Anatomy of a Meltdown

Camden jumped in unattended after I told her no, so she got to sit in time-out.  This is the worst possible punishment in her mind (more than a spanking) and her lip immediately sprouted out.  Unfortunately, her ever increasing meltdown had me on the verge of laughing.  I held it together, but did take pictures (which is not the greatest parenting effort - however, it was too funny/cute). 



She really works that mouth...and then she cried and cried and cried.  Half were crocodile tears; half were real.

Of Course...

I made sure to book a hotel with an indoor swimming pool.  This one was fantastic.  It was 3 1/2 feet on each end and slowly graduated to 5 feet in the middle.  It also had a cute whale/dolphin mural on the ceiling and walls.

I hesitated getting pictures of Camden swimming, since we always have tons of them.  But then I look at them and see why...she is also so happy and her smile is so big whenever she is in the water.

She has been willing to jump into our waiting arms for a while, but never with such complete abandonment.  I think her "star ring" helps, but Kevin created a jumping monster on this trip.  She spent at least a 1/2 hour jumping next to him and then was brave enough to jump another 1/2 hour plus by herself (normally my ever-paranoid-when-it-comes-to-camden's-safety mind would have been in overdrive, but that ring was really doing it's job).

Parthenon

Once known as the "Athens of the South," it was only fitting that at the 100 year celebration of Nashville, a full-scale replica of the Parthenon was built in what is a fantastic urban park, called Centennial Park.  I was thoroughly impressed with this structure.  It houses the city's art museum, which we didn't enter, but we enjoyed climbing the steps around the building and playing in the park surrounding it.

Nashville Farmer's Market

The Nashville Farmer's Market was just a few blocks away.  It's a year-round market and I thought we might find some good cheeses or yummy Amish treats.  We were pleasantly surprised to see such good produce.  These photos don't do justice to the vibrant colors that abounded.

I simply loved the green and white of these vegetables.

Camden wanted some "tomaties," so we bought a small pint and she nibbled on them as we walked through the various market buildings.

She was sick of me snapping pictures of her and gave me a "knock it off, Mama" look (which, along with the tomato seed stuck on her chin, I found hilarious in this picture).

We never did find a good treat, besides these tomatoes and some jarred hot slaw that we will enjoy on pulled pork, burgers, or hot dogs in the week ahead.



I Wanna Be a Cowgirl

We were drawn into a boot store because of the wonderful leather smell as we passed by.

Camden tried on a cute pink cowgirl hat.



As well as pink cowgirl boots.  They didn't have her size on display so she put on a pair about 2 sizes too big while we waited for a sales person to get her size.

We were tempted to buy the ones that fit (especially since it was buy one pair, get two free and she could be set for three+ years), but it really wasn't something we thought she would wear enough to justify the price.

They were so stylin' though!

Music City

Saturday morning we headed downtown.



We didn't have a lot in mind to do, but wanted to see some of the sites in Nashville.  We headed to music row and stopped at Ryman Auditorium.  It was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from the 40's-70's. 

After a quick peek inside and a look at some of the beautiful skyscrapers, we headed over a block to music row.  Lots of bars/music venues, boot shops, tourists, and street musicians.

Nashville Bound

Kevin's last class/day in Atlanta was on Friday and he would be heading home on Saturday.  Aunt Carole called earlier in the week and said they were heading to Nashville on Friday.  A plan was hatched...Camden and I would ride with Aunt Carole and Uncle Ric to Nashville on Friday morning, Kevin would attend his last class then head to Nashville on Friday afternoon.  We'd meet up at our hotel and the three of us would have a nice weekend holiday in Nashville.  YIPEE!

We made it to Nashville at about 1pm and needed lunch.  Uncle Ric had eaten at a good Mexican restaurant just north of the city and suggested we stop there.  It was just one exit from our hotel, so was a perfect spot.  Plus it was some of the best mexican food I've had in a while...plus extra cheap!

When we walked in the front door, two men were playing the claw game winning stuffed animals.  Just as Uncle Ric walked past them, holding Camden, one of the men held up a purple animal and said, "Welcome to Pancho Villa" as he handed it to Camden.  She giggled, took it from him, and gave it a big hug.  She declared it a hippopatomus (even though we all think it's a donkey or mule).  Whatever it is, it's too cute...and Camden was excited to take it to the hotel and sleep with it.

We were very happy to catch this ride, eat good food, and spend time with some of our favorite people.  Better yet, it was all happening so that we could see Daddy!