Nothing Tops Nashville

Last weekend the entire family headed to Nashville to celebrate Tracy's college graduation from Belmont University. We had such a wonderful weekend! It was so nice to get everyone together and Nashville was a great city to do it in. I drove into the city with my mom and dad on Thursday evening and Tyler flew in from a business trip and met us there. We stayed right downtown at the beautiful Hilton which is around the corner from Tracy's condo and a quick couple of blocks from the heart of downtown Nashville. The hotel just updated their lobby with great colors and funky furniture. We were staying all over the hotel so we found ourselves constantly congregating downstairs in the fabulous new lobby.

We got up on Friday morning (Graduation Day) and grabbed a quick breakfast before picking up Aunt Petie, coming in from Philly, and Papa and Corky, coming in from Myrtle Beach, from the airport. Robbie, Sandra, Haley and Noah had driven to Atlanta on Thursday so after a quick stop for ribs on the way, they got into town with Joel and Jennifer in the early afternoon. Everyone got settled and changed and we headed to SATCO for an early dinner before the festivities. After some tasty tacos at a local landmark we were off to the campus for the Graduation ceremony.



It was quite a process getting our beautiful graduate all dressed up and ready but it was well worth the time...what a HAM!

Tracy had to be ready an hour before the ceremony started, so the rest of us took some time to explore the campus a little before everything got going. I know Tyler and I have walked through the campus before...but I never remembered it being so beautiful! I could have spent hours wandering around. It is cozy and comfortable and the attention to detail and care is beyond incredible. What a perfect setting for your college years!


We had some extra time on our hands so we stopped for a quick family photo shoot!



Then it was into the arena for Graduation. It was a small-ish group of graduates so the ceremony moved right along. The President of the University spoke and was actually very interesting and very timley. All in all the ceremony was perfect!

After the ceremony we needed cap and gown pictures with the whole family! We decided to forgo the provided reception, head outside for pctures and then move onto our dessert celebration at the Melting Pot...YUM!

Saturday was spent exploring the city. We all met up for lunch at McDougal's...another local lunch hotspot! They have unbelievable chicken tenders and great fries!! Afterwards we walked around some local shops. There was wine shopping, clothes shopping and "stuff" shopping. It was a pretty day and a great way to spend the early afternoon. Then it was back to the hotel to regroup. There was boot shopping in the afternoon and Tyler and Noah went to play Laser Tag. I am seriously not sure who had more fun....all I know is Tyler brought home his score sheets :) We got ready for dinner out at The Palm and enjoyed great food and great wine in a nice private room off to the side. What a great way to finish the weekend!





We loved getting the whole family together for such a great reason...to celebrate our VERY special COLLEGE GRADUATE!

A Fabulous Fall

As most of you know, Tyler and I found out on Wednesday that we have not been selected to spend 67 days in Orlando. We had so much fun working on our entry video and essay together and we will never forget our trip to Florida with the other 9 finalist pairs. We would have loved the opportunity to be the Smile Ambassadors of Orlando, but we have already started filling in our calendar and it is looking like we will be enjoying quite a FABULOUS fall!

We have trips planned, some for fun and Tyler has some great ones for work too, we have football season which means FSU games and fantasy football and we have friends getting married and others having babies. There is LOTS to look forward to! And while we are enjoying all of these great things....we will also be enjoying the wonderful NC weather on our newly completed deck! Tyler and I spent this weekend finishing the staining. We still have to get deck furniture and work on a few more projects like sanding and repainting the rocking chairs, and staining the swing, but we are really excited to have the biggest job complete!