Kyle's Vacation Week

Sorry I've been so behind on updating, but we've been really busy these past few weeks. I'll try to put up Easter pictures later today also! Kyle had vacation the first full week in April and rather than go on a long trip, which with two kids usually ends up being exhausting, we went to Nashville for a few days and then did a few things around Louisville. It was much more relaxing and made Kyle's vacation seem much longer. So, below are some shots from our vacation week. We went to Bicentennial Park in downtown Nashville, and Elle LOVED this map of the world (mostly she just loved the water). The weather was beautiful, and since we knew it was supposed to be cold the next few days, we also checked out Music Row and ate at the Wildhorse Saloon, before heading to our hotel, the Gaylord Opryland Resort. Elle loved the resort too and would have been content just walking around inside, looking at the waterfalls, seeing the fish, and going up the escalator--I'm still not sure why we ever spend money to entertain her! There was a great outlet mall right next to the resort, so Elle got to ride the carousel and got some new tennis shoes at the Nike outlet (now when I put her other shoes on her, she looks confused/disappointed and says, "Where's the swoop, mommy?"), and we all enjoyed lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. If you've never been, I would highly recommend taking your children if there's one near you. Elle loved it! There were all kinds of animals to watch during lunch and there's even a thunderstorm every 30 minutes. Since it was cold, we spent a good bit of time at the resort, and Elle got to have a lot of daddy-time, swimming in the indoor pool and playing video games. Lauren had fun as well, although she wasn't fond of the car. She continues to be a very easygoing baby!

Once we were back in Louisville, we spent a day at the zoo, and it was so fun to watch Elle enjoy it even more, since she's older now, although she got just as excited about the random birds and squirrels we saw (which again, we did not pay to see) as she did about the real zoo animals. Elle's pretty scared of any animals close-up, so we were shocked when she wanted to go in and see the lorikeets (birds). The birds will land on you, especially if you have food, so we didn't buy any, knowing that Elle would probably freak out if that happened. So, she was fine at first and even wanted to touch the birds that the lady next to her was holding, but then some birds decided to land on daddy's shoulder, and Elle was pretty much done after that. She was mostly just concerned for Kyle though! On a side note, Elle's a pretty cautious child, which I'm sure she gets from me, since I always telling her to be careful. So, Kyle also decided to paint some in our great room on his vacation (I know; isn't he a great husband?), and he had to get on a ladder for some of it. I was out of the room when he first climbed up, so Elle took it upon hersself to warn him, "You better be careful, daddy; you're gonna get a big owie!"