Howdy Nashville!

I attended a conference in Nashville last week for work and stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.....if you've never been there or heard of it, it is AMAZING! It's gigantic (bigger than many of the casinos in Las Vegas), and the entire hotel was created to look like you're outside. It's full of lavish gardens, waterfalls and even a river.

This was the view from my hotel room balcony.

On Tuesday night I went to a concert at the Grand Ole Opry (made famous by country music). I saw 8 different performers including Montgomery Gentry, Little Jimmy Dickens and Steve Wariner. Charlie Daniels even made an appearance.

I was gone for about 4 days and really missed my boys! They spent most of their time doing yard work, as Micah is extending our patio.

Owen loves digging for worms in the dirt and then showing them off.

And he likes to put the worms on the dogs, who don't seem to mind.

Owen likes to give the belly/baby kisses.

Here we are sharing a piece of corn on the cob. Owen thought this was hilarious!

On a Hike!

I had yesterday off work, so I planned a big day for Owen and me. We went swimming at the pool in the morning, which we hadn't done in way too long. He loved jumping off the side of the pool......he has NO FEAR!

We have some friends (Brenda, JP and Ryder) who were camping in Markleville, so in the afternoon we drove to their campsite and joined them on a mini-hike. It was a mini-hike for two reasons. First, Owen and Ryder were actually hiking and their little legs can only hike for so long. Second, a thunderstorm blew in while we were hiking and we had to book it back to camp. I thought for sure we were going to get poured on, but we got lucky. The dark sky did make some good pictures though!

Owen and Ryder make good little hikers. Owen constantly wanted to hike by the stream (just like his father). He was a little obsessed with the water. And they both collected quite a few rocks.

Up-y, Mama, Up-y. This is my view when Owen is begging me to pick him up.

Take me out to the ball game....

Reno has a new minor league baseball team......the Reno Aces! The stadium is brand new, located in downtown Reno. It was great to see how many people were there supporting the team for a weeknight game. We sat on the lawn area so Owen could move around and crush the peanut shells. We'll definitely be going back for some more baseball fun!

Gotta love the hammock

I LOVE a hammock and it has been way too long since we've owned one. I am really enjoying this in the cool evenings! Plus, I get to cuddle with Owen!

Micah and Owen pretending to be asleep.

Owen likes to try on my shoes, and I think his feet look especially cute in my flip flops!

Yard Fun

Owen always has fun helping his dad out in the yard. Micah has a little shadow wherever he goes. We worked in the garden this past weekend and planted all our veggies.

Owen enjoyed planing the seeds. In a few months we should have tomatoes, onions, squash, zucchini, green beans, corn, peppers, and maybe a cantaloupe.

Then he needed to cool off from all his hard work!

Sleepy Boy

This picture cracks me up! This is how Owen was taking a nap a few days ago.....apparently he fell asleep reading to himself, which I love. But I wonder......was he peeking through the hole of the book when he fell asleep??? Also notice the tiny bouncy ball, sheep and 3 toy cameras next to him. It's amazing he ever fell asleep at all!

Bike to Work Week

Last week was Bike to Work Week! Normally, Micah rides his bike all the way from Carson City to South Lake (up and over the mountain), but he wasn't able to do that this year because his knee is still healing from surgery. Instead, he rode his bike to a bus stop and then rode the bus up to his office instead. Not the same, but still an active participant. On Friday night there was a bike event at a local restaurant, and it was nice to ride around town as a family.

Randomness

I found some random pictures that we hadn't posted on our blog yet, so here they are. Here's Owen and Brock having a blast in his wagon.

The kids had a blast in the very cold water last weekend at Orrin's birthday party.

Owen and Micah checking out something outside.

Here's one tired mama and her two year old! He's so much fun to cuddle with! I've got to enjoy it now because I know he won't do this forever.

Check out the lilac tree in our garden.....it's amazing at the moment, and it smells way better than it looks!

Happy Moms Day!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE!
I hope everyone had as good a day as I did! I woke up this morning to gifts in bed. This one was my favorite gift from Owen. This is his first official piece of art, on a canvas. It's called "noodle art" because Micah and Owen used spaghetti noodles to paint this with. I LOVE it!

And then Micah bought me a Wii Fit, which should be fun. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet today, but I'm anxious to see how it works.

After a lovely breakfast, we spent the afternoon in Reno for the Reno River Festival, an annual kayaking competition in downtown Reno. The weather was amazing and Owen enjoyed the crowd and river.

We missed our mothers in Texas today, but look forward to seeing them next month! We love you, Moms (also known as Grandma and Mimi)!

To Sacramento

Last weekend we took a mini-trip to Sacramento with 2 other families. You've probably seen Owen's buddies Ryder and Orrin on our blog before, and that's who we went with. Owen had a blast hanging out with them all weekend!

On Saturday we explored the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento.....it was really amazing. Although we hardly have any pictures from the museum itself because we were so busy chasing after three 2 year olds. Seriously......how many adults does it take to watch 3 toddlers??? It was comical at times. Then on Sunday we strolled through Old Sacramento and made our way to the California State Capital. We didn't intend on spending our day there, but that's what happened. The capital has hundreds of acres of gardens and Micah was in heaven. So were the kids because they were able to run and explore all afternoon. It was a nice get-away!