Hello, 2010!

On our drive back from MS on Tuesday, we had the opportunity to stop in Memphis to see Richie's good friend John O'Bryan, who lives in L.A. and was home to visit family for the holidays. Richie gets to see John maybe once a year, so we were excited to have a chance to see him, his wife Samantha, and their adorable son August. Richie and John have been friends since their days at Mississippi College. Some of the funniest stories I've ever heard are Richie's adventures with John. John stories are legendary, really. We met the O'Bryans, John's sister and her two kids, and his mom at Bosco's in the Cooper-Young neighborhood. It was a very welcome break from our long day in the car and a really delicious meal--gourmet pizza beats a cold Sub anyday! The kids all hit it off so well. I know Owen enjoyed burning some energy with other little people after being strapped into his car seat since 9:30 a.m.

August (2 years old), Owen (4), Dilyn (6), Eli (2)

Big boys, little boys

After dinner, we reluctantly loaded back into the car and finished our long trip home. I don't think I've spent that much time in a car in one day since my youth camp/mission trip days. Whew! The 30th was supposed to be our recovery day. Supposed to be. We took Owen to preschool, as planned. Then Richie made some delicious Cafe duMonde beignets for breakfast. Thennnnn we spent the entire rest of the day car shopping. It's something we've been talking about and looking into for quite a while now. With another baby on the way, we knew we needed a larger vehicle. I think our 14 hours crammed in the car the day before was the clincher. We needed a van. And we got a van! It was an exhausting and slightly stressful process, but we're really excited with what we got. And we got it just in time!

The next day, the O'Bryans decided to come spend New Year's Eve with us here in Nashville! They had mentioned maybe coming over for a night, but we didn't know for sure if or when it would work out. They arrived just in time for a pizza dinner, snacks, and New Year's Rockin Eve. The Conrans came over with Liam, and Tom stopped by for a bit too. It was pretty much the most low-key New Year's Eve ever, but I think that's what we were all hoping for. Funny how things change as you get older!

Friday morning, we loaded everyone (EVERYONE!) into the van and headed to Nashville's legendary Pancake Pantry for a late breakfast/early lunch. We met our great Mississippi friend Alan there. He, Richie, and John were all at MC together, so it was a very rare reunion for these 3 friends.

The O'Bryans went back to Memphis that afternoon and I spent the evening at the movies with my good friend Abra. All in all, it was the perfect start to the new year, spent with old friends, new friends, good food, a minivan, and lots of love and laughter.