School has started!

I was ready for school to start!  I didn't cry when they went.  I thought maybe I would with Molly, but I didn't.  She was super excited for kindergarten.  Tyler wasn't excited to go back, but he was happy that he got the teacher he wanted-Ms. Lopez.  He had her in first grade and this year she moved to 4th.  I'm glad he got her and feels comfortable with her.  Molly got Mrs. Farley.  I don't know too much about her, but so far, she seems nice and Molly likes her.  Monday was the first day.  Here are their pictures:

Walking to school. Luckily the rain had stopped.

 

 

Molly's thoughts on her first day: it was a lot of sitting, kinda boring, recess was her favorite, and she was a little tired.  Since then it has improved.  They've started doing subjects and all the beginning of the year stuff is out of the way.  She's gradually gone to bed earlier each night.  Saturday she will be sleeping in.  

Tyler is doing great.  He can't fall asleep early and he is still up nice and early too, but that's no surprise. 

Friday & Saturday in Nashville

We left TN on Friday and drove over to Nashville.  We got to stay at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  It was beautiful.  There is a river running through, lots of plants and greenery, flowers, restaurants, stores, and lots of pools.  Scott had Marriott points that we used.  We got dinner at the hotel and then went to the Grand Ole Opry.  We only got to stay an hour because the kids were too tired and it wasn't fun with them.  I had banked on them sleeping on the drive over, but they didn't.  We were able to see several performances mainly from older country artists.  The biggest name was saw was Restless Heart. 

Saturday morning, the kids and I got breakfast while Scott slept in.  Then we were off the the Grand Ole Opry again to meet up with my friend, Rachel.  It was so good to see her.  Molly was excited to see Payton too.  We took pictures there, then walked around the mall, had lunch, then brought them back to the hotel.  We had about 4 hours together and it went too fast.  But I'm glad it worked out for us to see them.

 

 

After our visit, it was off to the airport to come home.  Trooper was very happy to see us.

Thursday & Friday in TN

Thursday, all 21 of went tubing on the Pigeon Forge River. The river was a little low, so it took 3 hours.  We were in the shade a lot of the time, so we didn't get too hot.  We just all floated at our own pace.  We had a few small rapids, which were fun.  The kids enjoyed it.  Molly and Bailey could have benefited from a tube with a bottom; it was hard for them to get comfortable, but they still had fun.  No phones went with, so no pictures.

After tubing, most went back to the cabin.  Our family, Noah, and my parents went to the Bush's Beans Visitors Center.  We saw a short movie about production and looked through the gift shop. 

 

 

 

That afternoon, several of the guys went to the shooting range.  It was my turn to make a grocery run or otherwise I'd have liked to go.  I've never shot before.

Friday, 8 of us went zip lining.  Of the 8, only Scott and I had been before.  It was fun and the views in the mountains were amazing.  One each line, they had us do something different.  On one, we could turn upside down and we actually did it! There was a tandem one and the last one was a race. 

This is me about to be pushed off on the first one. 

After zip lining, we met back at the cabin and then all went to lunch at Paula Deen's.   It was at the Island where we had gone Monday night.  It was so delicious!!  From there, our family headed out.  Everyone else left Saturday morning.

 

Molly just loved Gabby. 

The week went really well.  The kids had a blast playing together.  For dinners, each family took one night to cook.  Ben's parents were there too, so they made a few of the breakfasts.  For groceries all 6 couples put in $100 and we used it each time we went to the store.  We ended the week with $35 that we used as part of the tip at Paula Deen's.

During the evenings, we did different things.  One night we celebrated summer and fall birthdays.  One night we had a mortgage burning to celebrate my parents paying off their house.  One night we played card games and poker.  My parents had The Newlywed Game for us couples to play.  I'm proud to say Scott and I won.  The evenings were just fun hanging out together.

All in all, this entire family vacation worked out well. 

Tuesday and Wednesday in TN

Tuesday our family with hiking with Tom and Brittany in the Smokey Mountains.  The rest of the group went to the Nascar Park.  We figured, we're in the mountains, we need to go enjoy them.  We can ride go carts at home anytime.  Hiking was fun; we had a good time.

 

 

 

 

 The kids got in the water.  It was nice and clear, but cold!

 

 

 

 

Wednesday most of the group went horseback riding in the morning. It went pretty well. Some of the horse didn't want to stay in a line.  My mom's horse kept to the edge and she kept getting hit by branches.  Tyler was in front and his horse wanted to keep his slow pace.  Near the end, Brittany's saddle started falling off so she fell off to the side.  She hit the ground pretty hard and was sore that evening, but was ready for activities on Thursday.  The kids all loved it and did great.

 

 

Wednesday afternoon some of the guys went golfing again, some of us girls went shopping at the outlets, and those left took the kids to the pool again.

Monday in TN

As I said in the last post, we arrived Sunday evening.  There were 21 of us staying in this cabin.

It worked out pretty well.  There was a neighborhood pool, which was nice.  Monday, four of the guys went golfing, so the rest of us took the kids to the pool.

Grandma and Grandpa with their grandkids

 After an early dinner, we headed out to take family pictures.  We were all so excited about it.  I don't have official pictures yet, but here are some that we took that evening.

Almost all the cousins, just missing Gabby and Allissa

We didn't take a professional one of us.  We could have, but the guy was a lot older than we thought and was slow.  By the end, we were so hot and sweaty.  I just had Brittany take a few of us.

 

Our excitement came after pictures. My mom, Kim, and Val were choosing which ones to get and all the sudden a mama bear walked by.  We talked to a local and he said she comes by often, sometimes with her 3 cubs.

 

After pictures, we went to The Island.  It has rides, games, shopping, restaurants...we had to get the kids ice cream for being good during pictures. 

The big ferris wheel.  None of us rode it, but several of the kids did the carousel

 Every half hour, there was a water/light show that went with different songs.  It was neat and we enjoyed it.

Our first day was a success.