15th Anniversary Celebration

Clint and I celebrated our 15th anniversary this year in September. We went on a simple date to a really bad Mexican restaurant here in town. Good thing the company was so good. We saved our real celebration for this month and went to Nashville for the Country Music Awards. We both like Country music. I know most of my friends and family don't. I was converted when I worked at the BYU library for 3 years and had to listen to it--it grew on me. I don't even make qualifications about not liking the twangy stuff. I appreciate it all--old and new. I think I appreciate that you can always understand the words and hear real instruments. Even if it doesn't represent my own viewpoints, it tells real stories of different cultures right here in America. Clint and I have watched the awards in their entirety the last three years, which is saying something because we rarely watch TV. We were really excited to see Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift and Sugarland, o.k. I'll stop listing--we were excited to see everyone on the whole program.

So we left the boys with Katie and Joey--the boys were so happy about that.

Talmage: Yay! I get to spend 3 days with Aunt Katie and Uncle Joey!

Me: Hey, are you going to miss us?

Talmage: Yeah. I'm going to miss you a lot more than you're going to miss me!

Me: O.k. Just checking!

I started to relax the moment we pulled out the driveway. I realized it's been since May 2007 since we've taken a trip alone. Too long. Do you see that expression on my face in the picture? That's what I look like when I'm relaxed.

The drive to Nashville was gorgeous and I loved Nashville moment we drove in! It is beautiful and clean and not depressed and scary like Memphis. I loved the hills covered in the autumn trees.

We checked into the Gaylord Grand Ole Opryland Hotel, one of the nicer hotels we've stayed in. And, hey, we've been around, ya know! It had 3 huge indoor gardens with waterfalls and rivers, one of which you can even take a boat ride on. It was awesome just to wander around leisurely and see the sights. Then we walked to the Opryland Mills mall next store and walked the mall and updated Clint's wardrobe for his upcoming birthday--every decade or so, we just have to do that. He has like 3 civilian shirts in his closet. We ate at the Macaroni Grill and got the cheapest ever couples massage in the mall. There were these things that looked like suntanning beds - you get in and there is this rubber sheet on top of you and these water jets move up and down your back giving you a massage. We got there 10 minutes before closing time and on impulse bought two 7-minute massages for $20. She gave us a full 15. I was very relaxed after that and felt so much better because after walking about 3 miles in that mall my back and legs were killing me.

The next morning we went for a run around the property --one of my top activities to do with Clint. We used to do it daily, now it requires a babysitter. Then went to the Pancake Pantry near Vanderbilt University. Heaven. Who knew something as simple as a pancake could be so divine? And the service was genuine Southern hospitality.

That night we went to the CMAs and it didn't disappoint. Favorites for me were Darius Rucker--AKA Hootie, of Hootie and the Blowfish. I've got to buy his CD. What an amazing voice and a genuinely nice person. Glad he got "Best New Artist". Best song of the night (and Clint's favorite) was from Sugarland--Jennifer Nettles' voice filled that auditorium, and that is saying something. The Sommet Center was so huge that even with our binoculars we could not make out faces on the stage. It was awesome to feel like we were backstage on the TV show and it was happening right there in front of us.

Our last morning we checked out of the hotel and went to see the Parthenon at Centennial Park. Amazing! As a humanities major, I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. But I have to say I never really got the big deal about the Parthenon till I walked inside and saw the statue of Athena filling the whole interior of that building, her helmet brushing the ceiling--41 feet tall! Apparently over the years this Nashville structure has gathered enough attention that many groups, even school children, have raised money to improve it. It was built for the Tennessee Centennial in the 1890s. In the 1920s the white plaster structure was so deteriorated that they rebuilt it with a golden-colored cement. It is built to the exact dimensions and is the world's only full-scale complete reproduction of the Parthenon. In 1991 the statue of the Athena was added to the interior and in 2002 it was gold plated with 24karat gold. It was so inspiring I thought I might convert! :) JK!

Last year for our anniversary we were at a restaurant here in Memphis and we started listing our favorite memories--they were all part of trips away together. Now I know this last trip will definitely make the short-list of best times together.