The Growing Caldwell Family

Our chance to explore Nashville continued on Saturday. We headed downtown for breakfast at Johnny Cash's and a trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Aaron gave the Nashville hot chicken a try! The kids played with fashion plates while waiting for their food and Charlie made his into Johnny Cash. The food was great and the live music made it fun! It's June and Johnny! Scavenger hunts make museum visits more fun! Sis was the kid with the most interest in the memorabilia. She is also the one who enjoys country music. She was taken with some of the costumes on display and definitely thought some of the really recent ones worn by the young ladies were a little crazy! The original lyrics for 80's Ladies - a song that makes me think of my sister and our childhood! There was a ton to see in this museum and it was a little overwhelming to take it all in! Across the hall was the hall of fame and we saw the plaques for the best in country music! It was a neat place to vis

A friend's wedding was a great reason to hit the road and visit Nashville! I love when they have a fun time together! We worked in some sightseeing time too! A trip to the Grand Ole Opry was a first for me! Lovie with one of her favorites, Charley Pride! Sis loves music and this was right up her alley! We were there for the 4,999th show. Too bad it wasn't the lineup for the 5000th show, but we enjoyed seeing John Conlee, Charles Esten, and Riders in the Sky to name a few! Charlie is not as much of a music fan, but Aunt Nay took him to the snack stand and that kept him going!   

We had the good fortune of a second trunk or treat. This time it was at our church.  Groot sure did enjoy the space cowboy look! Livy came, so we had Bo Peep and Jessie together.  The kids had a great time getting candy from familiar faces at church and some of the community groups like the Smyrna SWAT and fire department! Everyone lit up when we saw Ms. Jennifer, our beloved Music Together teacher! She even played and we sang Hello Everybody ! The kids were impressed with their candy haul and it was fun to be out at a community event!  

The week leading up to Halloween is spirit days at school. Each day had a different theme and we participated in all of them but I only managed to take pictures a few times.  Crazy hair and sock day! Charlie was pleased to wear his French Bulldog socks. Sis had twin or triplet day and dressed up with two other friends to make Alvin and the Chipmunks. I wish I could see a pic of them all together! Everyone loves pajama day! Lucy because she is cute and her spirit makes us all smile!  

We have been so busy that I was wondering how we would fit in pumpkin carving, but on a Tuesday night, we enjoyed a quick dinner and got to carving pumpkins while watching Hocus Pocus ! Getting your hands in and pulling out the guys is not any of our favorite parts! Neither kid wanted a traditional Halloween design, but they picked them and were set that was the design each wanted.  Charllie chose Captain America's shield.  Sarah Graves chose Tiana. Charlie struggled with executing his design and not taking out the inner circle. He got really frustrated, but with a little help from Aaron he was able to salvage his design and made it his own. Maturity is tough, but moments like that make it obvious that he is growing up.  Light 'em up! Sis was very pleased with how Tiana came out (and very insulted when Daddy called it Cinderella)! Charlie saw the fun in the activity and liked his star design.  After so many evenings running crazy doing all our fun activities, it was nice to hav

A couple of months ago we decided to try another church that had more programs for the kids. We visited Smyrna First Methodist and immediately were welcomed by a family from school and Sarah Graves got involved with the children's choir. She had really missed choir since the start of COVID and had been excited to get back to it. She picked up like she never quit and had a great time doing her first performance in church. After church we took advantage of the gorgeous fall weather and went to the Jonquil Festival. Lovie and Pops came to watch Sarah Graves sing and joined us at the festival.  Charlie and Aaron had to leave after lunch, but Sarah Graves and I stayed and did some shopping with Lovie and Pops. We had a great time and found some unique gifts for Christmas.  Later in the evening we came back together for a trunk or treat in our neighborhood.  Charlie was absolutely certain that he wanted to be Groot for Halloween. He loved his costume and got a kick out of wearing a cowbo