Another getaway

Grandma, Mary Beth and some of their Ohio Friends made the trek down to TN (Franklin, actually) for a weekend away and shopping. Mom, Elaine, Andrew and Ava went up on Friday - Grandma had not met Ava yet, and the girls and I followed on Saturday. We had a fun day of shopping, eating out, playing with cousins and celebrating Grandma's Birthday.

Dance Friends Party

Every couple of months, we rotate who will host a small little dance friends party. Everyone attends different schools or is in different classes but these little girls have been dancing for years together and are so cute! We like for them to get together outside of dance for something different and fun.
For our night - we chose a "make your own" theme. We told everyone to put on their playclothes that could get MESSY! They made their own pizzas, sundaes and took home a painting they did themselves. (In between playing, running, screaming and laughing! The funniest was when they were playing hospital and the ailments they all came up with!)

Making their Pizzas

Yumm!

Painting time...they painted ladybugs, flowers caterpillars and butterflies
They all turned out so cute!

And Finally enjoying their sundaes!

Final Stop

After we finished up at the Museum, we loaded up and headed to ride the Incline. It's a cable car that takes you straight up Lookout Mountain. The girls loved giving the driver their ticket and taking the ride. Alan on the other hand, looked as though he may have a heart attack. You don't realize how high up you have to go until you start up the ride. Yikes! When we got to the top, we took a walk, checked out some pretty homes, saw the battlegrounds and headed back down. Of course we had to have a treat before we headed home. The girls and I napped on the way home. We were tired after this weekend! We decided that everyone should have a birthday trip instead of a party!








That wraps up February...ha! Now since it's almost April, I need to get caught up on March.

More Chattanooga

We woke up on Sunday morning and headed out for brunch at The Blue Plate Once again some yummy food. Then we walked down to the Children's Discovery Museum. It was fun. The girls got to try gigantic instruments, do all kinds of hands on art projects (including face painting), play out on the observation deck and play in a "real" dr. office complete with x-rays!

Chattanooga Part 2

After the aquarium, we found a nearby park to play on. It was a beautiful day and the park was right on the River so it was a lovely backdrop.







It was getting to be late afternoon and the girls were acting a little tired so we decided to go back to the hotel for a rest and then go to dinner. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott right downtown and walking distance to most of the major attractions. It was great location for us to park once and walk everywhere. Amazingly the girls got a 2nd wind when we got back to the room and decided it was better to do this than nap...


...Jumping on hotel beds. They aren't to blame for this problem. It is genetic. EVERY time we got in a hotel the 1st thing Elaine and I did was jump between the beds. We did rest before heading out to dinner at Big River Grill and Brewery. It was yummy and we would recommend it.

We needed to work off our dinner when we got back so what better to do in February but take advantage of the indoor pool. The girls had fun, but then they discovered a hot tub and they fell in love. In fact, when we asked Mallary her favorite thing about her birthday trip, it was "swimming in that bubble bath"

Chattanooga - Part 1

Lots of pictures to share from our weekend getaway! Our first stop with the Aquarium. Loved it! We toured the Ocean side 1st, took a lunch break and then went through the River Journey side. We easily spent 3-3 1/2 hours touring it. One of my favorites was the butterfly house which is a room full of butterflies fluttering around. Gracie loved a river exhibit that had fish that stayed right at the glass while she talked to them for 15 or so minutes. She loved them so much she cried when we told her we had to move on. and well Mallary said she only "wiked wittle fish".