Hola Mexico!

At the end of June we went to Mexico with a few friends and had the best time. Really, we couldn't have picked a better group! We started off with a few days of rain and I mean down pours but then ended off the week with lots of sunshine. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We have fun on the beach, at the pools, had photo shoots, went snorkeling and even rode the spinnaker.

Music to my ears

Bonnaroo Music Festival - whew, what a sight to see! I never really thought I would step foot in the field known as Bonnaroo located in Manchester, TN. BUT when a friend says I can get you FREE tickets and my husband is dying to go, I decided to tag along. However, there were some rules for my participation:

1) We will NOT spend the night.

2) We will leave when I'M ready.

3) We're taking a car so I can get the heck out of dodge, if need be.

4) I will NOT be freaked out by what I may see.

5) Even though I don't know any of the music, I WILL have a good time.

So after I laid down the law, we were going. We ended up leaving the house around noon on Saturday. That was good. I knew we weren't staying all night so the less time there the better. It was hotter than a dickens and so dry. Just from walking through the dry fields and dirt our feet were SO dirty. Yuck it was disgusting. I saw girls with rain boots on because of all the dirt which I thought was a good idea but then I think about their sweaty feet in those boots. I think I'd rather have dirt......and I did.

Right when we got there I started to feel sick. I hadn't had much to eat since breakfast (by this time that had been a while ago) and the heat did not help. So I headed to the VIP tent that had air conditioning. Aaahh, a little relief. Then it was time to get ready for Nate's show. It was in a tent that had some air conditioning too. So by the time the show was over and we got outside it was actually pretty nice. We just missed the hottest part of the day. We were starving so we head to get pizza. I felt like I was just eating dirt with all the dust still flying around.

Nate's second show was ending so we went to meet him and spent some time in the Comedian VIP trailer. Now that was nice, a few snacks, water and air! We were talking about staying for Eminem (which didn't go on until 12:30am - OMG). So I wasn't thrilled but went with the flow. We stayed in the trailer until closer to show time then we walked all back stage hoping to get to sit with Nate and Laura with their VIP badges. Well we got right up to the gate, walked closely with Nate and got DENIED. So they herd us like cattle to another gate. We thought it was going to suck and we would just be out there with all the other fans. No special treatment??!? What?!?!? But I know Nate Bargatze! Have you seen my badge!?!?

They finally let us out and we are smack dab right in the middle of the mosh pit, 10 rows from the stage. Yes, I said mosh pit. I could not have been more annoyed. Mark was having the best time dancing (or what he calls dancing) his little heart out. That's all that matters, it was his birthday after all. I think it was over around 2am, way past my 9pm bedtime.

Laura and others waited around, not me, get me out of there. So we head for the car and we get lost. We have no idea where we are. We came out a different gate than we entered. So we were lost and Mark was not helping. He has NO sense of direction. I was crying, all I wanted to do was get home. A nice "cab" golf cart picked us up for $10 and took us right to the car. Best $10 ever spent!

So Bonnaroo, an experience that I think I can only handle one time.

Country Music Assocation Music Festival - now that's more my cup of tea. Although, I could have done without Taylor Swift. We ended our fun music weekend with the CMA concert at LP Field.

Paint + Zoo

We kept our niece, Rachel, for a weekend and of course it included the zoo and was full of girlie activities! Rachel (and Mark) love the zoo. Every time we keep her we HAVE to go. I'll admit I don't really get tired of it either. She loves the carousel, the birds and the giraffes.

We also went to paint pottery. Rachel painted a cupcake dish and a dinner plate with an "R" in the center. She did such a great job! It was a neat place and they had a large variety of items to paint. I think we'll have a date night there soon.

On the way home we saw the ducks at a nearby neighborhood entrance. They were very friendly and I was able to snack a few pictures.

We also painted fingernails and toenails, watched Rapunzel and Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue more than once.

Go Nashville Sounds!

First of all, I apologize for the stupid spacing issues on my blog. I'm not sure what the heck is going on.

Second, we caught a Nashville Sounds baseball game with some friends before it got so dad blame hot here!

We had a great time eating ballpark food, chatting, cheering and having fun with the mascot.

Wine, Friends and Babies

Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend (before I wasn't able to walk after that stinkin' race) we met some friends at Arrington Vineyards for some wine, food and good conversation. The guys even fit in some football. We did the tasting, brought some picnic type foods and just had a great time being together.

I even ran into some other friends, Ian and Amanda, as they were having one last date night before baby Paisley arrived.

And now Paisley is here, beautiful as ever.

Nashville Urban Challenge

Memorial Day weekend was definitely one for the books.

Saturday, I participated in the Nashville Urban Adventure Challenge with my friend, Stacy. I had done something similar to this last fall and I'm hooked on The Amazing Race so I jumped at the opportunity to tackle it again. This was a scavenger hunt type challenge through downtown Nashville. The website said for all fitness levels, you could use a bike and be on a team of up to 4 people. Well....those guidelines quickly changed. We could NOT use a bike and let's just say it was NOT for all fitness levels. There were only 2 of us on the team, as not to have other members slow us down. We get to River Front Park Saturday morning ready to W-I-N! Oh and I need to say our husbands wanted nothing to do with this. The first thing we had to do was a warm-up with a Marines Boot Camp instructor. This should have been the first sign for us to throw in the towel. But no, we were ready for the challenge. So we opened our packet of instructions and clues and hit the ground running, literally. With just a glimpse of seeing the clues we found our we were going to be running ALL over this city. There was a "smart" route to solve these clue but you didn't have to do them in any certain order. At each location there was a challenge and then we had to have our picture made to prove we hit every spot.

I've included the riddles and our pictures below. We crossed the finish line in exactly 4 hours, let's just say we had NO idea it would take that long. With every where we had to go I'm pretty sure we ran a 1/2 marathon. Running a 1/2 marathon is on my bucket list but gee whiz, I would have liked to train for it. I just was not sure at all if I was going to make it to the end but Stacy kept me going. Even though I did finish, my body has definitely paid for it. I could NOT get out of bed or walk the next day. Every single muscle in my body was sore. I've also lost 3 toe nails because of this adventure. I used to think I had pretty feet but this summer....not so much! :)

First up, the naked people. See how fresh we look!

Then it was on to Belmont where we had to answer trivia questions about Nashville.

We finally get to the Parthenon after wasting time trying to figure out another clue. This was THE worst stop. We had to do a mini-boot camp with tire stepping, army crawls, crab crawls, jumping jacks, etc. Whew, we finally made it - look at those muscles.

Then we happened to come across FIT Nashville, another location. This one was as bad but we did have to do some weights then we did some stretches.

Now what to do....go to Bicentennial Mall or Country Music Hall of Fame?? We head for the capitol. We are the Volunteer State!

Last stop, CMHOF, man I thought we would never get there. Stacy had to stack plates and cups and I had to balance rice cakes on my head. Done, on to the finish line!

Two Sweet Boys

I just wanted to give an update on the cutest boys in the world, Drew and Alex.

Alex turned one in May and let's just say he's been through a lot in his first year on this earth. He's now walking and on.the.go.

Drew turned 3 in April and is a mess, going 100 mph every second of the day! We both are enjoying our conversations via FaceTime. Sometimes I can't even see him but he is so excited to have me just sitting on the coffee table just to be in the room with him. :) (thank you Apple) He shows me his toys and tells me about his days. It definitely puts a huge smile on Aunt Kate's face.

Here are the two sweet brothers during the professional photo shhot. Too stinkin' cute!