Life with the Gilmore's: Nashville Tradition with Mom

Last year the kids and I went to Nasvhille, TN with Mom for a weekend to enjoy all of their Christmas activities...we had such a fabulous time that we said it was our new tradition. Daddy did not mind being left behind since he had a paper to write and studying to do but we did miss him!

Friday, November 22, 2013: Thankfully Mom was able to take a half day off work so that we could drive during nap time...it makes for a much more peaceful drive. Once we arrived, we checked into our hotel and the kids were so excited. Once we unpacked a little, we had to grab a quick dinner at Bob Evans then head over to the Gaylord hotel for our horse and carriage ride. The rides are so popular, you have to prebuy tickets! It was a very cold weekend but we bundled up and had a lot of fun. Kailyn kept saying, "Neigh neigh!" After the ride, we took a few pictures then headed back to our hotel. I knew the kids needed time to get settled into the hotel before going to sleep and we still had to get their beds made.

Saturday, November 23, 2013: Caleb woke up asking to go swimming! He was so excited that we had an indoor pool in our hotel. Somehow, we convinced him that we needed breakfast first so we headed out to Shoney's. Unfortunately, Kailyn was walking down the sidewalk to get to the car and fell. You will notice a big scab under her nose in the rest of the pictures :( Poor girl! We had a good swim although the water was still a little cool for us. Then we went back to our rooms to get ready and head out to the Opry Mills Mall for lunch at the Rainforest Café. This was a blast! If you have never been, it is like you are eating in the middle of the jungle- complete with animals that come alive, rain, and thunderstorms. The kids were in awe the entire visit and did not want to leave. After lunch we all went back to the hotel for naps...Mom and I fell asleep too without setting alarm clocks, thankfully she woke up with just enough time to get everyone dressed and out of the door to head to the Rockette's Christmas show. We were so late that we got the kids Happy Meals at McDonald's to put in my purse so they could eat during the show. The show was amazing and the kids were entertained the entire time. At the end of the show, they do a live Nativity scene with sheep and camels. Well, Kailyn was so excited that she started screaming, "Baaa baaa baa" during the show. I was a little embarrassed and tried my best to calm her down. I'm telling you- this girl is an adorable mess!!

Sunday, November 24, 2013: On Sunday morning, we had to pack up to head home. I had packed some poptarts for the kids and Mom had bearclaws, so we picnicked in the hotel room for breakfast while we got ready and packed up allll of our stuff. I'm telling you- I don't know how other families travel with just a few bags! We come with a lot of stuff...and yes, we used 95% of it! Anyways, after we packed up we were excited to head back to Opry Mills Mall to eat lunch at Chuy's Mexican (Mommy had been craving it the entire trip!). Once we finished eating, I convinced Mom to pop into the mall for just one store, the Vera Bradley Outlet. And I finally got her hooked on VB!! Of course, the kids did not last long shopping so we headed to the Gaylord hotel to look around, take pictures, etc. We found a train ride that was a lot of fun but the kids had to have Mommy ride with them- choo choo! After that we bumped into Santa and there are no pictures because Kailyn freaked out and was completely terrified! We finished up our mini tour on the river boat ride and that was cool. The kids were starting to look a little droopy at this point, so we decided it was time to end our fun weekend and head home. Both kids crashed in the car and Kailyn slept almost the entire ride home!!