Our Weekend Away.

Saturday was our 6 year wedding anniversary and we took a childless (well-kind of!) weekend trip to Nashville. Thanks so much to Stuart's parents for keeping Clark and Barney so we could enjoy this wonderful trip! I think the boys had a great time at camp Snyder and we had a great time just the two of us in NashVegas.  We made a last minute decision (two days before) to take the trip. We knew the Snyder's were keeping Clark but we had no clue what we were going to do. Stuart suggested Nashville and we went with it. Last year we went to Charleston, SC for our anniversary but this year we did not do a week long trip just a weekend so Nashville it was.

So Wednesday night we made hotel reservations, dinner reservations and talked to some friends from college who live there for some good ideas and the plans were made. We left Friday afternoon to stop and drop the boys off in Elizabethtown and then we were on our way. We had a wonderful time just being Stuart and Abby. We love traveling with little agenda and just enjoying the local spots wherever we go. We like to enjoy the culture, food and Stuart usually has to throw in a little history.  So that is exactly what we did on this trip.

Friday night we stayed with the Snyder's and had an evening with some of Stuart's high school friends. We had a great night visiting and all of the other wives were pregnant too so it made for easy conversations. During the conversations I learned about a local children's boutique that is closing and everything was 50 % off so of course we had to hit it up on Saturday morning! I got some super cute things for the twins and Clark. I might have even spent a whole hour looking through all the cute things. Let me tell you. Shopping for coordinating outfits in just the right sizes for the right seasons is tough! I tried to explain this to Stuart as I had to explain the need for the one hour detour, but he did not get it. Owell. I have lots of cute things. It was totally worth it.

After the slight detour we made our way to Nashville were we met up with our friends Sean and Ashley. We met them at their new home and it was absolutely adorable. After the home tour we rode with them to a local brewery for lunch and then a trip to The Frist. Sean and Ashley are members of the museum and we got to use their free guest passes to see the Andy Warhol exhibit that was on display. It was a great afternoon and I loved seeing them and seeing the sights and sounds with them.

After the lovely afternoon we made our way to our hotel. We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and it was fantastic! We really felt like we were more on a cruise ship than a hotel. Neither one of us had ever stayed there so it was a great place to spend the weekend. If you have never been I would totally recommend it. It was beautiful and had so much to do.

Once we checked in we relaxed for a bit and then got ready for dinner. We had reservations at Maggiano's and our dinner was WONDERFUL. We loved every bite. We split a pasta dish that had lobster, shrimp, mussels and clams in a red sauce over linguine. It sounded great to both of us however, I am allergic to shrimp so we asked for it without shrimp and they said this would not be a problem. So that was the plan. We were sitting at the table enjoying our calamari appetizer when the chef came to our table. He said that he heard I had a shrimp allergy and he wanted to discuss the meal with us. He said that the sauce contained a shrimp stock and he explained what he was going to replace it with and asked if that would work for us. Well of course it would! We were so impressed that he took the time to do this and the meal was super great. The portion was HUGE and even the two of us could not finish it.

After a the lovely meal we walked around our hotel and enjoyed the sights and sounds. We even found an ice cream shop and got some FREE ice cream. The people in line in front of us had a travel voucher and could not spend it all so they paid for ours too! The ice cream was great and the twins and I really enjoyed it. I will be checking at the grocery store to see if they carry the same flavor! ha! :)

We slept in until 10:00!! Took our time getting ready and made our way to one of the restaurants in the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast we made time for a little history. We went to The Hermitage. The Hermitage is Andrew Jackson's home and now a museum. It was rainy, but of course we made the best of it. We took the self guided tour of the grounds and the home and it really was quite interesting. They had headsets for us to wear and each spot had things to listen to. There was an adult version of the narration and a children's version. Stuart chose to listen to the adult version and I chose the children's version! ha! It really was so much fun and it was like how I would talk to my 3rd graders so of course I liked it better! The twins even heard a little too. Gotta get these babies learning a little history right??

After the history lesson we made our way back home to pick up our boys and say goodbye to Nashville. We had a great trip celebrating together and the boys had a great time with Grammy and Grandpa. Clark did not even want to come home so I think he liked it.  I wonder if next year for our 7th anniversary the grandparents will be volunteering to keep all 3 kids and Barney! ha! We will see. Until then here are some pictures from this year's trip.

The Snyder's at The Frist.

Thanks Sean and Ashley!!
We had a great afternoon.

A quick shot inside the hotel.

An anniversary picture AFTER our yummy meal.

Me and The Duo in our hotel.

A self portrait. We have these from everywhere we go!

Stuart giving the lobby decor a thumbs up.

Stuart made new friends as we walked around the hotel.



Me and the yummy goodness!



Our view at breakfast.

Stuart learning a little history at The Hermitage.
He was loving it. Promise. :)

Me learning all about Andrew Jackson and the twins taking their turn listening.





As you can see we had a great time. So happy that we got to do it.
I love you Stuart! Thanks for a wonderful trip and for making me so happy the last 6 years.
I am looking forward to at least 60 more!!