Tennessee Fun and a Pickin' Party

On Thursday morning, the rest of the family headed out to Loveless Cafe for brunch while I stayed home with a sleeping Jonah.  It was nice to have some time to myself while Jonah slept, and I got to try all of their delicious leftovers when they got home!  Later on that afternoon, I got to go out with some of the family to McKay's, a used bookstore, and it was so nice being able to leisurely browse through everything.  I ended up buying the Laura Ingalls Wilder series for less than $20!  My mom read these books out loud to my sister and me when we were growing up, and I definitely plan to read them to Noelle and Jonah.

pushing care bear

Caleb and Debbie have a fun little swing set in their backyard that Noelle loved!  She spent a lot of time being pushed in the swings, and going down the slide.  And of course Care Bear needed a turn!  Caleb and Debbie also have a sweet dog, Nola, who Noelle loved to follow around and torture with food.

Nola and Noelle

On Friday, Luke stayed home with Jonah while Noelle and I headed out with Debbie, Ruth, and Max to get coffee at a fun place called Dos.  Then we drove over to the Parthenon, which is an exact replica of the one in Athens.  We walked around the outside of it and took some pictures before heading back to the house.

Noelle in front of the Parthenon

That afternoon, Luke went to an arcade place with  Caleb, Ruth, and Max, while Debbie and I headed out to a Full Moon Pickin' Party!  It was so much fun!  It's set up on a beautiful farm, with a main stage for the three main groups performing.  Anyone attending can bring in their own instruments (though there is a list of which ones are acceptable), and people just hang out in groups playing bluegrass music.  Noelle had a blast dancing, and Jonah behaved pretty well and then fell asleep in the ergo.  I felt like I got a true Nashville experience.

me with the littles and a park police horse at the Pickin' Party

After not much sleep for either of us, we left at 4 a.m. on Saturday to head back to Maryland.  Praise the Lord, both kids were good and we managed to make it home with only three stops!

Noelle and Jonah during one of our stops