It took Marin about half a second after we arrived in Indy on Friday afternoon to get reacquainted with her buddy Joel. They spent the next 24 hours playing with big trucks, speedy cars,
airplanes, train tables, legos and Buzz Lightyear. Marin loved it. Ever since she got a purple car in a recent birthday party treat bag, she's been hooked on pushing around anything on wheels. Becky made a delicious fish dinner for all the good Catholics, and the kids gobbled it up too. And for dessert- peach cobbler. But the real treat was spending time with our good friends chatting and catching up.We hit the road again mid morning on Saturday and were Nashville bound! Erica, Craig and Kai also made the trip, but since they flew, they were waiting for us when we arrived in the late
afternoon. And boy did we have fun! The kids ruled the roost and ran from room to room together- building and knocking down towers, playing the piano, running up and down the stairs, and pulling out every toy that Madeline and Charlie very generously shared. It was so sweet to watch them all play together. At four, Madeline quickly realized she was the oldest, and would sweetly report to me, "Miss Jo, Marin is wearing her shoes on the couch, and we're trying very hard to make it a rule not to wear shoes on the couch." These reports came in a very sweet, non-tattling, but very matter-of-fact way. Such a crack up. Lucky for Marin, jumping on every bed in the house was not against Madeline's set of rules she was trying to follow. Nor was throwing balls in the house; Marin picked that one up quickly too. She loved throwing a giant pink ball back and forth to Madeline, and shooting baskets with Charlie.
And, after a big communal bubble bath for all the kids, they all fell fast asleep, dreaming of all the fun the next day would bring. That night, the adults enjoyed a homemade, true Southern Feast of shrimp and grits and cornbread, and a delicious, ridiculous chocolate chocolate pie for dessert. Considering I'm 1,000 weeks pregnant, that was pretty much the best thing in the whole world. We stayed up late recounting old stories and laughing until I literally wet my pants... more than once. Meg and Rob generously gave up their luxurious bed to Jason and I, and I slept harder than I had in weeks.
The next day the boys watched the kids while the girls stole away for an 
afternoon of shopping in the to-die-for adorable downtown of Franklin, where Meg and Rob live. I could have walked from store to store taking in all the eye candy for days. I also could have easily redecorated our entire home, and reoutfitted us all with all the great shops! But we promised the boys some kid-free time too, so we headed home mid-afternoon, and arrived to a house full of fed, napping babies. Sweet! The boys headed off to a brewery that used to be an old civil war jail. Which I was assured was pretty much the masculine equivalent of boutique shopping.
A very brave babysitter arrived late afternoon willing and capable of managing all four kids for
the evening so that the six of us could head to Nashville's Music Row for a night of, (as Meg put it), honky tonkin'. She managed to get all kids changed and to bed by 8pm. If that isn't a bo
ot scootin' country lovin' miracle, I don't know what is. We spent the evening hopping up and down music row listening to 
fabulous live music, stopping only to shop for cowboy boots and hats, dinner, and candy (since a third of us are pregnant). It was a great night! We arrived home late that night to a peaceful house. And the saint babysitter even cleaned everything up! The icing on the perfect cake: She was Meg and Rob's treat. I know, right?!
Sadly, despite my attempt to procrastinate our
inevitable departure, the drive dictated that we leave late morning on Monday. We made great time on the way home, thanks in part to my unusually cooperative bladder, and The Little Mermaid.
It was a wonderfully relaxing and fun filled weekend spent with many great friends. Just what the doctor ordered!
2 comments:
OMG, I love this blog post so much!!! I read it several times. That was SUCH a fabulous weekend -- I will always feel indebted to you all for making the courageous 9 hour drive down here with a 2-year old and a baby almost ready to be born! Such a blast! Fabulous pictures. Love, Meg
Wish we would have known you all were going to be so close. We would have loved to catch up in person! We have been meaning to make a trip to Franklin but pregnancy came and then baby Grayson. Hopefully we'll be able to plan it sooner than later. Glad to see you all had a fabo time!
"B"
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