Tennessee Whirlwind

Whew! What a fun and exhausting weekend we had. Drew and I helped host a "His & Her" wedding shower in Chattanooga this past weekend for our friends Besty and Will, so we decided to make a big trip out of it. I have not taken off a day from work yet this year, so I was sooo ready for a mini-vacation. I took off work on Friday and had the morning to get ready for the trip before we headed to the airport.

Arriving at the airport

First thing is first. Bloody Marys to celebrate the upcoming weekend :)

We flew into Nashville where my parents greeted us and took us out to a nice dinner at Virago. The sushi was delicious, the wine plentiful, and the company priceless.


Cheers!

Saturday morning we hit the road early and headed to Chattanooga to see Drew's family. Drew's family lives on Lookout Mountain and so the drive up the mountain was just beautiful. The air was cool and the leaves were gorgeous. Drew and I certainly miss having the seasons here in Austin! We arrived around noon and Vicky had an amazing lunch prepared, so we ate lunch and then sat by the fire and watched the Georgia Bulldogs beat Kentucky. Here are some pictures from Saturday:

Homemade Keylime Pie

Hanging out in the kitchen

Sam, Ann, Vicky, Drew, Chip & Babs

That night we went to a Bistro in downtown Chattanooga where we celebrated Will and Betsy's engagement. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures from the evening, but it was so much fun seeing the Chattanooga crew...what a lively bunch when they all reunite:) My friend from high school, Grace, and her husband Will Clark were gracious enough to let us stay at their house so we didn't have to go back up to Lookout Mountain that night. Drew didn't want to leave the next morning--he was too busy trying to bond with Cooper, the Clark's dog...but eventually we said our goodbyes and we were back on the road to Nashville for an early Thanksgiving.

We are staying in Austin for Thanksgiving this year, so my mom put together a pre-Thanksgiving feast at their house on Sunday. My Uncle Rick, Aunt Joyce, cousin Tami, her husband Kyle and their two kids Amiah and Sadie all drove in from Evansville, Indiana to join us. It meant so much to both of us that they all drove in just for the day to see us before we headed back to Austin. Lindsay and her boyfriend Jamie & his two kids also stopped by for the meal and so did the Cardens. It was great seeing all of our family and friends join together to celebrate such an important holiday. We are THANKFUL for all of you :) Here are some pictures from the celebration:

Turkey looking over the feast

Kyle, Rick, Tami, Amiah, Dad, Mom, Joyce, Drew, Megan, Sadie, Gary & Lynn

Jamie, Morgan, Lindsay, Connor, Mom, Joyce

Amiah looking cute as always

Pre-Thanksgiving turned into Pre-Christmas for the girls

We flew out late Sunday night and didn't get home until around midnight. The pups were thrilled to see us and even more thrilled to get their new toys from Granny.



24 hours later & this toy is stuffingless



Zoe protecting her toy before it gets destroyed by Zilker



Zilker copied her sister and now likes the flower pot

Though the weekend went by in a flash, we enjoyed every second of it. We are so thankful for both of our families and feel blessed everyday. We are already looking forward to seeing everybody again over Christmas break!