Christmas in Tennessee

We had such a great weekend in Jefferson City, TN this weekend. I always enjoy our time up there visiting with my mom's family. Mom, Dad and the four of us stayed at Granny's house while Wayne and his family stayed at Johnny Wayne and Nancy's house just down the road. Jason (my cousin) drove in from Knoxville; he had just graduated from UT with his MBA - congratulations! Deanna (my cousin) and Matt (her husband) were able to come in from Greensboro for Friday and part of Saturday, so it was great to see them too. Mom, Dad, Wayne and his family also went up on Friday evening, so everyone enjoyed our traditional Christmas dinner together; we actually didn't come up until late Friday night because we had Lily's dance recital (more on that in the next post). I know they had a good time together Friday evening. We arrived about 11 PM Friday night, so we pretty much all went to bed as soon as we got there.

On Saturday morning, everyone came over to Granny's house for breakfast pizzas, cinnamon rolls and fruit slush; yum!!! Lily handed out all the cards she and Mia had made Friday morning. She was so proud of them. She made sure if anyone left their card sitting by itself, she would pick it up and bring it to its rightful owner. After breakfast, we all just enjoyed hanging out together and catching up. Here are a few pictures:

Dad reading Llama Llama Misses Mama to Mia

Molly, Lily and Mia pile on Papa!
Molly was so sweet to Mia.

Soon it was nap time for everyone, so Wayne's family headed back over to Johnny Wayne's house, and just about everyone in Granny's house laid down. Ryan and I ran out to grab a little bite for lunch, but then we came back and napped too. At one point, I think we were all taking a mid-afternoon nap! After nap time, we got ready and went to Johnny Wayne's house. Deanna and Matt had already headed back, but the rest of us had fun together. When we arrived, Nancy was making cookies with Molly and Zac, so Lily and Mia jumped right in and helped too. After that it was dinner time. I really appreciated that we reheated left overs, so Ryan and I could enjoy our traditional Christmas dinner; I look forward to this every year! Cherry almond pork, spinach casserole, corn, sweet potato casserole, lima beans, marinated asparagus, rice, jello salad and rolls. Oh my goodness, it's so good!

After dinner and dessert (cookies from the kids, chocolate pies that McKayla and Molly had made and a red velvet cake), it was time for presents. The kids could hardly wait! First, we were able to snap a picture of Granny with her five great-grandchildren though.

Mia digging into a huge bag. She was very excited to find a fun tool kit inside!

Lily was ecstatic about a Play Dough set that looks like an ice cream shop! On the way back to Granny's later in the evening, she said "This is exactly what I always wanted! I didn't even tell Granny what I wanted, but she knew and this is exactly what I always wanted!"

Lily showing off her Raggedy Ann doll from Johnny Wayne and Nancy. This made me think of the Raggedy Ann doll that my great-grandmother, Babo, (my mom's grandmother) had made for me when I was a child; she made Wayne a Raggedy Andy doll too. I wish we still had those. Lily is having fun loving her new doll though.

After lots of fun together, it was time to head back to Granny's for bed time. Sunday morning, we took it easy and enjoyed a quiet breakfast with Granny. We took our time and just enjoyed being together. After breakfast we packed everything up and headed home. Here's a picture we took a few minutes before we left.We had a pretty nice drive back; the girls did well and took good naps on the way. Lily couldn't wait to get into her new Play Dough set because I told her she needed to wait until we got home. She held it in her lap for the entire 3.5 hour drive; she held it even while she was napping! As soon as we walked into the house, she ran to the table and started digging in. Here's a picture of the girls having fun together with it. I have a feeling this is going to provide a lot of fun for them!

Mia has been having a lot of fun with her new tool box too. Here she is "fixing" things.

This was such a wonderful weekend, and I am so grateful we were able to go up to Tennessee. I wish so badly that we could see this side of my family more than we do. I always have a great time with them, and I miss them during the year. Weekends like this leave me with so many wonderful memories!