Scott's brother Aaron got married April 25th. Only a few weeks before did we decide that I would drive ahead while Scott and Levi flew in. Addilyn and I started our drive the Wednesday before and made it to Clarksville Tn for the night. We had a lot of fun together. Addilyn is super easy so it made for a good trip. Did I mention our dog Lily came too?
We stopped in Knoxville at the World's Fair park. It was a little less exciting then what I was hoping for. But it was really good to get out and walk around.
After the park Addilyn passed out. It took her some time to find a position to get comfortable in but she managed. We then stopped in Nashville at the Centennial Park. They have a life replica of the Greek Parthenon. Addilyn spent her time swinging. That night we stayed in a hotel with the Western's who were also driving in for the wedding from Atlanta. The kids went swimming in the ice cold pool and we ate Chinese.
Our second day of driving was slightly less eventful. We stopped in Mt Vernon, Illinois to pick up our Illinois state badge for geocaching. The pics below are of the cache- I had higher hopes for it but Addilyn liked it.
We drove straight to Grandma and Grandpa's store and got in about 5:20. Grandma was with a customer and saw us walk in and was in so much shock! They were the only ones who didn't know that we were coming. She went into the back to get Rand who was in the office and he really couldn't believe we were there! That night we had a fire and roasted hot dogs. Everyone but the Meldrum's and Scott/Levi were there.
Friday morning the kids played outside and did some kickball. Addilyn was not interested to say the least... We picked up Scott and Levi at the airport about 1pm. We then went back to the store. Scott and I had never seen the store before this trip. Levi gave grandpa the biggest hug ever. Scott was put to work trying to fix a leak in the sink. After we went and got some BBQ with Uncle Morie and then checked into the hotel. Thankfully the pool there was warmer and I was able to spend some much needed quality time in the water.
For dinner we went to Pizza Street and ate with the bride's family who came in from Arkansas. That night everyone went to the church to set up for the luncheon for the following day. Shirley and I went back to the hotel with the kids and put them to bed!
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| All ready! |
The kids hung out at the church across the street during the sealing. It was so nice and there was a lot of family there. The last time we were at this temple was when Addilyn was 3 weeks old! She was just blessed and the temple was still under construction. It's a beauty!
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| cuties |
The sealing was at 9am, so afterwards the kids were still cooperative for photos. When we had woken up that morning it was a downpour. Thankfully the rain subsided long enough for us to enjoy the temple and take some photos. Then it came right back.
The luncheon was BBQ and delish. We had some entertainment by Scott's youngest brother Isaac who sang a song for the couple. They had their first dance and we all danced.
After the luncheon everyone went to Arkansas for a reception except for the Busby's (who came in from California) and our family started our treks home. We needed to get back for Scott to go to work on Monday. Saturday night we stopped just past Paducah KY for the night.
We spent a couple hours in Nashville at the same park but went around to different parts that Addilyn and I didn't get to go to. This included the majority of the park... We stopped at the dog park and let me tell you, Levi was in HEAVEN. Lily was a wuss. But I don't blame her because apparently it was "big dog Sunday". There was a group who met up who all have mastiff's. Or as Scott called them horses. They loved Levi. We ate leftover BBQ from the wedding for lunch and then made our way home. We got in about 9:30pm and were in bed by 11 after unloading the car.
As for that drive, I had to drive a good chunk of it because if I wasn't, I had to pee more often then when I was driving. All of our potty breaks were initiated by me for obvious reasons! It was a fun and fast trip. The family had a kick that I even made the trip out because I was due in less then a month. But my friend said that either I would regret it....or it'd make for a good story.
