Nashville

Last week, Wayne and I took a mini vacation to Nashville, TN. We go every year for Wayne's company Christmas party, and we usually go a few days early. This year, we left on Sunday morning and came home Wednesday afternoon. Actually I came home on Wednesday...Wayne had to stay and work through Friday.

I was so excited to be going on a trip, going out to eat to nice restaurants, and having time to myself to get dressed up and do my make up! Plus I had gotten some new clothes that I couldn't wait to wear!

Our first bit of excitement happened before we even left Dallas. As we were going through security at the airport, Wayne nudged me and asked me if I knew who the guy was right behind us. No, who? Wayne said it was Jon Daniels the GM of the Texas Rangers! Wayne was going to go up to him and shake his hand but then decided not to. We walk around a bit, go to Starbucks and then head to our gate. When we get there we see Jon Daniels again, and a little while later, here comes this guy bumbling out of the security line, his shirt un-tucked, shoes off and no belt on. Wayne just about died when he recognized him. It was Josh Hamilton, a baseball player for the Texas Rangers! He was MVP a couple years ago and is now is one of the most sought after players. In fact, his contract is up. And they were having their winter meetings in Nashville, where Josh might possibly be traded. Wayne had to up to them now! And he did! He shook both of their hands, told them how much he enjoyed the season, and then I took a picture!

The weather in Nashville was beautiful! It was sunny and cool. And our hotel was really nice. When we first got there, we took a short rest and then met Scott and Janet for dinner and drinks in the hotel. We then went to Tootsies, a famous live music bar downtown. It was very crowded but we managed to find ourselves a table. The first band we listened to was really great. At the end of the night, a 2nd band came to play, and with them, came a ton of people! It turned out that The Who had a concert, and this bad playing at Tootsies had opened for The Who. They told everyone to follow them to Tootsies afterwards!

So the next day was all ours. We slept late, went to lunch at PF Changs and then took a long walk on Vanderbilt's campus. Tonight is a dinner with just Wayne's people. It was so nice to have plenty of time to get ready, fix my hair, and do my makeup...and all the while, no one needs me to take them to potty or fix apple juice!

Everyone met in the lobby and then headed to the restaurant. The food was so good! I had a salad with a soy sauce and vinaigrette type dressing, fried chicken with baked Mac and cheese (the other choice was a rib eye) and carrot cake for dessert. Oh and for appetizers, we had fried green tomatoes and oyster shooters. The food really was amazing!

After dinner, we went downtown for a little while and then met in the hotel lobby for a few drinks before heading to bed. The next day, Wayne had some meetings to go to so I went out to lunch and shopping with Janet and Harriet. Then we had the Christmas party that night. My favorite part about this party was the chocolate fountain! Tons of flowing chocolate with lots of yummy dippers like strawberries, marshmallows, cookies, wafers, etc. I went back twice for that. Over the years, I've gotten to know so many people so it really is fun for me. And I love hearing everyone talk about Wayne! They all love him and it makes me so proud of him!

I did miss my babies, but I have to admit that I had so much fun that I was actually sad to come home!

Christmas Pictures

Getting Ready for Christmas

As soon as Thanksgiving was over, we got into the Christmas spirit. I did something I've never done before. I was one of the crazy Black Friday shoppers! On Thanksgiving night, I left the house at midnight and went to Macy's for their big sale. I honestly didn't think I would really find all that much but thought it would be kind of fun to try it. Well, I had the best time and am going to do this every year! I bought a pair of black boots that were normally $165. They were on sale for 2 hours, and I got them for $65! Then I bought all sorts of other shirts, sweaters, and jewelry. I was having so much fun that I didn't even get tired. When I got home, I went into our bedroom very quietly. Wayne woke up and I told him that I was trying to decide if I should try to get some sleep or just stay up. He said, "Ashley, get some sleep or you'll be exhausted tomorrow." And I said, "It IS tomorrow!" I didn't get home until 5:45 am! A big unbelievable, but it was really fun. Not only did I got to Macy's, I also went to Target and Old Navy!

The next day, Nathan and Charlotte started making their Christmas lists, and we got all of the Christmas boxes out of the attic and decorated the house.  

Wayne even went to Toys R Us on Friday for their big sale and got most of our presents for Nathan and Charlotte! Although next year, I might wait a little longer before putting wrapped presents under the tree. The suspense is killing Nathan and Charlotte!

And then it was time for the lights. I wanted to do the lights around the flower beds this year and thought that would be really easy to do. Well, it wasn't. First of all, I had to go all over town looking for the stakes that stick into the ground and attach to the lights. Apparently, this is a very popular thing to have and almost all of the stores were sold out. Wayne was going to do the lights on the trees, but I thought I would go ahead and do the lights on the ground to get us started. Well, that was such a tedious job! The stakes that go into the ground have clamps that attach to each bulb. They really don't fit all that well. I would get one attached, then move onto the next, and if I accidentally pulled the line too tight, it would cause the one before to pop out. After some trial and error, I finally got a system down that worked and finished the left side of the house. Then I go to plug them in to see how they looked, and I realized that I had the plugs backwards. I needed the end with the prongs to be closest to the house! So I had to pull them all up, turn them around and re-do the whole thing. I go to plug them in, and one bulb right in the middle is not working. No big deal, I'll just replace it with the bulb at the very end. So I do that, and it still doesn't light up! There was something wrong with the base! So I have to pull them all up again, take them to Home Depot and exchange it for a whole other box. So that basic little task of outlining one side of the flower bed took about 3 hours! Thankfully, Wayne helped me do the rest, and it looks pretty good. We're going to add to it every year. Next year is the outlining of the house!

Riding Bikes

While Wayne was home during the holiday, he took Nathan and Charlotte to the park up the street, and they rode their bikes there! Nathan LOVES to ride his bike, and Charlotte felt like such a big girl doing just what Nathan does. Wayne said that Charlotte did pretty good, but she still needs practice. I think Wayne ended up carrying the bike home.

Thanksgiving 2012

I have never been this far behind in my posts! It is now December 11, and I'm just now posting about Thanksgiving! Like always, we had a great time being together as a family. We had a smaller group this year: Grandmother, Mama, Papa, Grandma, and Jen. I was in charge of the the turkey, mashed potatoes, and rolls. Grandmother brought over her wonderful corn casserole and broccoli salad. Mama made the stuffing and yummy pecan and pumpkin pies. Of course, we all stuffed ourselves! I am always a little nervous about coordinating the timing of everything, and roasting the turkey. It was such a relief to see it all come together perfectly, and the turkey looked and tasted wonderful!

Nathan helped Daddy carve the turkey, and then he and Charlotte pulled the wishbone apart. It was so funny to watch because it was actually kind of slippery. Every time they tried to pull it apart, Charlotte's end came out of her hand. Nathan and Charlotte laughed and laughed while trying to break it. So funny!

On Saturday night, we went over to Mama and Papa's house. Chris, Carrie, and Pearce spent Thanksgiving at Chris' family's house but were driving through Dallas to drop off Pearce with Mama and Papa for a visit by himself. He stayed at their house through Thursday! And Alexandra spent the holiday with her dad, but flew into Dallas Saturday night. We all met up that night to celebrate both Mama and Alexandra's birthdays! Nathan and Charlotte had so much fun playing with Pearce and taking care of him. Charlotte actually fell asleep on the way over and snuggled with Aunt Jen for the first hour. When she woke up, she was ready to play!

Alexandra turned 16! I can't believe she is so old now! And able to drive! For Alexandra's birthday, she got a new curling iron from me and Carrie, a James Avery bracelet from Mama and Papa, and I'm pretty sure some money too. 

Mama got a nice birthday surprise, a James Avery charm bracelet from all of the sisters (James Avery was popular this year!), and amazing tickets to Andrea Bocelli from Papa! I told Daddy that I'd be more than happy to go with her if he didn't want to go, but he didn't take me up on the offer :)