Our EPIC Summer Trip...Part One

Since we moved to Texas, we have not been back to visit family and friends.  We all wanted to go back to visit, but the birth of K stopped us for a little while.  After much planning and thinking through ALL of the logistics, we decided to DRIVE with FOUR kids to visit as many people as possible!

Our first stop was Nashville, Tennessee...we woke up on a Friday morning and we were in the car at 5:45 a.m.  We drove straight through Texas, Arkansas and ended in Tennessee after only two gas breaks and lunch.

Uncle Michael and Liz had just moved to Nashville so we were excited to see their house and hang out with them.  Aunt Sarah graciously asked her mother if we could stay with her and she willingly opened her home to us, which was amazing.  And then, Sarah, Tom, Gray and Oliver planned a visit so we got to see them as well!  Such amazing luck!

On our trip, we ate at the Pancake Pantry (so delicious...can we say French Toast??  and pancakes with peaches??), did a driving tour of downtown Nashville and played at the Adventure Science Center.

The Adventure Science Center was AMAZING!  First, we started off in the middle of the museum where there is a huge jungle gym that goes to the top of the building and you can see around Nashville.  And it had the most adorable huge piano (think about the movie "Big" with Tom Hanks) that the kids loved playing on.

Another section was all about the human body and they had an ambulance, a place to "perform" surgery, a huge baseball with a hand to manipulate and learn how you grab a ball, and a slide area to show you how the intestines work.  And it may have had a little noise at the end of that slide...haha!

Another section was all about space.  B got to get into the harness and pretend to be moving around in zero gravity.  Each person had to be 50 pounds so M didn't get to do it, but after getting over the disappointment, he found an area to shoot rockets so he was so excited to do that!

Finally, we ended the day with a science experiment demonstration about fireflies.  B and M were so excited about this.  The first question asked was "How do fireflies light up?"  Of course, B's hand shot straight up and he responded, "I think it is a chemical reaction because they can't have a lightbulb in their butts."  And there was several laughs...B amazes me with his outgoing nature!  He is never afraid to speak in front of everyone!  They both got to be part of the science experiment demonstration- M turned on the light and B got to mix the chemicals to show the chemical reaction.

We enjoyed a family BBQ that night and before we hit the road on Sunday, we had brunch with B's best friend from preschool in Virginia who had just moved there from Richmond six days prior to our trip.  They were SO excited to see each other and kept hugging each other and saying, "It's really you!"  It completely melted our hearts.  We love and miss the Jackson family so much!!

Nashville was SO MUCH fun...we also ate out at The Flip Side for lunch (amazing chicken) and brunch at First Watch.  We can't wait to visit again!