Hike at Montgomery Bell State Park

Our family decided to do a day hike at Montgomery Bell State Park. The girls were very excited about every leaf, stick, rock and bug. Dada kept Noelle on a short leash..literally, due to poison ivy. A highlight of the hike was when I spotted a tortoise in the folliage off the trail. The other highlight was Dada showing the girls how he can skip rocks in the creak. We may come back here some time and camp. It was a beautiful day.

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A Magical Day of Blueberry Picking

Today we went blueberry picking in Murfreesboro with our friends, Jackson, Gavin, and Zoey, their parents, grandparents, and other friends. Instead of being a hot humid summer day, it was a cloudy but still warm day; perfect for picking blueberries. I have a special place in my heart for blueberries since they remind me of my overnight summer camp days in New Hampshire where the campers romped down countless trails while picking and eating wild blueberries. The bushes we saw today were quite a bit larger than the ones I was used to seeing.




My girls were entranced and immediately took to picking blueberries. Natalie was especially good at picking the blue ones while Noelle's bucket held pink berries, white berries, and several sticks. All of Noelle's blue ones went directly into her mouth. All the kids searched high and low while the adults talked and picked berries themselves. It was a lovely afternoon. Tonight I made the girls some blueberry pancakes. If this is what living in the South is all about, I am all about it.

All American Baseball Game

Last night Chris got tickets for all of us to attend a Nashville Sounds game. They are a minor league team here in Nashville. It was fairly empty and perfect for Noelle's first baseball game and Natalie's first baseball game that she can probably remember. We got the hot dogs and sodas and had great seats with Chris' Nashville Teaching Fellows friends behind home base. The girls' favorite part by far was the team mascot "Ozzie," which appears to be a mountain lion. To both the girls he was simply known as "Big Cat." He would come out on the field and dance and then reappear later elsewhere. Noelle constantly inquired as to the whereabouts of "Big Cat" and got anxious when he stayed away for too long. Finally one inning, "Big Cat" showed up in the stands and Natalie was overjoyed to get her picture with him. Noelle appeared excited as well but as Dada carried her over and set her down at his feet, Noelle let off a piercing cry like she was in pain and clung to her Dada like a baby spider monkey clings to its' Momma. Apparently "Big Cat" is best viewed from afar; at least if you ask Noelle. We ended up staying 6 innings and probably would have stayed longer except that a spectator got hit in the head with the ball in the 6th inning and the game stopped until the paramedics could take the teenage boy away on a stretcher. It did appear though that he was awake so hopefully he was OK. All in all it was a success of an evening. I had forgotten how fun baseball can be, especially the minor league games. There aren't the crowds and the intense yelling from the spectators like there can be at the major league games. I threw in my "pitch" for the girls trying softball in a few years. Time will tell if that becomes something they enjoy some day. We could have many ball games to come!

Quality Time with the Cousins

The last few days have been great fun. Aunt Cathy and the kids came to visit us from Kentucky! My girls had it made with all kinds of girlie attention thrown their way by their older cousins. It is so much fun watching all the cousins interact and bond. My big hope is that they can somehow move here so we can see them all the time! While they were here, we went swimming at Maryland Farms, saw a concert at Cheekwood, explored the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, attended the Celebration of Freedom at our church complete with fireworks, and walked around the Franklin on the Fourth. A wonderful time was had by all and we hope that our dear cousins will return again soon.