July 4th in Nashville

For 4th of July we went to Nashville. I am craving being around family so it was really a nice way to spend a holiday. We got to town on the 3rd (Saturday), which was perfect because Julianne had a concert that night. Marriann's nephew Justin came to town for the weekend with his wife Stacey and their two boys Jack and Anderson. Plus Michael's mom and step-dad also came to town so there was plenty of family! It was fun to meet them all and get to know them.

We rode to the concert with Julianne in her convertible. I think everyone needs to spend some time in a convertible during the summer! :) The venue was right on the riverfront downtown. It was a pretty location. Julianne had dinner catered by a BBQ company before the concert. YUMMY.

The Phillips family - Logan, Tony, Katherine, and new baby Arianna (Ari)

Enjoying dinner, the heat, and the company

It was Tony's Birthday so of course we had to celebrate!

Here's the crowd for the concert. (VERY different from her Ft Worth concert) Here are pictures from Julianne's concert. She did an amazing job. It was a huge stage and she was the headliner. It was a great crowd, too. It was fun to see her concert again and catch things that we might have missed the first time. Plus, we were more familiar with her songs so I could sing along more. She did a shout-out from the stage to her family and we all went crazy screaming. Such dorks. :) Sometimes I took pictures of what was on the screens since we were on the side of the stage. Great, great, great concert!!! She is a great performer.


Anderson was a DOLL. He was nearly always smiling.

Right after the concert we went to a private viewing area right on the riverfront to watch the fireworks.

On the 4th we hung out at Julianne's all day. She did a short concert downtown on the waterfront again but rather than deal with the crowds we all decided to stay at her house and she came home right after her concert. We grilled and did fireworks at the house.

Stacey and Jack
Justin and Logan

Wouldn't be the 4th without doing some sparklers.

Tony was the chef for the night and did a great job!

The whole group

This was the first time I've ever been in a place where you could light off fireworks that actually go into the air. WOW! It's a whole new world! Here are the girls posing as they light off Roman Candles. (Side note - - this was also the first night I've ever seen fireflies. Can you believe that I'm over 30 and never seen them before? It was awesome! I tried to get a picture but it didn't work.)

The Poole Family

Peter and Tony lighting off bottle rockets. Boys will be boys.

After all the fireworks had been lit, we sat around, played a little "Big Booty", and talked. Julianne's house is far enough from her neighbors that we didn't have to worry about keeping it down. Such a perfect thing!

What do you do when you've had a great day but it's midnight and no one's ready to call it a night? You go night swimming of course!!! We enjoyed swimming in the dark at Julianne's neighborhood pool and finally headed to bed around 2 am.

On Monday everyone headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast before Stacey and Justin had to begin their drive home. That afternoon Peter, Marabeth and I went to the movies and saw "Grownups."

Waiting outside Cracker Barrel

Afterward the movie, we stopped and picked up some food for our dinner picnic at the vineyard. Arrington Vineyards was so pretty and picturesque. The whole group was there - - Michael/Marabeth/Aiden, Michael's Mom and Step-Dad, Katherine/Tony/Logan/Ari, and Marriann. We relaxed on the grass, the boys played some frisbee, and enjoyed the sunset.

After dinner we went to Michael and Marabeth's and hung out around their fire pit visiting. It was relaxing and a perfect way to end the day.

Kat, Marabeth, Ari, and Marriann On Tuesday, Katherine and I met with Marabeth and Michael for Bikram Yoga. My only real experience with yoga to this point was YogaX (part of P90X). Holy cow was it a workout. So, not only are you getting into these crazy positions and doing rediculous balancing poses, but you are also doing it in a room that is heated above your body temperature (98.6!!!). I made it through the 90 minute class without dying and only had to take a break a few times. I have never sweat so much in my life. I will totally do it again. :)

For dinner we went back over to Marabeth and Michael's. We sat around their firepit again and roasted marshmallows. It sure was nice to be somewhere it cools down at night.

Our last day in Nashville, Wednesday, was laid back. We went to lunch with Marabeth and Michael's mom and step-day. Then Marabeth and I headed to her spa Natural Oasis. We both got our hair cut and colored. It was a fun way to spend time together! After that it was time to go to the airport and go home. It is always so nice to visit with family and so hard to leave. Sigh.