Nashville, TN

For the 4th of July, we decided at the last minute to go see Justin's cousins in Nashville. Marianne (his Aunt), Katherine, Marabeth and Julianne all live there. We drove down on Thursday night and got there really late, but wanted to have a full day on Friday to play. Julianne's neighborhood has a pool that we took full advantage of. It was really hot the whole weekend, so it was nice to have a place to cool off and have fun.

Me, Katherine, Justin, Marabeth

Friday night, Marianne was nice enough to hang out at the house while our kiddos were sleeping so we could go out with Katherine, Marabeth and their hubbies. We ate sushi, had delicious dessert at the Melting Pot, and finished the night watching Katherine's husband, Tony, and his band play. They were so good and fun to watch!

Saturday was Julianne's concert. She had a little BBQ for her friends and family before to kick off the 4th of July festivities. It was SO HOT that day! 95 degrees with what felt like 100% humidity. We stayed cool going back and forth from her air conditioned bus. Jack LOVED Julianne's bus!! He still says in his prayers..."Thank you that we could go to Julianne's concert and go on her fancy bus and see fireworks." I love that he calls it a fancy bus.

Her concert was downtown Nashville, right on the water. You can see the stage behind Justin and Jack.

Tony, his son Logan, Katherine, and their baby, Ari.

For the concert, we sat right in the very front, right in front of the speakers. It was so loud and as soon as it started Jack starts freaking out and crying because it was so loud. This was Anderson's reaction....he was all smiles! He was moving up and down, dancing to the music and just smiling. Maybe he will be able to teach his brother how to be a little more brave. :) After Jack relaxed though, he started dancing with the other kids and having a good time.

After the concert, there was a big fireworks show. Jack was super excited for them and was talking about it ALL day. But when they started, he had a nervous look on his face but you could tell he was trying really hard to enjoy it. And once again, Anderson was screaming with a huge smile on his face and totally loving it. These two are already so different.

Sunday we went to church right next to the temple. I was excited when we realized after looking up which building to go to, that it was right next door! It's fun for us to see the different temples in places we have traveled.

After church, we hung out at Julianne's house, had a BBQ and did a few fireworks of our own. I think the smoke bombs and the sparklers were Jack's favorite because neither of them make any loud noises. :) I get a kick out of his tan line on his feet from his flip flops!

We got a little silly towards the end of the night. :)

Saying goodbye to Julianne as she heads for Rome....jealous!!

The next morning, we headed to Cracker Barrel with the whole crew for breakfast and to say our goodbyes.

After breakfast, we made a stop to see my cousin Alex and his wife Becca. They were married almost a year ago in the same temple we saw and were visiting her family for the holiday. I have never met Becca and Alex and I couldn't figure out the last time we had seen each other, so obviously it had been TOO long!! I'm pretty sure he's grown a few inches since I have seen him :)

It was so great to see all the family from Justin's side as well as my own. It was a last minute trip that was well worth it!