Thanksgiving in Nashville!

This is the first time in many years that we all were able to come to Nasville, so we had a lot of fun talking and playing games. A lot of time was spent taking the slew of kids to the park and trying to keep them all entertained. Of course, the babiest of babies is always the big hit, so baby Hayden got passed around for hours. What a great, beautiful baby!


It's tradition for us to run the annual turkey trot (5 mile run) on Thanksgiving morning. We only had four of us go this year, but it was our best performing year yet. Trefor rocked it in 36 minutes and was in the top 300 (out of 8000). Us three girls came in at around an hour, but we were happy that we ran the whole way without stopping to walk once (and we managed to talk the whole time also).

Mama and Papa get away!

This was a much needed "business trip" for JT and I. It was nice for JT and I to reconnect with him traveling so much these days. We started in Amsterdam, then we were off to Brussels, Bern, and finally ROME! I had never been to any of these cities and I was really impressed all the way around. When we got to Amsterdam it was 10:00 am, but 3:00 our time. No choice but to push through and stay up the whole day. We started with a boat ride to tour the canals of Amsterdam. While it was a great way to see a lot of Amsterdam in a short amount of time, it was also very easy to be lulled into a quick bit of shut eye. I thought Amsterdam was just beautiful and I took a lot of pictures on the boat ride. I posted all of the pictures on the shutterfly account if you want more details.

http://thedeanslife.shutterfly.com/



After a good night of sleep, we went to do the business part of our trip. We toured the Moba factory and I have to say, I was really impressed. They do everything from start to finish in one building. Truly amazing. That night we went to The Orangie, one of the best eating experiences I have ever had. It was so delicious (sorry no pictures, which is a shame, because it was such a beautiful building and the food was gorgeous as well)! The next day it was off to Brussels where we again had two fantastic meals. No one wanted to eat again for a whole day after this day of eating. We did manage to tour the Cantillion Brewery, which is one of the only places left that makes beer by natural fermentation. It was a very neat tour (and the lambic was great also!).

Then we walked around the city center before we had to go stuff our faces again. I think I had the three best meals of my life, all crammed into a 24 hour period.


The next two days were spent driving through the Alps to get down to Rome. It was such a beautiful drive.

Finally, we make it to Rome! After a visit to out rooftop bar, we grab some yummy Italian food.

The next day, first on the menu is to see Vatican City. We timed everything just right and walked right in, got in on an English speaking tour (no extra line waiting), and still had time to do a bus tour of Rome in the afternoon. This helped us decide what we wanted to do the rest of our time in Rome. It is impossible to describe the beauty of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. I was just blown away.

The tomb of St. Peter.


The next day, we did ancient Rome and saw the Coliseum and Palatine Hill. Again, amazing, but in a different way. I mean, these buildings have been standing for 2000 years!


Oh, and just in case you are unsure as to how to use a glass, the hotel was kind enough to leave us instructions!

And she's finally walking!