Nashville Day 2: Dunbar Cave and the Parthenon

Forgive me for the huge gap in posts...I spent most of this last week nursing sick family members. First all three kids were sick (and when I say sick I mean SICK... I spent my entire evening Monday running children and bowls to the toilet). Then the hubby came down with it, and yesterday it caught up with me. Anyway, we're all better now so here's some more pictures from our Nashville trip!

Wednesday evening we headed up to Clarksville, TN to visit some dear friends of ours, the Dittmeiers. We were stationed with them at RAF Lakenheath and hadn't seen them in about four years. They allowed us to take over their basement for a couple nights and we're so happy that we got to see them again!

Thursday, Dan & Mary both took the day off work to spend time with us...aren't they sweet? After a tasty breakfast, the hubby & Dan took all the kids (my three plus Dan's grandson Brayden) to the park at Dunbar Cave, while the women (myself, Mary, and her daughters Elizabeth and Kerry) hit up Hobby Lobby. Oh yes...did I tell you that I got the best surprise ever when we drove into Clarksville and there sat my favorite store ever?!

*Ahem* I'm sorry...where was I again? Oh...right...Dunbar Cave. *smooths shirt*

Then we left the Dittmeier's to head back to Nashville and check into our hotel. We made a pitstop along the way at the Parthenon...a life-size, scale replica of the one in Greece. It was really amazing!

This first picture is of a statue outside of the Parthenon...but I wanted to share because it was taken by my 8 year old. Methinks we have a budding photographer on our hands!(Those are full grown, adult women by the base of the statue...the thing was GINORMOUS!)

Nashville, Day 1: Downtown

After the science museum, we braved the drizzle and headed downtown. The hubby & I are big country music fans, so our first stop was a peek inside the Ryman Auditorium.

Of course it wouldn't be a trip with the Shearer's if we didn't hit up at least one hockey rink, (we hit three in this trip, but that was the whole reason for the drive to Nashville...a tournament!). The home rink of the Nashville Predators was right downtown so we popped in there as well and got the kids a little souvenier from the pro shop. The boys LOVED this huge sign on the side of the arena. Noah & Jonah referred to the city as Smashville for the rest of the weekend.

And there were some popular buildings to photograph too.

My favorite was Union Station, which is now a hotel. Awesome!

Nashville, Day 1: Adventure Science Center

We drove through the night and got into Nashville (or Nash-a-vayle according to Sophia) around 8am central time on St Patrick's Day. We hit up Cracker Barrel...YUM...and then since it was drizzly and chilly, we went on to the Adventure Science Center.

The kids (and the hubby, as you can see) had a blast. There was so much for them to do that they didn't know where to begin. They tested their reaction times with a hockey shootout scenario (not hard for my kids!), climbed up a huge spine, and even had the opportunity to see what it would be like to be in a wheelchair...they had to shoot a basketball, wheel up and down a ramp, and maneuver corners. It was a fun learning experience for everyone!

See you next week!

In just a few short hours, the hubby, munchkins and I will pile into the Tahoe and head off to Nashville!



The hubby coaches youth travel hockey and the team is playing in one more tourney this season, so we're pulling the boys out of school for a few days and tagging along to cheer them on.


We will be hanging out with friends we haven't seen in nearly 4 years, exploring a city we've never visited before, watching hockey, and best of all, the team and their families get to stay here...That's the Gaylord Opryland Hotel my friends!

I. Can. Not. Wait.

Expect a picture overload when we get back next week!