The week leading up to Valentine's Day was filled with some crazy weather. The kids ended up missing two days of school [one of which was the day they were supposed to have their Valentine's parties] because there was so much snow and ice.
The snow we got this time was a snow/sleet mixture. It wasn't fun to play in because after about 5 minutes the kids would be soaking wet and freezing. So, we stayed in the house by the fireplace. On Thursday the snow stopped and the sun came out. We were able to get outside and play in some of the snow, now turning to slush.
While we were playing outside, Ryan was inside trying to determine if we were going to be able to make it on our annual trip to Nashville. We were supposed to FLY out of our local airport that afternoon, but they had to get a snowplow there to clear the runway before we could leave! Kind of a weird conversation to be having since we live in the South! It was touch-and-go [pun intended] for a bit and at the last minute we got word that the flight was still on! We were SO excited.
We would be flying on this plane:
A Cessna 208. Did your knees just buckle? Mine did when I saw that tiny thing.
Everyone was antsy to get on board, but of course, Mama wanted a few pictures first. Yes, there's Puppy. He wanted to ride with David on the plane. And Rachael brought her unnamed puppy dog along for the ride too.
I LOVE this one!
As we were standing there in front of this plane I felt out of place, like at any moment someone was going to say, "That's it! That's as far as you go. You can only stand next to the plane." It was SO incredible to get to experience the life style of a "jet setter". Yes, I realize it's not like it was a fancy, private jet or something, but in my eye's it might as well have been. It's not like us to do something like this and we were blessed with the chance, so we took it. I'm so glad we did! It was an adventure we'll never forget.
Once on the plane, this was our view of the pilots:
David and Ryan on the first row:
And Rachael and I sat directly behind them:
There was only one other passenger on the 9 seater plane with us.
It was crazy to see snow out the window as we taxied on the runway.
It was really neat to see our town, and surrounding cities, covered in snow from the air. How many times would we be able to do that? Umm, this could be it, so we enjoyed every second.
This is our water reservoir.
And we flew directly over the town I was born in. That was neat, at least, for me.
Shortly after take off both kids were asleep:
We arrived in Nashville and the kids got to ride in a taxi for the first time. They were a bit concerned about who exactly was going to be driving:
After getting settled into our room, we had a little fun at the NWTF Convention. It doesn't really start until the following day [Friday], so not all the booths were open. But, the kids found this "monster truck" to drive.
Then we walked to one of the restaurants in our hotel for some dinner.
Then we walked to one of the restaurants in our hotel for some dinner.
Seriously? Seriously?! Excuse me while I mop my heart up off the hotel's atrium floor.
While waiting for our table, David took this picture of Rachael and me. I think he did a really great job!
The kids' favorite thing to do is get ice cream and watch "the water show" after dinner. Evidently, it's very difficult to do both simultaneously.
This is the only picture I could get of them together at the water show. Once their ice cream is gone they LOVE to dance to the music.
We tried to get the kids in bed pretty as early as possible that night because we knew Friday would be action packed!
David and Rachael had a ball eating breakfast on the balcony of our room everyday.
When they came back into the room on Friday morning from their breakfast they each found some Valentine's Day gifts waiting for them.
A Super Man shirt and a new water bottle for David:
A set of earrings and a new water bottle for Rachael:
Then it was off to the Turkey Show!! The "adult" portion of the convention is a huge room filled with a bunch of booths and tables of folks trying to sell you their turkey calls, their beef jerky, their taxidermy services, fancy hunting trips, any type of camo you could possibly need, anything and everything even if it's not really related to turkey hunting. But, the kids' section, which was in a total different building this year, was SO much more fun!
I will say it was a pain to have to walk across the road [in the cold with two children] to get to the kids' area. But, the kids loved it, so it was worth it.
There were a lot of the same exhibits and a few new ones. [The following pictures of all the activities were taken between two days' time.]
Some target shooting:
Lots of different furs to touch:
A jet ski to "drive":
A giant dinosaur head:
Dressing up like a forest ranger doing a controlled burn:
Bow fishing:
The man helping David here was SO excited to see him when we first walked up. "There's my buddy!", he said when he saw David. He was so kind to David last year helping him shoot the bow and was genuinely excited to show him the new bow fishing set up this year.
Regular bow shooting with Daddy.
Now, if you're wondering, "Where's Rachael?!" Well, she didn't want to do many of the activities, but she was being incredibly cute while she watched her brother.
Sure, a frisbee can also be a crown.
She may not have participated in all the fun and games, but she LOVED the fishing booth. That was the only place she wanted to be.
This girl takes her fishing very, very seriously.
Caught one!
Both kids really loved the seminar given by a lady from the Nashville Zoo. They pulled up a seat right in the middle of the action.
There was an armadillo:
A porcupine:
And this very noisy, but pretty bird:
When the show was over, the lady gave everyone a chance to touch the armadillo. I was so glad to see both kids wanted to check it out.
They also talked to a lady about owls:
And got to be up close to this magnificent bird:
And there was a bear there too! Smokey the Bear! David LOVED him. Rachael wanted nothing to do with him.
They both enjoyed the table full of different turkey calls.
And getting a chance to be different animals:
And, of course, they had to find the giant rocking turkey and take him for a spin:
After lunch on Friday we took our annual boat ride inside the hotel.
As you can imagine, after having all that fun on Friday and Saturday, David and Rachael took some incredible naps both days.
Oh, how I love to watch my sleeping babies!! Even if they aren't really babies so much anymore.
We went out for a really nice, fancy, family dinner for Valentine's Day. David and Rachael were very well behaved at the restaurant where they were the only kids in sight. I was really proud of them.
We took some pictures before going to eat. Rachael is wearing my sweater. I love every one of these pictures!
Oh! My beautiful girl.
And my handsome boy!
Our family Valentine's Day photo:
Our dinner was delicious and so was the ice cream that followed.
Our Valentine's evening, however, didn't end in the most romantic of ways. Ryan and I feel asleep as I sang the kids to sleep. We woke up around midnight and while we were getting ready for bed...Rachael threw up! She was sleeping on a palate we made her on the floor. So I got her into the bathtub while Ryan called housekeeping for more sheets and pillows. The poor thing was half asleep and crying the whole time she was in the tub. I cleaned her up as quickly as possible. Once we were out of the bathroom, Ryan moved in to wash out her pj's, sleepsack, and a few toys she brought to sleep with. Just about that time the very sweet housekeeping lady knocked on the door. I rushed to the door to thank her. She was so sweet and actually offered to change the bedding for me. Ryan put Rachael's bed back together while I got her some clean pj's and a sleepsack on. She went right to sleep after some snuggling and singing with Mama. By the time Ryan and I got in bed it was 1:30am. By the way, David slept through all of this with the light on too. No, it wasn't the most picture perfect, storybook Valentine's evening, but it was ours and we spent it with the ones we love the most. So, it was perfect for us. Just in case you're wondering, Rachael was just fine the next morning as evidence from some of the pictures above.
We headed home on Sunday.
Ryan bought a few new calls, which he was happy with, but my favorite thing we brought home from the turkey show...?
Personalized leather belts for both kids!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!
This is the only picture I could get of them together at the water show. Once their ice cream is gone they LOVE to dance to the music.
We tried to get the kids in bed pretty as early as possible that night because we knew Friday would be action packed!
David and Rachael had a ball eating breakfast on the balcony of our room everyday.
When they came back into the room on Friday morning from their breakfast they each found some Valentine's Day gifts waiting for them.
A Super Man shirt and a new water bottle for David:
A set of earrings and a new water bottle for Rachael:
Then it was off to the Turkey Show!! The "adult" portion of the convention is a huge room filled with a bunch of booths and tables of folks trying to sell you their turkey calls, their beef jerky, their taxidermy services, fancy hunting trips, any type of camo you could possibly need, anything and everything even if it's not really related to turkey hunting. But, the kids' section, which was in a total different building this year, was SO much more fun!
I will say it was a pain to have to walk across the road [in the cold with two children] to get to the kids' area. But, the kids loved it, so it was worth it.
There were a lot of the same exhibits and a few new ones. [The following pictures of all the activities were taken between two days' time.]
Some target shooting:
Lots of different furs to touch:
A jet ski to "drive":
A giant dinosaur head:
Dressing up like a forest ranger doing a controlled burn:
Bow fishing:
The man helping David here was SO excited to see him when we first walked up. "There's my buddy!", he said when he saw David. He was so kind to David last year helping him shoot the bow and was genuinely excited to show him the new bow fishing set up this year.
Regular bow shooting with Daddy.
Now, if you're wondering, "Where's Rachael?!" Well, she didn't want to do many of the activities, but she was being incredibly cute while she watched her brother.
Sure, a frisbee can also be a crown.
She may not have participated in all the fun and games, but she LOVED the fishing booth. That was the only place she wanted to be.
This girl takes her fishing very, very seriously.
Caught one!
Both kids really loved the seminar given by a lady from the Nashville Zoo. They pulled up a seat right in the middle of the action.
There was an armadillo:
A porcupine:
And this very noisy, but pretty bird:
When the show was over, the lady gave everyone a chance to touch the armadillo. I was so glad to see both kids wanted to check it out.
They also talked to a lady about owls:
And got to be up close to this magnificent bird:
And there was a bear there too! Smokey the Bear! David LOVED him. Rachael wanted nothing to do with him.
They both enjoyed the table full of different turkey calls.
And getting a chance to be different animals:
And, of course, they had to find the giant rocking turkey and take him for a spin:
After lunch on Friday we took our annual boat ride inside the hotel.
As you can imagine, after having all that fun on Friday and Saturday, David and Rachael took some incredible naps both days.
Oh, how I love to watch my sleeping babies!! Even if they aren't really babies so much anymore.
We went out for a really nice, fancy, family dinner for Valentine's Day. David and Rachael were very well behaved at the restaurant where they were the only kids in sight. I was really proud of them.
We took some pictures before going to eat. Rachael is wearing my sweater. I love every one of these pictures!
Oh! My beautiful girl.
And my handsome boy!
Our family Valentine's Day photo:
Our dinner was delicious and so was the ice cream that followed.
Our Valentine's evening, however, didn't end in the most romantic of ways. Ryan and I feel asleep as I sang the kids to sleep. We woke up around midnight and while we were getting ready for bed...Rachael threw up! She was sleeping on a palate we made her on the floor. So I got her into the bathtub while Ryan called housekeeping for more sheets and pillows. The poor thing was half asleep and crying the whole time she was in the tub. I cleaned her up as quickly as possible. Once we were out of the bathroom, Ryan moved in to wash out her pj's, sleepsack, and a few toys she brought to sleep with. Just about that time the very sweet housekeeping lady knocked on the door. I rushed to the door to thank her. She was so sweet and actually offered to change the bedding for me. Ryan put Rachael's bed back together while I got her some clean pj's and a sleepsack on. She went right to sleep after some snuggling and singing with Mama. By the time Ryan and I got in bed it was 1:30am. By the way, David slept through all of this with the light on too. No, it wasn't the most picture perfect, storybook Valentine's evening, but it was ours and we spent it with the ones we love the most. So, it was perfect for us. Just in case you're wondering, Rachael was just fine the next morning as evidence from some of the pictures above.
We headed home on Sunday.
Ryan bought a few new calls, which he was happy with, but my favorite thing we brought home from the turkey show...?
Personalized leather belts for both kids!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!
1 comment:
What a great trip!! I hope we get to see you next year!!
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