Thursday, January 22, 2009

New Year's in Nashville

As you can tell, our New Year's resolution did not involve keeping current with our blog. In the spirit of optimism, we're going to chalk it up to lag from the holidays and try to do better in the coming weeks.

To bring our holiday chronicles to a close, we'll talk about our trip to Nashville. Matt and I arrived at the Nashville airport on the morning of New Year's Eve. Our first 18 hours in Tennessee consisted of lunch at the Spaghetti Factory, a trip to the Music City Bowl (to see the Vanderbilt Commodores pull of their first bowl win since 1955), and family fun at my sister's house to celebrate the arrival of 2009.


The Fam at the Old Spaghetti Factory














The Shrinky Dinks are Finished!













Freezing at the Music City Bowl












We awoke on New Year's Day to a wonderful breakfast courtesy of my mom. She's an awesome cook, and I love trips home to sample her creations. After a bit of down time, we headed to my sister's house for a relaxing New Year's brunch. That evening, we headed back to my mom and dad's house to exchange Christmas gifts with my immediate family. We had a great time--including lots of laughs provided by our brother-in-law's antics--and were excited to get so many wonderful gifts.




Serious...















...and not so much.










Friday was a really fun day that consisted of breakfast at Cracker Barrel, after-Christmas shopping, and the annual Cousins' Dinner. Since we don't often get the chance, we really enjoyed hanging out with my sister and Brent at breakfast. The annual Cousins' Dinner at P.F. Chang's was followed by our first-ever scavenger hunt around Nashville (which was tons of fun). We all ended the night with a boys vs. girls game of Trivial Pursuit DVD Edition, and Matt pulled out some crazy knowledge to help the boys to a victory.


Good times at Cracker Barrel













The Cousins' Dinner: "Old People" in Front, "Young People" in Back











Saturday was sweet, but since I knew the trip was coming to an end, it was bittersweet. We went to my sister's house to play Wii during the day and had lots of laughs thanks to the ski jumping game. That night, we had a great dinner followed by a night of watching football and playing Taboo.


Ryan the Magician













Kids These Days: The Motorized K'Nex Ferris Wheel that Rachel and Ryan Built in a Matter of Hours







Although Sunday came too soon, it also turned out to be a memorable day. We went to church, then we met up with my sister, Brent, and the kids for lunch at my parents' house. After some last minute photos and sad goodbyes, we headed to the Nashville airport.


The Jester and Horton













We love our niece and nephew!














Our story, however, doesn't end at the airport. Unexpected gifts are often the best, and that certainly rang true of our experience Sunday night. After checking our bags, we learned that our flight had been oversold. Southwest was asking for volunteers to take a later flight, so Matt and I answered their call. Our "volunteer work" netted us free travel vouchers from Southwest, a night at the Sheraton Music City (the hotel where our wedding reception took place), and a bonus dinner with my parents.

Matt and I were both sad to see the holidays go. Nevertheless, a new year has begun, and we're excited to experience it.
Posted by Erica at 1:49 PM

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