{Weekend Adventure} Go Tigers!

We got up early and headed over to Sun Life Stadium armed with sweet good luck signs...

  

for a day of FUN!

We loved the fan area at the College Football Playoff and enjoyed hearing Phillip Phillips sing...

I schooled the girls on how to snag drumsticks from the band ~ raisin' 'em right, I tell ya!

  

Another GREAT win made it a definitely fabulous start to 2016!

#CUinAZ

{Weekend Adventure} Down to Florida...

Wow!  What an exciting season!!!

Clemson seasons like this don't come along every year, so we just HAD to book it to South Florida to support our beloved Tigers in the College Football Playoff Semifinal!

We were welcomed to Miami with fun billboard signs like this...

Oh, how we love our #4 Deshaun Watson! 

After a little drive through tour of the University of Miami campus, we grabbed lunch at Whisk, which was just plain YUM!

After lunch, we met up with Grams, Pops, and the rest of our crew of 10, and checked into our hotel...

After getting settled, it was about time to eat again, and we ventured downtown to Fork & Balls...

before heading back to the hotel to rest up for the BIG day tomorrow!

Go Tigers!!!

{Girls Trip} - Christmas 2015 - Nutcracker Ballet at The Fox

I've planned on starting a yearly Nutcracker tradition with my girls for years, but have always wanted to wait until M was at least in kindergarten to begin. Since L is now in 1st grade and M is now in 5K, I decided that this would be the year!

Having grown up in Georgia, I have fond memories of seeing a few shows at the historic Fox Theatre in downtown Atlanta, the most memorable being The King and I with Yul Brynner headlining it.

The 5 of us got up early, drove down to Atlanta and grabbed lunch at Publik Draft House before Hubby and B headed out to a movie...

 

The magic of The Fox just can't be replicated, and I'm so thankful to be able to share it with my sweet girls!

After the show, we met back up with the boys to share another childhood memory with all 3 - riding the Pink Pig!

It was a special day all around, and I can't wait to do it again next year!

{All In a Day} Nashville - Pancakes, Presidents, and a Passion for Capitol Steps

It has been on my agenda for quite some time to get the littles to Nashville (for more than a drive through) for quite some time.  One of the most beautiful presidential sites, The Hermitage, sits not too far away from downtown.  Downtown is home to the Tennessee Capitol, and not to mention, Pancake Pantry!  Plus, the only home that President James K. Polk ever lived in, aside from the White House, that is still standing is located in Columbia, TN, just south of the city.

Have I mentioned that James K. Polk is B's favorite president?

With the kids on fall break, we got a bit of a jump on the road trip Thursday evening, and spent the night with my mother.  Being a Friday, Hubby was at work, so my mother accompanied me on the trek - I get it honest, I suppose!

We headed out super early and hit up our first stop, The Hermitage, first thing...

{Last time that I was here, I was the 9-10 year old, with my two little brothers in tow!}

We loved the tour, and the handheld audio devices even more...

While The Hermitage was being built, Andrew Jackson and his family lived in this log cabin (formerly one two story building).  Once the big house was complete and they moved in, the log cabin was separated and used for slaves quarters...

Our last part of the tour included the gardens and the final resting spot of our 7th president, General Andrew Jackson...

Next, we headed into town and stopped at yummy Pancake Pantry for lunch...

Bears in the Snow for the girls...

Sweet Potato Pancakes for me...

B had already devoured half of his Caribbean Pancakes by the time I got around to him!

We spent the afternoon learning a little more about our 11th president, James K. Polk, and tracking down a few of his sites...

The former site of Polk Place, now a hotel, where President and Mrs. Polk retired after leaving the White House, and where both died, several years apart...

{from Wikipedia}

Sadly, it was demolished in 1901...

Right near by, we found the Tennessee State Capitol...

and B ran up his 30th set of state capitol building steps...

The face of a little 9 year old guy that has just finished 3/5 of his (lofty) goal...

We also found the (now) final resting place of President and Mrs. Polk.  They were moved here in the late 1800s, a few years before the demolition of Polk Place...

From there, we continued south to Columbia, TN, and visited the James K. Polk Ancestral Home...

Here, we had a great little tour.  This place has many original artifacts that once belonged to the president and his wife...

The original (and official) presidential painting of our 11th president...

and a fountain that once graced the grounds of Polk Place...

Lucky for us, the home was offering a traveling exhibit on Polk Place in the building next door...  It was so neat to see photos of the inside of (the now long gone) Polk Place, along with some of the actual pieces of furniture from the photos!

 On the way out of town, we made a quick stop at the site of James K. Polk's boyhood home...

before heading on home

What a day!

Washington, D.C. Vicinity {2015} - Day 3

Today Hubby got up early and headed out to meet up with a few of his S.C. Army National Guard colleagues for the 8:00am Army Ten-Miler race.  The 3 little ones and I grabbed a quick breakfast in the room, and hopped on the Metro en route to the Pentagon to meet up with Hubby...

We just love it when the presidents show up!

We met up with Hubby and got ready for the littles' races...



We looove Champ the Cheetah!

ALL of my racers...

After the youth runs finished up, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up...

and made one last stop at Arlington National Cemetery...

saw the 3:00 Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier...

paid our respects to both President Kennedy...

and President Taft...

before bidding adieu...

Until next time...