'Tis So Sweet: American Idol Nashville Tour

You may remember that my mom bought our family tickets to see the American Idol Tour in Nashville back in June...for my dad's birthday. This was certainly before we all knew about Miss Millie Janalee, but everything ended up working out perfectly! This past Friday, Russ and I loaded Millie Janalee into the car for our first big road trip and mini vacay. This was a test. Could she hang with this crowd or not...

We only stopped once to feed Millie Janalee...and once for me. Ha! She made the trip wonderfully! We actually beat the rest of the group to the hotel, so we had some time to relax and feed our sweet girl before the rest of our crew arrived. The first thing we did was plop Millie Janalee on our big bed for a picture of her first vacation hotel experience at Loews Vanderbilt. It was certainly not her first hotel experience, since she spent the first few days of her life in a hotel. This was different.

She was dressed for a nice dinner, because we had reservations at Ruth's Chris downstairs at 8:30. She wasn't quite ready for her filet, roasted asparagus, and potatoes au gratin like I was...so I fed her formula instead. She was pretty excited about her menu...

Yay for formula!

When the rest of the family arrived, they went down to the restaurant while Millie Janalee finished her dinner. I think it's safe to say she was the youngest one there. She slept through most of our dinner, and when she awoke...we just passed her around the table.

Millie Janalee LOVES to listen to Russ play the guitar! On our way back to the room, we passed the "hotel bar," which was really just an area in the lobby. The entertainment was a lady playing the guitar and singing. We decided to stop for a while and sit while she played. Millie Janalee never flinched...as is normal when Russ plays.

The next morning, we woke up to a leisurely day with no strict plan...until our dinner at 4:30. When we got up and ready, we decided to take a stroll to Pancake Pantry. It was only a mile away, and it was a beautiful day! The entire weekend was very pleasant. Sunny and borderline fall temperatures!

Me, Russ, and Millie Janalee strolling the streets of Nashville

Kristin and Lee

When we arrived at Pancake Pantry, our little girl was hungry...and the line was all the way around the corner and down the sidewalk. I found a little spot on the brick steps to feed Millie Janalee while Mama, Kristin, and Russ kept our place in line.

Our hungry girl

Mama and Kristin holding our spot for a party of nine!

Daddy and Lee kept me company while I fed our itty bitty.

Our breakfast was, as expected, delicious! I had the Swiss Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Russ had some kind of southwest arrangement. We were all stuffed and ready for our one mile trek back to the hotel. The day couldn't have been more perfect for our leisurely walk!

Like mother like daughter!

Millie Janalee's first Pancake Pantry experience!

Susu and PawPaw strolling their grandbaby back to the hotel

We spent the rest of the afternoon, which was really only a couple of hours, resting and playing with Millie Janalee in the hotel room. Russ and my room was the gathering spot, and we were fine with that!

Karen and Teri met us for dinner at Maggiano's. Dustin and Sheila had a mixup on the dates of the concert and weren't able to come last minute. Karen and Teri gladly stepped in! If you have never been to Maggiano's, may I please make the suggestion! Oh my! So good! When you order off their classic pasta section, the chef sends you home with another pasta order of your choice! I don't have any pictures of our dinner, but I did manage to snap one of our new little obsession.

Following dinner, my parents wanted to keep Millie Janalee while Russ and I took a date night out in downtown Nashville. We were excited...until we pulled into the parking lot where we were to be dropped off. Millie Janalee was screaming and crying. With TEARS! And I nearly lost it! I scooped that sweet baby into my arms, snuggled her, and fed her a little until she was completely calmed down. Everyone was very patient waiting on this poor mama. Finally, I turned her over to my parents and walked away. I certainly felt a little different "going out" this time. Tempted to pull out pictures to show every stranger I met in the bathrooms, sidewalks, and taxi. Ha!

Since our dinner was so early, so was our night. We started at Big Bang around 7:30, because there was no cover charge until 8:30. We never left! Ha! We spent the rest of our night laughing, singing, talking, taking pictures, dancing, and having a great time!

Kristin, Karen, Teri, and me

Dancing the night away! I look like I'm in pain. Hmmm...

At some point during the night, Teri and Karen snuck a note onto the stage asking that they recognize Russ and me for being new parents to our 3 week old Millie Janalee. Oh my! They made the announcement...and called us on stage. Why? To do the Hokey Pokey! I was dying! I was stopped a minimum of three times on the way to the restroom for people to tell me how great I looked after having a baby. Ha! I only explained it once. The other times, I smiled and said, "Thank you!"

On stage with bachelorettes, bachelors, and birthdays

Since we arrived so early, we had great seats for the night. However, our favorite entertainment was that of the staff guy who guarded the stage. He sang and provided motions to every single song played. He deserved a raise! Russ and I tipped him all we could afford...which was a whopping $4. He gave us all bumper stickers and posed for a picture in response. Ha!

I'm gonna guess that we left The Big Bang around 2 in the morning...at which time I was craving a funnel cake more than ever! We asked the vendors and shops still open, but we came away empty handed. A fun night nonetheless for sure!

Sisters

The guys held down the fort most of the night

Yaya TT and me

Ending the night with a BANG!

We caught a taxi back to our respective hotels. Since we were unable to find a funnel cake, we dug into our complimentary pasta dishes from Maggiano's. Millie Janalee was asleep and probably contemplating her 3 o'clock feeding when we all dispersed to our rooms for the night. I would say our first date night out since Millie Janalee was a success!

Sunday, Rhonda and Michael invited us over for lunch. Michael is a wonderful cook, and they love to entertain. We were happy to enjoy a yummy lunch of hamburgers, baked beans, slaw, smoked chicken, and canned pears from their pear tree. We spent our afternoon enjoying the weather outside on the deck, visiting, and of course playing with Millie Janalee!

Lee introducing himself to the goldfish

Auntie Kristin, me, and Millie Janalee swinging

We planned to stay with Rhonda and Michael Sunday night after the concert, and Rhonda graciously agreed to watch Millie Janalee while we were gone. Russ and I are so grateful to Michael and Rhonda for taking such good care of our little one on her first night with a babysitter!

Rhonda and Millie Janalee

Mama made reservations for us to eat the pre-show dinner at the Bridgestone Arena. It was an all you can eat smorgasbord, and we all ate all we could! So yummy! A great start to the evening!

Daddy, Mama, Teri, and Karen

The birthday boy!

Lee and Kristin

Me and Russ

After dinner, we headed over to our seats. We had wonderful seats! Oh, and the girl behind me was chowing down on a FUNNEL CAKE! If I hadn't been so stuffed, I would have jumped up to grab one for myself. Now, I guess I'll have to wait until I visit some sort of fair grounds. Hmmm...

Karen, Teri, Mama, and Daddy (biting his lip in anticipation I'm sure! ha!)

Lee, Kristin, me, and Russ

As the lights dimmed, we were excitedly waiting for our American Idol favorites to hit the stage! My favorites...Colton, Skylar, Joshua, and Philly Phil of course!

The concert was great! The energy was high. And the crowd was thrilled to welcome Colton home to his hometown of Nashville, TN! All my favorite idols performed to my expectations. Joshua is unreal in person! And, Elise knows how to entertain too! Great show!

Top 10

Colton Dixon

Skylar Laine

Joshua Ledet

Our American Idol...Phillip Phillips!!!

Thank you, Mama, for always planning trips and experiences of a lifetime! Thank you for taking charge to create memories! Daddy...in Russ's words, "We're so glad you were born!" Ha! We had a blast!