Dan's the Man
It all started with a visit from our hilarious friend, Dan Matarelli, who came down for a long weekend from Peoria. The first night he was here, we went out for sushi and then to Nashville's Music Row. We listened to live music at The Stage, which calls itself "Nashville's Most Rockin' Country Club." There were tourists, Vanderbilt students, young guys in cowboy hats and older folks line dancing with their sweethearts. It was fun to take it all in. Dan earned himself a fly-by butt pinch. The rest of the weekend was just as fun -- Rob and Dan visited a local brewery that recently opened in a civil war jail, and made a feast in Rob's smoker. Madeline adored Dan -- he's fluent in three-year-old humor. Even though we supposedly hosted him, we felt like he treated us the entire weekend. We're looking forward to his next visit already.
Farewell to FriendsNext, we celebrated our dear friends, Codie and Robert, with a small dinner party in their honor since they'll be moving to Florida soon. Codie and I met through our MOMS Club and Junior League; we were both Delta Gammas, both have husbands in finance, and our kids are nearly the same age. We will miss them so much!
Rockstar Friend and a House Full of Monkeys...
Last week, one of my best friends, Erin, drove nine hours by herself with her two adorable children all the way from Wilmette, IL to visit us. Talk about ambition, courage and friendship! I love Erin for such a generous gift - it meant more to me than she knows! She is also home full time and we thought it would be so fun to do our jobs together for a week! Cassidy is 2 1/2 and Gavin is only three weeks younger than Charlie, so the kids had a blast together, and Erin and I got to catch up from 6am (if we were lucky) until 10pm every day. The girls played with playdoh and dress ups, baked 
cookies and brownies, made cards to send in the mail to their daddies, and chased Maple around the house. The boys were totally inseparable and literally on top of each other like a couple of lion cubs. One evening, Erin and I snuck out for a late dinner after the kids were in bed, walking into a songwriters open mic night at Pucketts, which has delicious southern food. What an amazing visit! We can't wait for our next 
reunion in Brown County this April!With the new year well under way, we feel especially blessed by all the incredible friendships that make our lives full, fun and meaningful. At breakfast the other morning, Madeline asked excitedly, "Mommy, now who's coming to see us?!" We're looking forward to Rob's family's visit in February. But first, Charlie and I head to Denver for a bridal weekend to celebrate Mollie!
3 comments:
I was so excited to see an update. That week with Erin sounded like a blast! What a great (and courageous) friend to drive all that way with 2 kids!! I'm truly impressed...
Darling pics. You look amazing as usual! :) Sounds like a really fun coulple of weeks! Tell Madeline we hope to be some of those visitors someday soon!
I miss your house already! I'm having so much fun telling everyone about our fun week together. So many stories. I love that pic of Charlie feeding Gavin - too cute. April can't come soon enough! Miss ya!
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