have been our good friends for many years now.

We flew Lana in the night that we arrived.  We tried to be thoughtful and put her on a daytime flight, and then her flight ended up getting delayed for many hours and she arrived at 3 AM anyway!  It was a bummer for sure, but she handled it like a champ.  She slept in the next morning while we took the kids (and Maren's friend Marcie) to the Nashville temple to do baptisms for the dead and then dropped Maren and Marcie off at the wedding venue while we went home to get ready for the ceremony that night.

We had an hour or so before the wedding so we went to a couple of Civil War sites near Franklin.

And then on to the wedding!  Sydney looked beautiful and the wedding was great (although a little chilly!).  They had the ceremony and then we played a little cornhole and drank fun drinks and then had a nice dinner under the tent.  Maren had to give a speech as the Maid of Honor, and did a fabulous job (thank you Mission, for teaching her to be a confident public speaker!).  Then there was a night full of dancing and eventually we went home to a warm bed.

Ahh, cute girls, all grown up!

The next day was Saturday.  We had a river cruise planned that afternoon on the General Jackson river boat.  There was lunch and a live show.  Somehow we ended up on the very front table.  We were so close we could see the performers nose hairs if we wanted, haha!  They were good though and it was a fun concert and cruise!

After the cruise, we walked across the street to a tour of the Grand Ol' Opry.  It was pretty cool!

We ate a yummy dinner at the Airbnb and then headed back to downtown so we could walk around the street at night.  It was pretty wild!  They had it blocked off from traffic, and there were so many people and loud singing from every bar.

We found a boot shop and picked out our favorite cowboy boots.

And then had some Legendairy ice cream!

On Sunday, we found a church nearby and then after lunch at the Glamshell, we decided to take a drive into Kentucky, which was only about an hour away.  We also realized that Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, and we were able to go just a little further and see where his boyhood home was.  It had a lovely little river that we skipped rocks in and then we drove on to his birthplace, down the road.  It was a State park and was closed by then, so we snuck through the gate, just long enough to take a picture.

Found a horse race track.

The kids and Gramma Lana kept themselves occupied with the camera on the drive.

The next day we packed up our things and before heading to the airport, we spent the morning in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame.  We saw lots of Dolly Parton clothes, Elvis' car, and then just a bunch of stuff from many country singers that we didn't know.  Overall, it was fun, but probably more so for people who are big country fans.

We finished up with some Nashville Hot Chicken, which was delicious.

And then on to the airport for a flight home!  (Or, in our case, a flight to Denver, a short few hours of sleep at a nearby hotel, and then a really early morning flight home).  Fun trip and fun to see a new part of America!