an outing.

tuesday was the day ganny flew in from florida.
for the final time.

this will be her final trip to visit us in fort campbell.
we won't be picking her up from the nashville airport ever again.

it is beginning to sink in.

we are moving back to florida.

WE ARE MOVING BACK TO FLORIDA!

so many emotions tied to that statement.

instead of crying through the rest of this post i'll share with you some photos of where we veered off to before coming home.
{it seems, with ganny, there WILL BE a detour either in nashville or on the way back to fort campbell.
i've come to enjoy them.}






jett is always on the hunt for bugs.
or minnows.
or worms.




and he's almost always successful.
he found this little wormy hanging by a thread...or a silk.












my favorite shot of the day.
it took lots of convincing jett to leave this ladybug be while i took this picture.
it was SO hard for him not to take this bug from my shot.


the third chair from the left was calling my name.
like, screaming for me.
but, i didn't bring her home.



the countdown begins...sixteen days until we turn over our keys to this house.

loveless cafe.

can you believe it?
two stops in one day?

the other day i told you about the parthenon.
that same day, after picking up my mother-in-law, we stopped by the loveless cafe.



she's been wanting to go there for the near three years we've lived here.
she even came close once when she and my father-in-law went looking for it on the way back to florida a while back.
oh, how my father-in-law and husband are alike...he looked longer than he would have liked and, unfortunately, for her the interstate came first.
she never made it.

until now.



the loveless cafe has GOOD biscuits.
they even had a *biscuit lady*.


this fun little photo op was outside.

ganny and the kiddos.


me and the kiddos.



the little store, ham's and jam's, had these fun little signs.
too bad i already have enough junk left them there.

take a little trip.

we've been stationed at fort campbell for nearly three years.

only 45 minutes from nashville, tn...where there's SO much to see and do.

but, because of life in general we've not been able to get out and explore.
until now.

this past tuesday i made the drive in to nashville to pick up my mother-in-law from the airport.
thanks to southwest airlines running a bit behind schedule i was able to make a short detour to the parthenon.



it was so much more beautiful than i expected.



there were huge grassy areas for frisbee throwing and kite flying.
a picnic lunch and blanket will be packed in the truck before our next visit.



the flower gardens were amazing.



i hope...HOPE this will not be our last visit.
i mean, i only drove through and snapped these few pictures.

we didn't get to go inside and see athena, the greek goddess, and all of the other statues that fill the parthenon.
we MUST go back!



if only to take pictures.

bliss. {part two}

grab a cup of coffee or an ice cold diet coke.
this post is a doozy!

friday morning was set to start early.

8:00- breakfast.
guess who didn't eat.
yep, you guessed it.
me!

i was so busy taking in all the sights.
there was no time to stop and eat when there are sponsors to connect with and people to network with and photos to be taken...

i met some pretty amazing folks.

i met one gal in particular, barbara, who works for YoCrunch.
we connected at the heart of haiti booth. {hopefully, more to come on this booth in weeks to come}
barbara and i shared each others hearts for adoption.
she and i both know EVERY boy and girl NEEDS a forever mommy and daddy.
every one of them.
no matter what their story/special need/age.

while adoption might never be a part of my story...i will pray for these boys and girls always.

whew! breakfast is over.
it's time to go see what Jon Acuff has to say.



i have to be honest, i had no idea who he was prior to hearing him speak.
never even heard of him.
but, boy am i glad the bliss chicks asked him to deliver the opening keynote to blissdom.

a couple of notes i walked away from hearing jon speak...

* let go of negative internal voices. {i'm not good enough, who's even reading my blog?, i don't have anything interesting to say}

* be selfish at 5am or 11pm. {since i'm not a morning person the 11pm time appeals more to me. use that time, the time your family doesn't need you, to blog or work}

* 90% perfect on the blog always changes more hearts than 100% perfect stuck in your head. {this was probably the most impactful for me. more often than not, i have a great idea for a post but i don't write it because i don't have a picture to go with it or i don't know how to quite articulate what i want to say.}

* it matters because you can change the world. {WOW! me??}

jon generously gave each of us a signed copy of his newest book, quitter.
i'm only one chapter in but, it's good, y'all!

if you ever get the opportunity to hear him speak or read one of his books DO IT!
he's down to earth, funny, and he's also a christian. bonus.

the afternoon was filled with break-out sessions.

i went to shoot like a woman, part one and part two.
my mind was blown by the amazing Me Ra Koh.
i was so entranced in her amazing photography tips and photos that i didn't take a single note.

she. is. amazing.
AMAZING!

that's all i got on that.
AMAZING!

break time!!
with YoCrunch.
and a couple new friends.


greis of amazinggreis.us and casey of mooshinindy.com.

greis and casey, muah!
i miss you girls!!!

{all of my new friends from blissdom deserve a post all their own. i was seriously BLESSED to have met SO MANY amazing women at my very first conference!}

you're ready for more celebrity sightings aren't you??

blissdom does not disappoint in bringing in the celebs!

i mean, the lorax?
really?
FAMOUS!!


{photo courtesy of blissdom2012}




{me, in action}

next up?
joe jonas.
yep, THE joe jonas.
know him?
no?
well, i only do cause i have a ten year old son.








when jake austin saw joe's shoes he immediately asked if he could have a pair.
see. the ten year old is how i know of joe.

and then.
AND THEN.
rascal flatts.
yeah, y'all!
you heard me right.





and with that the evening came to an end.

but, there's more!
tomorrow.

one last picture before i go.
my favorite from friday night.
possibly my favorite that i took all weekend.

these are the amazing woman behind blissdom.

the beginning of bliss.

where do i start?

how about with an apology for completely ditching you all.
i'm sorry i haven't posted in weeks.
bad blogger!

i will do better.

i can give you a good reason why i was gone for at least five of those days.

BLISSDOM!!!


if you've ever even thought for two seconds about whether or not blissdom is for you, think no further.

it's for every blogger, social media lover, photographer, chatty gal, nice person, etc.
{no mean people allowed.}

for three years i've day-dreamt of joining the hundreds of bloggers that go to the gaylord opryland hotel in nashville, tn.
my dream came true when the beautiful alli worthington asked me to join her team of blissdom photographers.
i was over the moon excited.
and scared.
and nervous.

what do i wear?
what should i bring?
who will i meet?
will i be good enough?
will they like me?

us girls all have those little insecurities about us, don't we?

once i got sitter arrangements made, a new outfit or two, hotel reservations, and a kiss good-bye from the hubs, i was off to spend five days in the {almost} unknown.

what i did know...

i knew alli was sweet.
i knew i'd be staying in a luxurious hotel.
i knew i'd be eating good food.
and i knew i'd meet lots of women i stalk read about everyday in the blogosphere.

blissdom, here i come!!!

{i'll share a few pics in each post for the next few days so i don't overwhelm you!}

day one:
photo walk with lotus carroll.
she's lovely and talented and sweet and i wish i could have picked her photographer brain for hours.

here are a few of my shots around the beautiful opryland resort.





a few new friends...

{left to right- bridget of the ivey league, ??? -let me know who this beautifyl lady is so i can link to her-, heather of domestic extraordinaire, and kat of sassy irish lassie}





and, i met one of my fellow instagrammers!
hi, shan!!! it was SO nice meeting you!


next up, the official kick-off reception - sponsored by babble.
and my first celebrity sighting of the weekend.
nathan pacheco.


by the end of this evening i was ready to CRASH into my bed.
while the whole day was amazing...every second of it...i was not prepared for all the awesomeness overload.
this momma was T I R E D.

tomorrow brings jon acuff, joe jonas, the rascal flatts, alli worthington, and so much more!

stay tuned.

Visiting Santa at Bass Pro Shops in Nashville, TN

i've been looking forward to this for a little while now.
i think i was the only one.
well, mckinley, jonah, and i.
daddy was actually a little excited himself.
ok, i wasn't the only one.

jett was a little nervous.
jake is too cool for santa...you know, cause he's NINE.

we made a night of it.
nashville bound at 4:30 pm.
didn't get home until 11:45 pm.
it was a good night.


mckinley was standing on the side quietly calling for santa claus.
she was such a sweetie.











bass pro shop's santa's wonderland is a-mazing!
there is so many activities for the kiddos while you wait.

the boys drove the train.






there was a shooting arcade.




jonah wrote a letter to santa.


and even put it in santa's mailbox.


jett and mckinley totally enjoyed the carousel!!
while these pictures didn't turn out completely clear, they are probably my favorite from the night.




after bass pro shops we walked over to the opry mills hotel.
it is so beautiful every day of the year, but even more beautiful at christmastime.


when we got inside we saw puss in boots.


and shrek.
as he was leaving.
{he passed gas on his way out. classy.}


kung fu panda.


it was super chilly outside, but we braved it to go see the nativity scene.

all together now.
ooooohhh! ahhhhhhhh!!
so pretty, right?!

it was such a great night spent together as a family!!!


you didn't see a picture of all four kiddos with santa in this post because it's the front of our christmas card.
you will be getting yours in the mail soon!
and then i'll post it on the blog.
*****************************
have you gone to see santa yet?