McKenzie's Nashville Trip

This year, we chose to go on a family trip instead of having a party for McKenzie's birthday. We went to Nashville for the weekend and had a great time.

Before we left, all the Cummings family got together at McAlister's to celebrate.


We left Friday morning and stopped in Jackson, TN at the Casey Jones Village.

Matt enjoyed playing with the trains. I had to put this coonskin hat on him because I had one when I was a little boy that I wore all the time. Matt didn't care for it, though.

Our next stop was The Loveless Cafe just outside of Nashville.

The wait was long but the food was wonderful.

Matt and I went to watch the Nashville Sounds play Friday night.

We had great seats - second row beside the dugout.

Matt played the baseball speed toss. He threw it 24 miles per hour, so the gun said. I had enough sense this time not to try it.

We visited the Sounds store three times so Matt could swing the little souvenir bats.

Our hotel was across the road from a Target. Betty was in heaven! She managed to make two visits during the weekend.

Matt swinging more bats at Target.

We also went to the Cool Springs Galleria Mall where we shopped some more....

...and rode the carousel.

Saturday night, we went downtown and visited the Wildhorse Saloon and watched some dancers. They didn't have dance lessons so McKenzie didn't get to strut her stuff. We ate supper at Demo's where we had great steak and pasta and narrowly avoided a meltdown by Matt. Ahh, the unpredictable joys of eating with a three year old!

McKenzie had fun going through the stores downtown. Matt wasn't in a picture mood.


Also across the road from our hotel was a Cold Stone Creamery! So we topped off the night with some ice cream.


Matt and McKenzie loved the pool! McKenzie was so much more comfortable in the pool this weekend thanks to Miss Teresa's swimming lessons! Matt loved it even though that second step was as far as he wanted to go.


Our final stop before leaving Nashville was lunch Sunday at Monell's. It's a great restaurant downtown where you sit around a huge table with several other people and then they bring out big bowls of food that you pass around and eat until you hurt.

On the way home, we stopped back by the Casey Jones Village in Jackson, TN.

Here's Matt with a replica of Casey Jones' train.


We had to pull Matt almost kicking and screaming from the train museum. He was like Betty is in Target!


More ice cream! We got a little snack at the ice cream parlor inside the Old Country Store at the Casey Jones Village.

McKenzie said the weekend was a dream come true. She said she had dreamed about it but it was so much more awesome in real life! That made it "awesome" for Betty and me, too.