Summer Fun

In the short two weeks Shawn had off between his board exams and work we tried to squeeze in as much fun as possible.   So we planned a trip to Six Flags and spent the day there.  Since its really not possible to take George on anything Ashely was kind enough to take him for us for the day.  We got there before the park opened and left around 5.  We were all so worn out by the end of the day but had a great time.  Graham was even able to go on a few legitimate rides.  His favorite was the Shock Wave which has two loops, he felt so big and made sure to have his hands up as much as he could.  Caroline and I went on one of the bigger rides there, Mr. Freeze.  Its a short ride and goes 70mph in a few seconds.  It was fun but holy cow my neck hurt so bad the next day from all the rides and getting jerked around all day.

We were already insanely hot when we walked into the park so we got wet on our first ride.  

Shawn and the boys riding around.

We even went big and bought food there.  Holy cow its so overpriced but we had a good time and it had air conditioning.

Devin and Caroline were riding buddies most of the day.  

It was hard to get pictures of anything but I did remember before getting off of a ride.  We were so wiped out by the end of the day but had a great time.

We also went to Clyde Warren Park that is above the freeway close to downtown. 

It was really fun and the kids loved playing in the water and climbing all over anything.

Devin was in heaven.

George was happy a hanging around in the stroller.

Caroline and Shawn played some chess.

And the water was so welcome because holy cow it is so hot here!

We had lunch from the food trucks and enjoyed getting more familiar with the Big D.

Saying Goodbye

We had a lot of goodbyes to say before leaving.  It was emotionally exhausting.  It was really weird saying goodbye when we knew we wouldn't be seeing each other for years.

Caroline and Cecilia are such good friends.  They would have CC days where they would play all day with each other.  We are so grateful their family moved in the last year we were here.  I was also friends with Cecilia's mom and I didn't think I could make such a good friend in just one year.  Heather is a friend for life!  I love this family so much.

Graham and Titan love these cute buddies.

We miss the Broadbents so much!  Katie was a lifesaver for me so many times and her awesome kids were always so fun to be around.

Devin and Samson were kindred spirits.  

Graham and his class full of boys!

When we moved to Nashville the Robison's were the first people to invite us over and it made me feel so welcome.  I loved doing book club (occasionally) with Becca and Caroline and Lindsay were great friends and could play for hours and I'm pretty sure Graham had a crush on Kate.  

Graham with Margaret, best buddies in preschool.

I really wish we could have gotten Eli and Devin together more often because they both LOVE Star Wars and legos a ton and Eli has such a great imagination he and Devin could spend hours playing.  It was so nice of Tammy to let Devin hang out with them almost all day on one of our last days in Nashville. 

I loved going over to the Millers and watching the insanity of all those boys running around. It was so funny and Caleb, Bryce, and Ian are some of the nicest boys I have ever met.  Our first summer in Nashville they almost moved and I remember wanting them to stay because I thought we would be great friends, I was right and so glad we were able to know them these last five years.  Lucky for us they have family in Austin so we are hoping they may have a pit stop in Dallas if they drive down!

The Liddles have been such great friends too.  They moved in the same year we did and Dave was doing a fellowship at Vanderbilt.  I was so happy when he stayed on as an attending so I could have more time with his wife Amanda.  She is one of the reasons this last year was so great.  I looked forward to volleyball every Monday when she was there.  Miss them so much!

My volleyball buddies!  The last week I was there we had two nights of volleyball just the six of us and it was one of the most fun nights of my life.  We laughed so much, it is one of my favorite memories of Nashville!

Caroline and Annabeth have been besties since we moved in.  They are so creative and sweet I only wish they would have been at the same school.  That would have been amazing.  Hopefully Tracie and I can manage to get these sweet girls together again!

And Tennessee of course!  He is such a sweetheart, he and Graham got a long so well I"m glad I got to babysit him after school for a while. 

We had the best neighbors ever!  I loved playing outside after school with them everyday.  Frances was such a great example to me of being involved in the community and just a great friend.  We miss playing with Isaac and Cate so much!  

Our last picture in front of our wonderful house!  I miss Nashville so much.  I'm so glad we were able to be there for five great years and meet so many amazing people. It is the best place we have ever lived.  

Chief Roast

Every year the ortho program holds a roast for the outgoing chief residents and it was finally our year.  I usually look forward to this because its good food and pretty funny to watch the videos that the attending physicians and residents make to poke fun at each other.   Shawn did the editing for his group's video and it turned out really well.  By far the best video made by the residents that I have ever seen.  The attending's roast of Shawn couldn't have been more spot on. They made fun of him for stressing about the smallest things and always feeling guilty for leaving 5 minutes early and then deciding he should just stay.  It was hilarious, I kind of wish I had a copy.

Shawn, Justin, Travis, and Sheyan.  Or as they referred to themselves as the "lost boys."

Shawn getting his graduation plaque.

All the fifth years with Dr. Holt.  Dr. Holt is awesome she was so nice to us and encouraged me to keep baking for people by ordering lots of cakes and eclairs.  We will miss her and Lauren.

And the senior residents with the junior residents they helped train.

Shawn and Mark, one of the juniors.  Mark and his wife came over for dinner about a week and a half before we moved.  I only wish we had done it sooner.  They were so sweet and our kids loved having them over.  Mark's wife, Mary Charles even played Dance Central with Graham and he couldn't stop talking about it. Fun times in Nashville.

Last Day of School

May was fairly similar to April; a blur.  Before I knew it the last day of school was upon us.  I was able to go to the kids school for their class parties and I was really sad!  I really liked Caroline's teacher this year and the school got a new principal that made the school feel a bit more relaxed.  We are going to miss Harpeth Valley and the great friends the kids made there.

Caroline and Mrs. Neese, we are going to miss seeing her around school next year. 

Caroline and her bestie from school Aarushi.  They were such good buddies and hoping that the kids will find good friends here.

Devin and Mrs. Mendenhall.  She was convinced that Devin was scared of her because she is really loud and he is so quiet.  She was probably not too far off.  He improved his reading a lot this year and are grateful for her!

For an end of year treat I made cupcakes for the teachers and thought it would be cute to set them up as flowers in a vase.  I was so wrong.  It didn't turn out that cute and Devin dropped his while getting into the van because Caroline pushed him while trying to get him to hurry up and sit down.  Mom fail. 

Getting off the bus on the last day.

When I asked the kids if they were excited for summer they were not nearly as happy as I thought they would be.  Devin said, "No, I'm going to miss Charlie."  and Caroline just shrugged her shoulders.  If the kids like their new school half as much as Harpeth Valley I think it'll be a good year.

Finally settled

Its been such a long time since I blogged I'm sure most people have given up on checking this but now that we are settled in Dallas I'm going to try and post more regularly.

Today I was going moving all the pictures from my phone to the computer and seeing pictures from Nashville made me tear up.  I miss it there A LOT.  We are doing really well here and I think its because of two reasons.  One its so nice having Ashley live down the street.  I have a built in friend to help me out, its great.  Two keeping kids busy in the summer is really tiring, so I don't have too much time to be sad.  A good thing if you ask me.  I'll post pictures of our new place soon but I wanted to catch up with some of the pictures I just loaded up on the computer.

Back in May Shawn went out of town for a week so the kids and I tried to get out and enjoy the cool weather before heading to the intense heat of Dallas.  I miss Edwin Warner SO MUCH!  Dallas is ugly, no lie.

I decided I need a few more pictures of myself and the kids so they remember what I looked like before I get too old.

The kids even talked me into doing a picnic, it was a great memory to make with them.

Look at this! I mean come on, there are no words to express how much I love it and miss it.

I thought this pose was hilarious.  Devin insisted I take a picture of him like this.  

Caroline thought she needed to pose as well.

Nashville Favorite Things

Anytime I go out these days I seem to constantly be thinking about what I"m going to miss about Nashville.  Some of the things I love about Nashville are a little odd but I'm a little odd so it fits.

Now I'm not putting all my friends up here because clearly I"m going to miss the friends I have made here the most.  So friends are just a given but here are several other things I'm going to miss about this great town.

1. Natural beauty.  This last weekend the kids went on a bike ride and I ran after them with George in the stroller.  It was so much fun!  I am really going to miss Edwin Warner Park.  It is so close and even shaded during the summer so it stays pretty cool even when its a hot day.  I love looking out my windows and seeing trees.  Its so beautiful here! 

2. Publix. I don't even care that its lame that I have an attachment to a grocery store, its just my phase of life right now.  I even have a friend that works there.  She knew all the kids and I would talk to her on a regular basis.  The store was always clean and if something was priced wrong you would get it for free.  Love this store.
3. My house! I knew we had a nice house when we moved in but seeing what we are moving into makes me appreciate it even more.  We will live on the corner of a REALLY busy street so letting my kids just play outside without me is not an option.  This one really should be at the top of the list.
4. Community.  Nashville was the first place that felt more like a community.  Its probably because I had kids in school but the area that we lived so many people helped out at the school, or taught at the YMCA.  It was fun to see how may different people you could get to know from different activities you would participate in.
5. Volleyball.  I will miss playing volleyball every week with my best friends there.  It was such a good stress reliever to hang out with friends and make some of my favorite memories while here.
I think I've hit the biggest things I will miss about Nashville I could go on and on but it'll just make me sad and there's no need for that.