behind the scenes

behind all the pretty pictures from yesterday's posts

are a few tricks, a few stories and a few tips.

 

originally, we were scheduled to go on our annual trip

to estes park, colorado.

apparently, that vacation was doomed.

the town flooded and then our government shut down,

so we wouldn't have been able to get in the national park to go hiking anyway.

can you imagine how mad we would have been if we had traveled to colorado

just to get there in time to not go hiking?

 

so we decided on nashville and quickly booked a couple of hotel rooms.

first mistake.

we really should have considered the three little ones more.

lots of naps needed.

plus nursing time.

travel time.

eating out.

packing all their crap every time we left.

and bedtimes.

it was a lot.

so we spent more time in our hotel than we normally would have.

most mornings, so brette and eden could get in their naps.

and then every night because all the girls were in bed by 8 or 9.

there was a lot of tip-toeing

and watching tv in the dark.

we've already decided that our next trip

must include a house.

somewhere we we can make our own food

and have a living room for the adults once the kiddos go to bed.

if it would have been available, we would have liked to have stayed

at the opryland resort.

it is around 15-20 acres and has lots to do.

but since this was last minute we had to take what we could get.

my tip?

when going to nashville either stay downtown (if you're going out)

stay at the opryland resort (if you want a lot to do without getting out much)

or stay in franklin. (if you want to be near nashville,

but have a family friendly downtown and lots of history).

those were my three favorite things we did

and it would have been nice to have been close to one the whole time.

 

 

also, when traveling with three little girls

we packed lots of snacks, games, toys, dvds, and slings.

getting to nashville and back was what i dreaded most.

a three month old in a car for 8-9 hrs?

could be heinous.

on our way there we split up the trip into two days

and drove into st. louis the first night.

this means i got to see my good friend, marge, and her second born, cohen.

he is almost exactly three months older than brette.

 

(here they are when b was born and again in our hotel room)

 

on our way back we left the grandparents and drove the girls through the night.

it was honestly the best thing we could have done.

the girls slept (most of the time)

and we got to drive without 14 stops along the way.

in fact, we only made one stop to refill on gas.

and that's my second tip.

if you can drive while the little ones sleep. do it.

so much easier.

but we drove around lots once we were in nashville too.

everything was at least a 20 minute drive.

so the girls got lots of car time.

and in most cases, either jaime or i were sandwiched in between

brette and eden,

bottle in one hand, pacifier in the other,

trying to sing and shush at the same time.

whew. but we made it.

and it worked out great since ronaldo

didn't go, we could all fit in brian's pilot so that made

getting around easier instead of having to take two cars everywhere.

but is nashville known for traffic?

because i've never seen anything like it.

unless you're in new york, la, chicago, but nashville?

who knew.

 

even though we had to plan around naps

we still got out and saw most of the town.

we toured the grand ol opry,

which took an hour.

it was kind of overkill,

but at least i can say i've seen it.

 

we walked around music row.

there were so many amazing country bars

and live music in every one.

i would love to go back for a long weekend

with just adults.  its totally my scene.

but my family is not into country and

obviously not the right place for little ones.

 

franklin was adorable.

i heard tim and faith live there.

i can see why.

too bad i didn't see them.

where's a country music star when you need them?

 

it was a good trip.

good times with the family.

and i got to go somewhere i'd never been before.

we learned what not to do

and what works.

oh and my last mandatory new rule:

ronnie must go on all family vacations, no matter what.

 

it just wasn't the same without him.