We're almost out for summer, and I'm just now getting to Spring Break...such is life when you've got one like ours! Ha! Spring break was very late for us this year, and we all definitely needed a break by the time it finally rolled around. We had planned a beach trip for the first half of the week because J was flying to Orlando for business the last half of the week. But thank God for a 10 day forecast because when we realized it was going to be raining the entire time we would have been there, we decided to change our plan. We headed north instead to stay at the Opry in Nashville. It was the first time for all of us except J, and I'm pretty sure that given the chance we'd all go back in a heartbeat. I'll be excited to take them all to Disney after the reaction we got from the Opry. They thought it was the grandest place on Earth! Actually, give them an indoor pool and a hot tub and they're sold.
We took a trip to Bridge Street the Sunday afternoon before we left for a few last minute things. Namely an Ulta stop for Bare Minerals Well Rested for yours truly. Because if you never get rest and look like you're in dire need of it, well, you just can't beat it! B did her own thing while we attempted a carousel ride...
The girls were none too thrilled that the teenage carousel operator had ditched her job and was nowhere to be found. I had to divert their attention. And fast. Otherwise they were about to scale the fence. It's amazing how fast a little sugar and chocolate can change their tune..
Towns got a piece of cookie cake that Buggy was very interested in. It had a big bumble bee on it and she couldn't quite figure out why were laughing when she kept asking Towns if her cookie cake had an "Imma Be" on it...
Do you pick your battles?
I do.
Prime example...
Every soul at Bridge Street did a double take and then looked at me like I was crazy, but I don't care! Cate is a little eccentric, no doubt about it. Who am I to take that away from her?!
We set out for Nashville Monday afternoon - much later than planned, of course. And we hit the pool and hot tub the minute we dropped our suitcases in our room...
While Daddy played with Cate in the indoor pool, I taught Towns how to do this...
When I was a little older than she is, my Pop taught me how to float on my back in the lake where we went camping every summer. He was an expert swimmer and taught us all how to swim. Sure do wish he was still here so he could do the honors.
She was determined to figure the swimming part out pretty much on her own, though...
And now she's a fish! A really cute, really proud-of-herself fish! :)
What's this look, you ask?
That usually means her wheels are turning and something dangerous is about to go down.
And 2 seconds later...
She slid from the very top to the very bottom.
This is a look of serious satisfaction...
Fearless, I tell ya!
That night we browsed (got lost and walked in circles actually, but enjoyed the scenery no less) around the Opry and grabbed a late dinner...
J taught Towns "step on a crack and break your mother's back"...
And we've done it every day since. She really thinks I'm in danger and takes it very seriously.
Buggy put her babies to bed in the nightstand drawer and we were down for the count...
We had the best breakfast the next morning - complete with chocolate syrup and sprinkle covered waffles that were too good to eat with utensils...
And who says you can't swim on a full belly?
To the pool we went!
Well, everyone except B because she wanted a full 2 hours to get ready in peace and quiet in true teenage fashion!
Towns practiced her swimming some more...
Each time she'd set out to go a little further than the time before.
Her daddy was her biggest cheerleader, especially when she looked back to see how far she'd just gone...
Cate Bug was a little miffed that she wasn't in on the swimming thing...
So she made better use of her time by throwing all of our shoes in the pool and then retrieving them over and over and over again (thank goodness they were rubber and unable to sink)...
That, my friends, is what you call redneck pool toys!
She and her little sassy self were cracking me up prancing around that pool like she was on a mission...
While I was watching her I noticed something...
Not sure if you can tell it by this picture, but she's got teeny tiny freckles on her nose and across her cheeks. I love them! I fear the day she realizes she doesn't, though. I vividly remember being in Kindergarten and the kids in my class making fun of my freckles. But my teacher whispered in my ear one day and told me that they were angel kisses...and I've never forgotten it. I'm sure Buggy and I will have that conversation soon enough.
When I got out of the pool to get a towel I noticed something else...
Buggy making her little footprints right beside mine. Goodness, I love her!!
She finally came to the conclusion that she wasn't missing out on the swimming fun a second longer...
Don't count her out just yet, she'll be a fish just like her sister before we know it...
We got cleaned up and made time for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe before heading home...
The last time we went was when B was younger and Towns was about Cate's age. They were still just as amazed this go 'round...
Naturally, the older two weren't a bit scared to go right up to the big life-like gorillas and elephants, but Cate told us she was completely fine taking it all in from right where she was...
Those were pretty much her exact words. And of course she insisted that she wasn't scared, but she wasn't even thinking about getting out from under Daddy!
When we got home that afternoon, Towns got super fancy and learned how to do this...
Don't know which part was more fun for her, blowing it up or letting it go...
She was so excited she finally learned how to blow up a balloon. She's been working on it for a while. Apparently it's the 5 year old equivalent of building an atomic bomb! :)
One more thing before I go...
When I picked the girls up from school Friday, I was pleasantly surprised at the Mother's Day treats that they'd made. Sweet hand prints galore, handmade cards, and something I'd never seen before...
The one at the bottom peaked my interest. The tag read "Five Minutes' Peace" and Towns was ever so excited about me opening it. They'd read a book at school about a family of elephants and with all the daily activities of the mother elephant, all she asked for at the end of the day was five minutes' peace. Every time she tried to sneak her five minutes, her children showed up needing or wanting something from her. Totally unrelatable, huh? Kidding. She went to take a hot bath thinking she'd finally get her quiet time, and she got a full 3 minutes and 45 seconds to herself before her children came begging to hop in with her. So the idea behind the gift Towns' gave me was that I would have everything I needed to have five minutes' peace on Mother's Day...a piece of bread for toast, jelly, ingredients for hot tea, a cupcake she iced and decorated, bubble bath she made herself, and a book of flowers she made for me to read. I didn't get a chance to enjoy it until last night. And just like the story, I had two little chins resting on the side of the bath tub with the look in their eyes that said "please ask us to get in with you". So I did. And I don't think I got even a full 3 minutes and 45 seconds' peace, but I wouldn't have it any other way!
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