Justin and I have a family mission statement.  It’s helps us tremendously in figuring out what we say yes and no to and determining if something fits into our purpose and mission. 

South America.  Brazil.  A continent and country that I can say I never envisioned myself going.

But travel, family, our au pairs, and experiences are high on our mission statement…so when we had to make the decision about attending Lari’s wedding in Brazil, it was a very easy decision to make. 

Justin and I made the trip together and represented M-unit.  While the girls wanted to come, they just started the school year and had lots of softball, dance, and soccer.

Flying the red eye allows us to make the most of our time off and trip.  We arrived in Sau Paulo, Brazil Wednesday morning; Lari and Will drove three hours from the town of Cruzeiro to pick us up.  Halfway through the three-hour ride to Passa Quatro (the small town where we were staying), we stopped for “fast food” for lunch; our first experience eating “food”.

Unlike many of our prior trips out of the country, we were well aware that this trip would not afford us the luxury of conversing with many English speakers.  Our first night out we ventured to a Lebanese Restaurant, where English was not spoken.  We used Google Translate on our phones so we had some of idea what we were ordering; however, we didn’t realize that the “carne” we ordered was raw!  Justin tried a bite; my view was that it wasn’t worth eating it and potentially getting sick on the first day of our trip.   The trio of dips including hummus and baba ghanoush was pretty gross too.  Thankfully the pita bread was good, and I thought to myself this was going to be one carb heavy trip! 

Thursday morning was our first morning at the hotel, which by the way, was probably only five percent occupied and that is probably a generous estimate.  The hotel itself was situated at the top of a major hill; it was quiet, nice, and fairly inexpensive (like most everything in Brazil). Breakfast was included at the hotel; normally Justin and I eat a huge breakfast when on vacation to load up for the day and we intended to do the same.  Brazilian breakfasts though consisted of breads and cakes, and likely due to the small occupancy at the hotel, were dry and not fresh.  Scrambled eggs and coffee became our morning staple. 

We explored the cute town after breakfast and many other mornings; our way to experience the town while getting a workout in at the same time. 

Thursday afternoon Lari and Will came to pick us up at the hotel. We first shared with them their wedding gifts from us and the girls. Each of the girls wrote a letter to Lari that represented their unique personalities. Lari loved everything!

We took a bunch of pictures with one another. 

Lari wanted us to experience acai, which totally looks like chocolate ice cream. 

They drove us to their town of Cruzeiro and we saw where they are currently renting and where they are building their own house!  We explored Cruzeiro some, which reminded me of a mini–New York, before going to Lari’s mom and step-dads house for the evening where they surprised me with a birthday celebration and we ate coxina and other fried finger food (literally, it is quite common there to eat without utensils and napkins are small and sparse). It was so wonderful to meet her family; her parents were so appreciative and touched that we came to Lari’s wedding.  Her brother Leo is super sweet; Harper and him would get along great!

Friday we took a waterfall tour, which was awesome, visiting four different waterfalls.  The ride was bumpy and fantastic; we truly got to experience the “hills” of Passa Quatro. Our tour guide Alex, brought a family friend who spoke English.

For lunch, we experienced a local “food” place. 

Our guides Alex and Caillo recommended a beer joint that also served pizza that we tried Friday night. Fantastic recommendation…right up our alley!

In the evening, we actually had some downtime, so we binge watched an entire season of Virgin River in the evenings!

Saturday late afternoon was Lari’s wedding.  One of her friends, who doesn’t speak much English, drove us.  We were squished in the backseat of her car with broken AC and her driving skills had us scared for our lives.  We were hoping for a dry wedding as we were even more scared for the way home in the dark, especially if she was going to have a drink or two.  I think this is the first time ever I wished for a dry wedding (thankfully my wish came true).  Anyway, her friends were super nice and we enjoyed meeting one another….Brazil drivers, at least some of them, are just not what we are accustomed to her in the U.S. 

Anyway, Lari’s wedding was simply beautiful.  She was so happy and the evening perfect; I imagine it was everything she ever envisioned and more.  Many of her friends and family came up to us and told us (via a translator) that they were so blessed that we were here.  A few of the kids wanted to hug and touch us as they had never been in contact with an American before!  How funny and amazing is that!

Sunday afternoon we decided to use the same tour guide from Friday and took a sunset tour.  It was magnificent.  Oh yeah, we watched a good amount of Emerson’s tournament via Game Changer Sunday (and Saturday). 

We were in the mood for some decent food (finger food or raw meat wasn’t going to cut it this night); our driver took us to the town next to Passo Quatro and waited for us while we enjoyed some local pizza.  Again, we felt like we were experiencing the culture as a local!

Our evening flight, coupled with our ability to not have to check out until 2:00 p.m., allowed us to have a leisurely Monday. 

If I had to pick one word to sum up the trip, it would be blessed.  

Blessed to have had the experience of having Lari as our au pair for a wonderful year.

Blessed to have had an au pair who took such good care of our girls.  

Blessed for a loving relationship that has continued despite distance and time. 

Blessed to have Lari as part of our extended family and M-unit forever.

Blessed to be able to watch Lari get married.

Blessed to have met her wonderful family who raised her.

Blessed to have met her husband Will!

Blessed that her family felt so blessed to have us there. 

Blessed that my parents watched the girls for a week so we could go on the trip. 

Blessed that my girls understood why they couldn’t also go.

Blessed that the girls were on their best behavior for Grandma and Grandma.

Blessed that my girls get to grow up so close to Papa and Grandma.

Blessed to have visited South America.

Blessed to go on this amazing trip with Justin. 

Simply blessed. 

This summer was intended to be a “Summer of Fun”.  The girls each wrote lists of what that meant for them.

Emerson:

• Get Along
• No forced reading or workbooks
• Don’t force going out side
• Going to Watermine
• Surprise things during the summer
• “Never have I ever” Show

Avery:

• Going out to eat
• Watermine
• One-on-One Dates
• More Play Dates with friends
• No workbooks-Don’t force us to go outside for extended period of time

Harper:

• muse paint bar with family
• Bowling with family
• Ice Skating
• Lots of swimming
• Family game nights
• Spending time with grandma and grandpa 

Family, friends, one-on-one, and surprises were a theme.  It was clear that workbooks and scheduled learning did not consistute fun.   I found it very interesting that nobody included electronics and YouTube on their list!

I knew no matter how hard I tried to be intentional about making fun a priority, I knew the girls would only remember what we didn’t do.  Tonight we sat down as a family and I reminded them: 

• June 18 – Alex and Emerson at Hunter Mill Swim Pool
• Week of June 19 – Monday – Harper and Liza at mall for lunch after soccer camp, Avery has Cuppetts end of season swim party at Dunn Loring Swim Pool with her mini CDC Friends, Tuesday Harper at Liza’s all day after soccer camp, Thursday – Harper and Liza swimming at Papa and Grandmas.
• June 23 – sleepover at Papa and Grandmas
• June 23 – Emerson goes to Declan’s pool party – first boy/girl swim party
• June 24 – Petchenick family barbeque at our house
• June 25 – night time swim and Ledo’s takeout at Papa and Grandmas
• Week of June 26 – Culinaria cooking camp – Monday afternoon swim at Papa and Grandmas, Wednesday afternoon swim at Papa and Grandma’s
• June 27 – Blake and Avery playdate
• June 28 – impromptu night outside at Bear Branch Tavern
• June 29 – impromptu takeout from Taco Zocola
• June 29 – family Pictionary 
• June 30 – impromptu lunch of choice after camp food not good (A and H – Chipolte, E – smoothie) / Bards Alley browsing and purchase
• June 30 – Emerson and Addy go to Fairoaks Mall 
• June 30 – impromptu Luciano’s takeout
• June 30 – Family Movie Night – Hidden Figures
• July 1^st – Party at the McMillans (Sarah)
• July 2 – family bike ride to Papa and Grandma’s to swim, bagel lunch
• July 2 – family early dinner at Red Fox Tavern and ice-cream at cute shop in Middleburg before dropping Emerson off at Camp Highroad
• July 2 – 6 – Emerson at Camp Highroad with Adrien
• July 2 – nighttime game of checkers (Avery and mom) and nighttime game of Uno (Mom, Harper, Avery)
• July 3 – Harper and Lizzie doing Math with ms. Pat, Ms. Pat making Harper a PB and P.
• July 3 – Avery making delicious chocolate chip toll house cookies with Ms. Pat
• July 3 – 6 – Harper sewing camp with Callie
• July 3 – Carne Asada dinner at the Goldman’s
• July 4 – Swimming in afternoon at Papa and Grandma’s
• July 4 – Neighborhood party and fireworks in the Mazda
• July 6 – Sausage Pasta Family night – all 5 of us after Emme comes home from camp
• July 7 – Harper goes swimming and has solo sleepover at Papa and Grandmas
• July 7 – impromptu pick up of sandwich shop for lunch for A, E, and dad
• July 7 – Amaya and Avery play date at our house….production dance
• July 7 – Impromptu Dinner of 4 (Mom, Dad, Avery, Emerson) at Red’s Tavern and then reading in Pit (talking about sex in their books)
• July 8 – Emerson and I went to Mosaic to pick out workbooks at Barnes and Noble and impromptu lunch at CAVA.
• July 8 – Avery, Harper, Mommy have sleepover at Papa and Grandmas because our AC is broken….Harper and Avery have fantastic time in pool playing games and making bead bracelets, buying fabrics at Joannes
• July 8 – Emerson and Daddy have sleepover at Holiday Inn in Central, MD after softball tournament. 
• July 9 – Allison Russo and Hannah come over to Papa and Grandma’s for evening of swimming and takeout with me, Avery, and Harper
• July 9 – Harper sleepover at Papa and Grandmas, ate the best sesame bagel ham and cheese sandwich for lunch
• July 10 – Mommy, Avery, Harper go for impromptu dinner at CAVA
• July 11 – Harper and Liza go swimming at Papa and Grandma’s
• Week of July 10 – Avery and Emerson have Thoreau camp
• Week of July 10 – Avery’s first week of Intensive Dance Camp with her friends and learning new dances
• July 12 – Harper and Mommy impromptu Simply Social coffee and mango smoothie after dropping A and E off at Thoreau
• July 12 – Harper sleep over date at Papa and Grandma’s after Futsal. 
• July 12 – Daddy, Avery, and Emerson dinner date at Hawk and Griffin after dance class – (did not have best time though due to Avery in a mood).
• July 12 – Harper and Liza play date at Liza’s house/Hunter Mill Swim Club
• July 13 – Mom, Harper, and Avery impromptu dinner at Café Sono
• July 14 – Emerson and Daddy trip to PA for softball tourney for the weekend
• July 14 – Harper and Pat paint at Muse Paint Bar
• July 14 – Mom, Avery, and Harper Connect 4 Tournament while jamming to Mama Mia soundtrack
• July 15 – Avery and Harper have fun sister day making play doh restaurants and painting – pajama wearing and no outside until 5:00 pm.
• July 15 – Mom, Avery, Harper go to the mall – shopping at Old Navy followed by impromptu dinner at Fish Taco in Mosaic District.
• July 15 – Emerson makes some good plays in right field and does well at the plate…Daddy and daughter enjoy their one-on-one time together at the hotel.
• July 16 – Emerson and Daddy go to the Hershey Factory and take a tour in Hershey, PA
• July 16 – Mommy, Avery, and Harper enjoy swimming at Papa and Grandmas and playing the “Corner Game” in the pool
• July 16 – Family dinner of salmon (burger for Avery)…first night eating at the table in over a week, combined effort in making, preparing for, and cleaning up dinner
• July 17 – 21 – Harper b-ball camp, learning new tricks!
• July 17 – 21 – Avery in her second week of dance camp with her friends
• July 17 – surprise Starbucks cake-pops for Avery and Emerson
• July 17 – fun carne asada family dinner with homemade guac and and after dinner b-ball session, family walk, and firecrackers poppers, and a surprise lizard next to Daddy washing dishes in kitchen sink
• July 18 – Emerson and Grandma time together at the mall shopping, eating gelato and watching “Young Sheldon” at home
• July 18 – Harper and Liza go swimming at Hunter Mill after basketball practice
• July 18 – Family dinner at the island….solid single of random food in the house (burritos, ravioli, pork) and just fun talking to each other
• July 19 – Amaya and Avery play date at our house before dance class.
• July 19 – Avery, Emerson, Harper play a round of sequence with me as the cheerleader
• July 20 – Emerson and Papa lunch date after 643, then swimming at Papa and Grandmas for a little while, and an episode of “Young Sheldon”
• July 20 – Harper and Liza play date after basketball camp at Papa and Grandmas – swimming in the pool
• July 21 – Avery and Emerson go school shopping with Mom for their own school supplies at Walmart, followed by takeout from CAVA and Pot Bellys
• July 21 – Harper and Daddy go to the Black Team Soccer Team Pool Party
• July 22 – Harper has lunch with Ms. Pat and Mr. Bill – chick fila take out!
• July 22 – Emerson and Harper go to Old Town Alexandria with Papa and Grandma, eating at Chadwicks, and icecream at Kilwins!
• July 23 – Avery, Emerson, and Harper cook an award-winning dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmigiana, garlic bread, green beans, and brownies.  Grandma and Grandpa come to enjoy!
• July 24 – Avery, Grandma, and Papa have 2-on-1 date and go shopping for dance/birthday clothes at Cinnamon Tree, buying new ballet shoes and then Bagel Café for lunch
• July 24 – We finished Number the Stars and had a good discussion…reading each night alternated between lounge area, downstairs, and my bedroom.
• July 25 – Nashville Trip! Station Inn Concert, Listening Room Concert, good food, Gulch photoshoot, muesuem, shopping for sovieners and trying on hats, swimming and hanging out with ANN friends
• July 30 – Harper sleepover with Papa and Grandma, swimming
• July 31- Harper hang out with Grandma and sewing camp
• July 31 – Alex comes over to hang out with Emerson and Avery
• Aug 1 and 2 – Harper and Lizzie have fun doing math with Ms. Pat 
• July 31 – Aug 4 – Harper sewing camp with Blanca
• Aug 2 – Emerson goes to Bazin’s and has sleepover with Papa and Grandma    
• Aug 3 – Emerson goes to nail salon, out to breakfast (Sweet Leaf), and lunch (The Virginian) with Grandma
• Aug 4 – Avery and Emerson’s Birthday – lots of present opening in morning, Emerson/Papa/Grandma go to lunch, Grandma, Mom, Avery, Emerson, Harper go to the Barbie movie
• Aug 5 -12 – Holden Beach for the week with the Nidays and the Brophys…lots of beach time, pool time, playing pool, BBQ, Pirate Treasure Hunt, ice cream, puzzle time, Girl Scout Cooking Baking Challenge, and hanging out with friends for a week straight!       
• Aug 12 – Harper’s birthday…morning donuts and cinnamon rolls with Brophy’s and Nidays…singing Happy Birthday, Pollo Peru dinner and dessert at Papa and Grandma’s with Lauren, Gabriel, Noah, and Elias.  10 presents for 10 years old!
• Aug 13 – Watermine birthday celebration for Maddy girls with friends and family
• Aug 14 – Day camp at Papa and Grandma’s with Noah and Elias, swimming everyone, Avery and Noah bake cookies, Noah sleeps over 
• Aug 15 – Spent day with Noah at our house….science experients, riding bikes, making forts, reading books, playing!  
• Aug 16 – Liza comes over for play date with Harper before practice, Noah and Elias sleepover!
• Aug 17 – Noah and Elias spend day with us!  We pick up Avery and Emerson at OES from Open House and then order food from Santinis for lunch.  Elias sleeps over again!
• Aug 18 – Elias spends the morning with us after sleeping over.  The girls and I all go to OES for Harpers open house, meeting Ms. Blissard and all their old teachers.  We all then go to RTCP for a well check up with Dr. Powers who is hilarious and had us all laughing, followed by a 3:15 lunch at Chipolte followed by a quick fun stop in Target!
• Aug 19 – Harper goes to Zava Zone for Laurel’s birthday party! 
• Aug 19 – All the cousins and Auntie Lauren and Mommy go to cousin Mollie’s first birthday party and have a fun water balloon fight
• Aug 19 – Russell, Mary, Papa, and Grandma come to hang out; cousin time while Daddy and Gabriel cook dinner…lots of fun playing baseball, soccer, and cuddling.  All the Bernangos spend the night.
• Aug 20 – Grandma Adele’s celebration of life; all Petchenicks, Russell and Mary come to celebrate….a bittersweet day. Bernangos spend the night again!    
• Aug 21 – First day of school….OES bus stop breakfast.
• Aug 23 – Noah sleeps over.  We have yummy ravioli sausgage dinner.
• Aug 24 – Noah and Elias sleep over; all the cuddles
• Aug 25 – Friday afer first week of school…watched Princess Protection and ordered takeout from Bear Branch
• Aug 26 – Cousin time at Papa and Grandmas, swimming with Noah and Elias, and Lucianos for dinner
• Aug 27 – Emerson has breakfast at Caboose with Lauren, Gabriel, and the boys
• Aug 27 – Hanging out with Noah and Elias and Papa and Grandmas for the official send off before the Bernangos flew back to London.  We had a fantastic two weeks with them!

And yes, they needed to be reminded.  I’m sure they will appreciate this in time.  For now, they mostly remembered the few times I asked them to read for book club or that “is dinner really impromptu, if we eat it every night”.  

The first day of school looked a little different than in year’s past.  Avery and Emerson were off to 7^th grade!  New school and new schedule, including a 7:30 start time!  That equates to a bus pick-up at 6:39 am!

Emerson has been looking forward to this day for years!

Avery was nervous and had some tears the morning of orientation; I was nervous the first day would be a repeat; it wasn’t!

Umm…what happened to having to crouch down in the first day of school pictures?

Harper is now the sole Maddy at OES.  My sister, Gabriel, and the boys were at our house the first morning of school, so I don’t think Harper quite experienced what a normal day would look like for her.  Tomorrow will probably feel a little quieter. 

Noah joined us for the bus stop breakfast!

Twenty-five kids ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. 

Avery and Emerson got home at 2:43, not much after I finished lunch!  They were smiles off the bus.  Harper said she had a great day, loved her teacher, and the fact that all four of her besties are in her class. 

We celebrated my Grandma Adele today.  A small, beautiful celebration of her life.  A fantastic, wonderful life filled with great friendships, family, and experiences. 

My memories of my grandma start when she was in her mid-50’s; I knew my grandma in five decades of her life…her 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.  First of all, just wow.  Second of all, I knew her 45% of her life; that too is crazy considering she lived 95 years. At the same time, there were 52 years of Adele before my time.  She was always my grandma; grandmas are supposed to be loving and caring; grandmas aren’t necessarily supposed to be young and beautiful.  I wasn’t privileged to know my grandma during her younger years; looking at pictures in her youth and early motherhood give just a glimpse into how stunning and glamourous she was. 

At her celebration of life, I shared what I had written Grandma a few months before she passed.  Several pages of fantastic memories that I easily thought of in less than 30 minutes.  Even now as I write this, I realize I forgot to include SO many other memories that I have with her and Papa.  There is no shortage.  I am truly blessed to have known my grandma and been so close with her for 43 years. She hadn’t remembered Sol for quite some time; not only am I sure she remembers him now, but he was waiting for her with open arms (okay, an arm and a half) and I can vividly see them greeting each other with minimal words, just great big smiles and a soft “hi honey”.

Another great Maddy, Brophy, Niday beach vacation in the books.  This time in Holden Beach, NC.

We had great weather.

Only a few dark clouds and an occasional shower in off-peak beach hours.

Had a Girl Scout Cookie Baking Challenge.

Had a 5:00 a.m. Woman’s World Cup USA vs. Sweden viewing party.

Spent time at the beach.

Spent time at the pool.

And enjoyed leisure time around the house doing puzzles, playing pool, games and goofing off.

Celebrated Harper’s birthday.

And made amazing memories.

August is always a busy time in our household…beach vacations, birthdays, and the start of school.  

Aug 4 – Avery and Emerson’s Birthday

Leaving for the beach August 5, meant that Daddy and I had to work Friday more than we would have liked. We spent a leisurely morning opening presents and eating pancakes.  Emerson spent the day with Papa and Grandma, while Avery stayed home since she wasn’t feeling well. Us ladies (Mommy, Grandma, Avery, Emerson, and Harper) enjoyed watching the Barbie Movie at The Boro theatre. Afterwards, we enjoyed tacos from Fish Taco and cupcakes from Expo; eating them at Papa and Grandma’s and singing Happy Birthday with Daddy joining us via Facetime.  

Aug 12 – Harper’s birthday was on the day we were driving home from the beach.  We had a little celebration at the beach Friday night with ice-cream and mini-cupcakes. 

Then another one the morning of her birthday with an assortment of mini pastries and fruit, followed by a Pollo Peru birthday dinner celebration with Papa, Grandma, Lauren, Gabriel, Noah, and Elias. 

Sunday we celebrated the three of you with a joint party at Watermine. Each of the girls had several friends; they all got along great and had a fantastic time. Noah, Elias, Lauren, Gabriel, Grandma, and Papa even joined us this year.  It was hot and sunny; perfect day for 4 ½ hours of waterpark fun!

Five fun honkey-tonk filled days in Nashville.  I seriously think all us Maddys have a little country in us.  I personally felt like I had a constant smile on my face from the second we arrived in Nashville. 

January, the American Nystagmus Network announced the bi-annual conference was going to be in Nashville, TN, we knew not only were we going to attend, but also that we were going to turn it into a mini-family vacation. 

The girls were psyched!  I pulled out my pre-kids cowboy boots and we were off!

Music:

The Station Inn – I researched and researched and researched the best places to hear live music.  Many of the suggested places were 21 and over or tickets sold out within minutes. The Station Inn, in the Gulch area, was a 10-minute walk from where we were staying. There was a show the Tuesday night that we arrived that I wanted to go to; tickets were only sold at the door and started selling at 7:00, an hour before doors opened for the 9:00 show. Part of me wanted to line up at 6:00 to make sure we got into the show, but everyone was hungry so we opted to go get dinner first.  We were going to chance it when dinner was over.  Thankfully, we ate fairly quickly and arrived at The Station Inn before it was sold out.  Seats were limited, but there was a section of folding chairs to the left of the stage that were open, right next to a picture of Dierks Bentley of all people!  The Inn was pretty much The Vienna Inn with live music and only subpar pizza.  Thankfully, we have read the reviews about the frozen pizza and opted to dine before the show. We enjoyed live music from The French Family Band; leaving at intermission though as the girls were exhausted. 

The Listening Room – The Listening Room was such a different experience than The Station Inn.  It was three artists whom I had never heard of; as it turns out, we had actually heard some of their songs as they were songwriters, who wrote for many famous artists including Luke Bryan and Keith Urban.  Josh Kerr, Marynn Taylor, and Erin Kinsey put on a fantastic show, and it was heartwarming to hear the stories behind the songs.  There was a $75 food and beverage minimum so we indulged in drinks and pretzels with beer cheese. 

Restaurants:

Adeles – We were lucky to get a table being that we didn’t have a reservation.  No kids menu, but we were able to order enough to share that the kids enjoyed.  A delicious and expensive dinner.  We ate here before heading to The Station Inn. 

Luke Bryans – It was a fun experience to be able to check out our Lukey boy’s restaurant.  All the current country music artists have their own restaurant right in the same area downtown on Broadway.  The food and beer is okay; the first floor music is the draw.  We ate here the before heading over to The Listening Room. 

Moto Cucina – Also in the Gulch area.  Nice ambience and good food; though service was very slow so by the time we got our food it was close to 9:00.  Our waiter brought us some meatballs on the house, which was appreciated, but again by the time we got our dinner, we had lost some of our desire to eat a nice meal. 

Tailgate Brewery – We stopped in due to nothing more than proximity.  At just after 11:00, it was an early lunch for us.  It was just us and one other table.  Beer selection was fantastic; I enjoyed a flight of IPA’s.  Lucky for us, Wednesday was half price pizza day, and the pizza was surprisingly pretty darn good. 

Assembly Hall – Generally I am not much of a Food Market type person; everything looks amazing at food markets, but I can never decide what I want.  SO many options at this one, and we made the decision that this was going to be lunch so we all found something to eat….tacos for Emerson, Avery, and me, and Tennessee fried chicken for Harper and Daddy. We even tried some cute donuts for fun. 

Activities:

Gulch Photo Shoot – The reviews of the Iconic Gulch Photoshop were great; I knew I wanted Instagram worthy pictures of the Nashville hotspots with all of us.  I rationalized the photo shoot by deciding those pictures would take the place of our bi-annual Fall photo session. I’m glad we did it; the pictures were good, not great. And the session gave me reason to wear my cowboy boots, the ones that were so old the insides started disintegrating on my legs.  

Broadway – We explored downtown Nashville and Broadway Street.  We were there a few times earlier in the day and the area was packed.  I can’t even imagine the rowdiness and the crowds on a weekend night!  I wore my boots and a Nashville worthy outfit and felt right at home.  Avery and I had a fun time taking mirror selfies.  We stopped in a few of the restaurants/bars each day we were downtown and enjoyed the vibes and the music.

Country Music Hall of Fame – We purchased tickets to the Country Music Hall of Fame and explored for a few hours one afternoon; it was a great escape from the 90-degree plus heat of the day.  As with any museum, it’s hard to read and look at each exhibit; everyone enjoyed something.

Stays:

920 South Street – Our first three nights we stayed in a 2 bedroom/2bath Airbnb, which was a 10-minute walk to the popular Gulch area.  It was spacious and a good spot for our family of five.

Gaylord Opryland Inn – We stayed here for 2 nights the last part of our trip as this was where the conference was held.  It was five of us in one room with two full beds!  We made it work.  We arranged for a cot; the springs were so uncomfortable, so Avery moved the mattress to the floor.  Emerson and Harper shared a bed and Justin and me; Justin got to snuggle a little closer to me than normal, which I am sure he loved!

ANN Conference: 

This was by far my favorite Conference for a few reasons.  Our primary reason for going these days is the networking of other kids and people who have nystagmus.  Avery made a few friends at the last conferences, and she was really looking forward to seeing them and I was really looking forward to furthering those relationships and others. 

Apparently, the girls think I am an extrovert.  This came up at our dinner out at Moto and I thought they were nuts….well fast forward to the ANN Conference and I was able to see exactly why they thought that.  Justin joked I was running for mayor!  

Nashville was fantastic and we will definitely will be back!

Eight dances, two full on dress rehearsals, three recitals. 

So proud of my Avery.

Watching her onstage is such a joy.

She gives it 125% on stage and her facial expressions express her own joy and love of being onstage. 

This year she performed three dances in Mini CDC – “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Blackbird” and “Boogie Fever”.  Jazz 1 she performed “Welcome to the 60’s”. Pre-teen Jazz she performed “Supermodel” and Modern she performed “Rhapsody”. 

Schools out for summer! Oakton Elementary School (OES) is out for Avery and Emerson!  Seven years at Oakton Elementary.  Seven years since I unexpectedly broke down in happy tears as they climbed the steps to the school bus on their first day of kindergarten. 

Avery and Emerson are ready for seventh grade.  Emerson especially had a particularly tough year with three different teachers and has been ready since early this year to be at Thoreau.  Harper has been going to school with her sisters since kindergarten…it’s all she knows.  It will be four years again before they are all at the same school.  In time, I think she will not only be fine, but also like being the sole Maddy at OES.  The majority of her friends are in a similar situation having older sixth grade siblings. 

They say you should celebrate your successes and graduating 6^th grade is certainly a big one these days. 

Graduation at Oakton High School.  

Emerson was selected as 1 of 3 students out of 133 total 6^th graders to deliver a commencement speech.  Her speech and her delivery were outstanding!  She was both excited and nervous to get on that stage; however, she not only kept her composure, but also delivered like she had spoken to 1000 people at once previously. 

The girls both took the stage to accept their 6^th grade graduation certificates; Emerson also received an award in Academic Excellence. 

Look at these two I seriously can’t believe how grown up they look!  

Family pics!

A 6^th Grade Party was held at OES to celebrate; an event Avery and Emerson had been looking forward to for some time and had to have the perfect dress to celebrate; and a second dress….the same dress that they had worn just two hours prior at the graduation ceremony would not suffice.

Last day of school…Avery and Emerson look so grown up to me….it’s like overnight they look like middle schoolers!

The obligatory last day of school neighborhood group picture was last minute and for the first time ever, all the kids couldn’t wait to get to school!

The afternoon last day activities didn’t disappoint with water gun balloons, super soakers, and new this year Kona ice!  

OES has truly been a great experience; Avery, Emerson, and Harper have grown academically and socially; it is a joy being their mom and having the opportunity to be on this journey with them.  

“He’s the penis”. 

While my grandma had been speaking gibberish for the last year or so, she sometimes made complete sense with a statement saying “I love you”, “where are you going”, “I’m listening”, “I remember”, “how are you”, or “he is handsome” in reference to a soap opera character. 

Three months ago, I knew her time earthside was winding down and I wanted her to know she was loved, and it was okay to let go.  I went with my mom, Avery, and Harper with the intent of reading her a letter I had written; Emerson joined us later coming from 643 (softball) with my dad.  Upon seeing my dad in her room, my grandma looked at him and said “he’s the penis”.  While I am pretty sure that is not exactly what she meant to say, she clearly knew it was my dad or a man and those are simply the words that came out of her mouth; the girls and I certainly got a chuckle and asked ourselves if we heard what she said correctly! 

Below are the words I read to my grandma, to which several times, I said to her, “Grandma, are you listening?” when I felt like she wasn’t with me and she responded back “I’m listening” or “go ahead.”

******

Grandma – 

It’s been awhile since we have had a real conversation.  I’m not sure when the last one was…5 years ago probably and I am sure you were asking about the girls and what they were up to. You loved to hear about them!

Anyway, I got to thinking and I wanted to share with you…share with you some of the hundreds of memories I have that involve you, and Papa during my childhood.  So in no particular order:

• Walking the wagon across the street to the beach
• Bobbing in warm lake like ocean every summer
• Going to Hollywood beach and picnicking at the picnic benches
• Hanging out at the pool for hours and watching the boats go by. 
• Hanging out in the lobby, checking the mail in the lobby, and riding the elevator to the 8^th floor. 
• Getting the beach chairs from the storage unit.
• Doing kicks in front of your hallway mirror…and checking myself out constantly.
• Your kitchen wall phone cord and you always having conversations with your friends.
• Your twice a year two week visits to Virginia…every March and September like clockwork.
• Going to TCBY as much as we could when you visited!
• Driving back to Florida with you and papa after one of your visits….stopping at rest stops with our cooler of sandwiches to eat our packed lunch.
• You and Papa taking me to Disney World…me wanting to see the fireworks, you not knowing where they were, going on the Dumbo ride instead only to realize that the fireworks were over Dumbo.
• Driving with you to run errands especially Publix and ordering cheese at the deli counter which was sliced each piece separately. 
• Listening to Taylor Dane in the car
• Going with you to your aerobics class…I love watching you through the window in your leotard with all the other ladies. I remember your sweat head band. 
• Waking up every morning and you and Papa would always be at the dining room table, paper spread out, reading the paper or some crossword puzzle action, eating breakfast, drinking coffee. The small kitchen Tv on too!
• Always a jam-packed fridge.
• Having a sit-down lunch daily and discussing at lunch what was for dinner that night.  I always thought that was so crazy and yet I totally get it now!
• Your delicious dinners….peppered steak, some type of chicken, white rice, and salad for you and papa that consisted of iceberg lettuce and a slice of radish.  Oh salads back then!
• Oh and the yellow cushions…they were old and I remember some of them were in better condition than others…how old was I when I finally stopped sitting on them.  Why did we sit on them?  Was it for height or was it so we didn’t spill anything?  Probably the former since they had holes in them!
• Going over the bridge to visit Grandma Molly…walking around the bay at Grandma Mollie’s house, eating Grandma Molly’s rugelach and star cookies.  Why did we not get the recipe?
• Talking to you long distance weekly and always ending the conversation with “I love you”
• Going out to dinners in Florida and Virginia with you, papa, mom, lauren, and me…you always making sure everyone brought a sweater…since you thought every restaurant was freezing….you complaining of your food always being served cold at restaurants…oh how that drove mom and Stuart crazy!
• Going to the movies….always with a sweater! 
• Walking around the Aventura Mall when we visited.
• The time we went out for Chinese Food at House of Mandarin and Papa and Mom split the check in half when they were arguing who would pay it (literally ripped it in half)
• Going out to eat at The Rascal House…eating lots or rolls at The Rascal House.
• Eating a tuna sandwich as takeout from The Rascal House before heading to the airport back to Virginia
• You and Papa coming to see my graduate high school
• You and I talking about our Weight Watchers experience
• Coming to visit you on my spring break with Robyn and you and Papa taking me and my friends out for dinner
• You giving me some of your white seashell necklaces in Santa Barbara at Jason’s wedding
• You coming to my wedding and being so happy for me…you and I both walked down the wrong aisle!
• You coming to visit alone after Avery and Emerson were born.
• Me always sharing something to indicate I was the coolest and you and Papa always absolutely agreeing.
• These are just some of the memories…you and Papa were such instrumental part of my childhood…I always felt so much love from you both. I am so fortunate and blessed to have grown up with both you being active in my life.  26 years Papa was in my life…43 years you were in my life…incredible.  And you not only met, but you knew and loved Justin and my three girls. 
• Papa and you were a great pair…you lived almost 17 years without him, which truly seems hard to believe.  He didn’t live to see any great grandkids and here you are with 16!  3 kids, 3 daughter/son in-laws, 7 grandkids, 16 great grandchildren. 
• Its time…go be with Papa….he left that letter for you…its time that you meet again. 
• I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.