Grandpa and Uncle Beaner

We had a terrific weekend because we had family in town!! Grandpa Dixon was already in Nashville on business, but when that was done he came down on Thursday afternoon and stayed with us for a couple of days. Even better was that Uncle Ben (aka Uncle Beaner, a name given by Emily a while back) also came to visit from Memphis on Friday evening. We did a few fun things to make sure Grandpa and Ben had a good time here.













































On Friday morning we took Grandpa to the beautiful outdoor mall.

We met Daddy there for lunch.

The kids got to play at the water area there. Too bad it was, cloudy, breezy, and not quite 70 degrees. They nearly froze, but loved it. I forgot to bring good water shoes, so it was pretty slippery. Both Emily and Dallin slipped and bumped their heads on the concrete. Nothing serious, but that was enough for Dallin. Emily stayed in a lot longer and just giggled and giggled.

Later that afternoon we went off on a very special errand: to get Emily a sparkly, fancy, pink bike for her upcoming birthday. The bike is from Grandpa and Grandma Dixon, so we all thought it a great idea for Grandpa to take Emily and buy it while he was here since they won't be here for her big day. She got to ride it for a little while for Grandpa before it gets put up till her actual birthday. She LOVES the bike in all it's frilly glory!

That evening Ben arrived, and when the kids went to bed we put in a movie. Unfortunately, it was really lame and no one but Danny saw the whole thing (Ben and Grandpa fell asleep, and I went to off bed in the middle of it). The pluses of the evening inspite of the movie: Danny's delicious air-popped popcorn and home made rootbeer freezes. Mmmmmm.

Saturday was just as fun. We started it off by going to one of our favorite restaurants for breakfast: The Blue Plate Cafe. The food is just so good. We even ordered their Cocoa Biscuits (a regular biscuit with chocolate gravy on it), a true Southern dish.

Then it was off to Cathedral Caverns and this is where Uncle Beaner gets major props for being the best uncle in the entire family. Not only did he let Emily be his little buddy who almost never left his side the whole time he was here, he pushed the stroller with both kids in it the entire way through the cave - not an easy task with all the ups and downs on the paths, the crowds of people to maneuver around in the dark, the stopping and going during the tour. You're awesome, Ben!







Waiting for the tour to begin.





Emily and Uncle Beaner

















Walking into the world's largest opening to a cave.

The view from the inside looking out of the cave's mouth.

It was incredible in there. Here are some shots of stalagtites and stalagmites we thought were pretty amazing.

A photo op on the way out.

I learned a lesson the hard way: Don't wear white pants and flip flops into a place where mud can get flipped and flopped up onto your pants. Dang it!

After a relaxing afternoon and dinner, Grandpa took us to Bruster's for ice cream. And yes, it was our second time going there since his arrival. And yes, it was just as delicious the second time. The kids were in heaven.

Thanks again for coming, Grandpa and Ben!! We loved having you here!