Grandpa Gordon

We found out on August 28th that Grandpa Alma Gordon Larsen passed away the previous night. Though it was difficult news, we felt so blessed he was able to meet and spend time with both Ty and Lucy. Grandpa Gordon was special to us because we named Ty Gordon after him. Tim's always looked up to him both spiritually and professionally, and I always liked visiting him because he made me feel special. Because I am left handed, I had a reserved spot next to him at the dinner table.

A few weeks before he got sick, I took these pictures of the kids playing with the Lincoln Logs Grandpa Gordon made for his grandkids and passed on to Ty and Lucy. I had posted a few on Instagram, so I hope Grandpa was able to see and enjoy them before he died.

Music City

 After our Smoke-House fiasco, we found a cute house in the same area. We live in a huge condo/townhouse development called River Plantation. Our house is ALL hardwood floors (which I don't like in the bedrooms) and all one story (which I LOVE). It has storage and a covered carport in back. There is also a pool just outside our door, which is great. 

A huge adjustment we are getting used to is lack of "walkability," which Louisville always received high marks for. The South in general just doesn't have sidewalks in many areas. Luckily, we live near the Harpeth River Greenway that has quite a bit of scenery for being so close to the city. The best part is that it starts in a huge park called Edwin Warner Park with miles of trails for driving and hiking plus a Nature Center we've already visited a few times. Here are some pictures from the greenway:

Even this cute turtle below (the trail follows the river, so it's close to water).

 

First item on our list after moving in was to get a rug. We rushed to several stores and then back to our first store...the Home Depot, to get this fuzzy cute rug. Ty likes it.

 Our living room mid-move in:

 ...and after a little decorating, though I'm still working on some yellow throw pillows for the couch. We also have some cute yellow and white curtains behind the couch. 

 I thought it would be a good idea to paint this coffee table we've had forever. I did not love the DIY project and am just glad it's done. Hallelujah.  

A closer look:

 

Tim's graduation gift to himself is this inflatable kayak. As stated earlier, we live by the Harpeth River, so it's been fun!

 We really haven't done much in Downtown Nashville yet, but we did drive down Broadway and catch a glimpse of all the crazy bars.

So I guess we live in Nashville now. Time to get our country music on.

"Grandpa's Cabin"

It just so happens that Tim's parents have a cabin conveniently located just 2.5 hours away on Lookout Mountain in Georgia. We had already planned to spend some time there once we left Colorado, but it ended up being our ONLY home for a week while we figured out what to do about our smoke-house. It ended up being a stressful week, but it was nice to see family!

While here, we started Lucy on rice cereal. She LOVES solid food.

Tim's sister had recently returned from Africa, where she won the award for best aunt by "adopting" baby elephants for her nieces and nephews. She gave the kids their elephant packets at the cabin. Ty and Lucy's elephant is named Murit!

Mackenzie was very excited to meet her only girl cousin! Lucy was pretty happy to meet Mackenzie too.

And, of course, we tried to take cousin pictures which ended up a little crazy (or a lot crazy).

One day we headed to Chattanooga, TN for a riverboat lunch and tour. It was a really nice day, and Ty especially enjoyed it!

Lunch on the boat:

Tim's family threw an awesome graduation party for Tim at the pool in the cabin's neighborhood. We swam, grilled steaks, and hung out. It was DELICIOUS food!

 Happy kids:

 

 A toast for Tim! 

His parents also got us gifts. I got a spa gift card (I already used for a fantastic massage), and Tim got a beautiful picture comprised of three of his Grandma Bywater's water colors and framed for his new office. CHEERS!

 Ty calls the cabin "Grandpa's Cabin" and it is about his favorite place ever. He and Matthew did great playing together and side by side. They could play for days with all of the toys in the basement.

Leaving Colorado

After five years and two kids, it was time to leave what has become our home. We loved our ward, friends, neighborhood, trails, and weather in Colorado, so it was hard to leave. Before stressing too much about packing, we made one last visit to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

 

Ty "helped" with the packing. (Notice the trucks in the shrink wrap above).

We were blessed with wonderful help from many people in the ward. It was exhausting packing and cleaning, especially with two kids. I am NOT looking forward to doing this again in a year. 

And Ty and I took one last trip to Sweet Cow (ice cream) with Ty's babysitter and friend, Jacquelyn. 

 Goodbye Colorado Rocky Mountains :(

 I prepared a whole bin of activities for Ty. He loved his pill box filled with dinosaur and car erasers I converted into magnets. Unfortunately, none of the other activities lived up to the first.

 It was a LONG 17 hour drive, but we stopped at the Wofford's (Tim's aunt and uncle) near Kansas City and about half way.

I wish I could say packing and leaving was the hard part, but once we arrived in Nashville, the house we were so excited about ended up smelling like cigarette smoke. It was subtle at first, but caused us both to have headaches after one night. Luckily, Tim's parents have a cabin in North Georgia, about two hours away, which we had planned to visit anyway. Thus began our crazy first week involving many many calls to and from the real estate company (they were working with us, but the owner of the townhouse was unwilling to do anything about the smell). I was also in the process of starting work with the YMCA, and we had already gotten set up with utilities, mail, and power, so we had to put it all on hold, travel to and from Georgia to Nashville, and just, you know, find a new place to live in a week! Throw new car tires and a new radiator into the mix and I'm glad I'm not going grey, although I do think I have a few more wrinkles. Tim's family was at the cabin and helped with Ty and Lucy as well as rides once our car was in the shop, so there were many blessings I am also aware of, but I'm glad that is all over with and that we found a nice place to live.

Giggles

Lucy absolutely LOVES her brother. This is my favorite video ever because of her adorable giggles!

Pikes Peak Cog Railway

The biggest thing on our Colorado Bucket List was to ride the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. We finally made that happen on Monday. The kids were good on the almost two hour drive down to Colorado Springs. They even played a little on the train!

 This is the waterfall our conductor told us to prepare for because it is "higher" than Niagara Falls. (I wasn't fooled.)

...And our beautiful view from the top... 

 I liked Grandma Diney's comment on Instagram that it should be called Pikes Peak Fog Railway! Yes, that would be accurate.

 

 We didn't want to wait in line for a picture with this "summit" sign, so you can view it with these lovely people in front. At least you know what the sign looks like.

 Luckily, the fog went away just a few feet below the summit leading to some beautiful views.

 And if you look closely, big horn sheep!

My favorite view: 

 

Crazy kids before and after.