Vacation - Part 3

The petting Zoo portion didn't really have many animals to pet, but there were a few goats that were friendly enough.




Fox just loves Rachel Poole...




The Zoo crew minus myself.




On the way back, we got flagged for an extra security screening in the Nashville airport. We were already running late, but they made us stand in a large glass room while they went through our carry-on luggage. They patted us down (even Fox!) and tested everything for bomb residue, or drugs or something. We were really nervous by this point - Michelle was sure we would miss our flight. When they finally gave us our stuff back and let us go, we hurriedly got to the plane and boarded. I'm strapping Fox in when Michelle tells me to turn off my cell phone. It was then I realized that they never returned my cell phone or wallet to me at the security screening! Michelle took off running to get them back. The woman at the gate said she couldn't hold the plane, and the she only had two minutes. Michelle took off her shoes and sprinted to the security desk, had to show her ID to get my wallet and cell phone back, and sprinted back just in time for the gate to close. During this time, I'm getting Fox settled and trying to figure out how we are going to manage the rest of the trip with Michelle stranded in Nashville.

When she gets back on the plane finally, she's out of breath and nearly in tears. She collapses into the seat, and just about passes out. I tell her that she's the most wonderful wife ever and that she can have anything she wants when we get to our layover in Memphis.

She decided on BBQ pork and a Starbucks coffee.

Luckily, the rest of the trip was uneventful. Other than that one little snag, the entire vacation was wonderful, and Michelle managed to keep our costs down to less than $150. I don't know of anyone else who could have managed that!


A few days after we got back, I decided to break out the bicycle, since Fox's head is finally big enough to fit into the helmet we bought him last year.



Michelle is growing a BUNCH of stuff in the two garden boxes we built. Fox's favorite is the cucumbers.

Vacation - Part 2

We also hit some big mall in Nashville. Fox had a good time playing on these cars...we didn't even put quarters in them.




We hit the Gibson store where they make a lot of guitars and banjos, then the Bass Pro Shop...we heard they had some good things for kids to play on. That turned out to be false, but they did have a nice aquarium...




...and a tent he enjoyed checking out.




One of the highlights of the trip was the Nashville Zoo. We hung out with the Pooles and checked out all of the animals. I love going to the Zoo with kids...seeing them be amazed at all of these animals was great.

The Giraffe really put on a show for us. (Fox calls them "Giraffe Long Neck".)



He came right up to where we were and took a bow.

Vacation - Part 1

We went on vacation two weeks ago to Nashville to visit Bonnie and her family, Eddie and Marla Poole, and Nate and Kelly Turney. We had a blast! Neither of us had spent any actual time in Nashville, I've only passed through it a few times.





Fox was awesome on the plane(s). This was actually his third major trip on a plane, and he got a real kick out of watching the planes take off and land at the airport. Our 1st flight took us to Atlanta for a 2 hour plus layover, but Michelle had 4 shops scheduled, so we ate for free! Fox had Chick-Fil-A, I had Burger King, Michelle had some fancy restaurant's sandwich, and we all shared a Cinnabon.

We eventually made it to Nashville and stayed with Bonnie's parent's there. They took such good care of us, and the food was awesome!

The next day, we went to the Opryland Hotel...they have a huge indoor garden underneath this glass "dome". It's quite impressive.





Monday night, I ended up playing guitar with Eddie, Nate, and Matthew for a Home School Baseball Team banquet. It was great playing with the guys again!

Behind Bonnie's parent's house, there was a digger and a bulldozer clearing some land. We took Fox out to watch, and he was enthralled. He's still talking about the digger. When they finished, we got a few shots of him posing with the equipment.