Weekend in Nashville

Oh, how I love my siblings & their spouses.  And oh, how I love their children.  We all congregated this weekend at my brother's house outside of Nashville and had a really, really fun time.  Emerson and Jax survived the 9-hour car ride (we stopped each way in Little Rock for the night to break up the trip), and our little adventure was well worth it. 

Here's the weekend in pictures.

Em & Jax a little unsure about starting our voyage on Thursday.  Well, technically Emerson's a little unsure.  Jax is just chillin' with a fish face.

Both Friday and Monday mornings, I took the kids across the street from our Little Rock hotel to Waffle House in their PJs.  My current craving for eggs and toast was satisfied, and the kids had a great time. (And when I say current, I seriously mean current.  As I type, I'm eating two eggs over easy on toast.)  Here Jax is trying to flag down our waitress who asked multiple times if she could take him home. 

We finally made it to Jace & Liz's house around 3:00 on Friday.  Between my tinkle/eating stops, I thought we'd never actually make it there.  Here's a picture of all 6 cousins together.  From bottom left corner: Parker (5), Avery (14 mos), Jax (16 mos), Vance (13 mos), Emerson (2 1/2), Addison (3 1/2).  We quickly figured out that feeding the kiddos their meals first was the best way to get everyone fed and keep them happy. 

Here are Emerson, Parker and Jax on our way to the Nashville downtown library for a puppet show.  Or maybe it was on our way back following Uncle Jace out to their newly purchased 5 acres.  It's an awesome piece of land that will be a gorgeous site for a new home in a few years. 

Five of the cousins (plus sis Miley) at the courtyard fountain outside the library. 

Momma and Jax catching some down time.  Thankfully I'm wearing black so you can't tell how ginormous my belly is already.  And I edited the picture to cut out a large section of my thigh.  You are welcome.  Speaking of my belly, one of our waitresses at an IHOP asked if she could touch my belly.  At only 14 weeks, it was a little weird, but she didn't seem to care.  I'm glad I'm not one of those girls who doesn't like to be touched during pregnancy... because my belly gets touched.  A lot.  By the end of each pregnancy, it's a supernatural freak show that people can't turn away from.  It's like it's got its own magnetic field.

   
















Emerson and Addison dancing to a Wii game.  Addie's getting some serious air (she does have wings on, after all), and Emerson tries unsuccessfully to do a head stand.  That's my girl.

These last two make me verklempt because I can't believe how quickly the babies have grown.  Every time we get together, we're going to try to get a pic of them in their diapers.  And then eventually in their undies.  Until it gets weird.