Summer 2021: Part 2

The second leg of our trip began in Nashville, where we spent a long weekend with my best friends from high school and college. Then we spent a couple of weeks in Knoxville with Grammy. Here are the pics from our time in Tennesseee and South Carolina........

We rode to Nashville from LaGrange with my friend Leah and her kids.  The girls loved her little girl Larkin. We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel on the way.  The girls were very impressed.   

One of the highlights of our weekend was celebrating Levi's 7th birthday at Top Golf.  

The golfing was so fun, we saved cupcakes for home.

We spent lots of time at the Insogna's pool club.  The girls were so happy to be reunited with Preston. 

Girls night out in Nashville was the best treat!

Susannah loved being around fellow Georgia fans. 

Fireworks on the 4th were a huge hit. 

Making memories with my best friends and their families was such a highlight of the summer.  

72 hours of straight talking was not enough.  

Meanwhile, back at the ranch in Ukraine, Peter was organizing a huge Naval exercise for Black Sea Cooperation in Odessa.  We are so proud of the amazing work he did.  

After Nashville, we drove three hours to Knoxville.  The girls were absolutely beside themselves to see Grammy.

Mom surprised me with a throwback cookie cake for my 40th.  It was delicious.  

We were so happy to see Grandmama.  

And play at the awesome playground behind Grammy's house.  

More cousin fun with sweet AJ and Wil.

We had an awesome lunch/play date with my oldest friend Lyndsey and her sweet kids, Ellie and Hudson. 

Mom kept the girls one day so I could have a shopping trip and Mom's day out with these ladies.  

We had the most amazing time. This girl has been my friend for 34 years.   

Delicious food and cocktails, awesome conversation, and shopping.  It was the best. 

Mom and Grandmama gave me giftcards for my birthday which made shopping even more fun.  

Another day, another cousin reunion.  This time with Elijah and his sweet twin siblings.

We were so happy to finally meet these sweet babies!

Susannah loved Emma.

Group pics are hard.  ;)

I had a lunch date and back to school shopping trip with each of my girls.  Sarah Avery and I ended our day with some frozen yogurt.  

A Knoxville tradition is spending an afternoon at Miss Betty's pool!

We met my cousin Caleb at the Knoxville Zoo one day.  Grammy had as much fun at the girls.

Elijah loved it the most though.  

It was such a fun day. 

The petting zoo was a hit. 

As was the carousel.  

Another Knoxville tradition is attending a field trip with Miss Betty as part of her BB's charm school.  

We walked around downtown Knoxville

before having ice cream at the best place in town.  

And visited the Dolly mural.

But the best part of the day was the field trip.We visited the first house in Knoxville, James White Fort.  The girls loved touring it and learning about life there back when Knoxville was founded.  Thank you BB!!

Susannah and I had a blast on our shopping day.  

She is growing up so fast so it felt like each moment was a treasure.

And then Daddy arrived!  The girls and I had missed him so much and we were so happy to be together again. 

We went to Chewy's to celebrate.  

Thank you Grammy for hosting us.  We love you!!

Our next stop was Charleston.  We rented an awesome cottage with this pool.

Peter enjoyed some poolside yoga while the girls swam. 

Our neighborhood had these amazing oak trees with the Spanish moss that hangs and creates the most gorgeous shade. 

Another view from my neighborhood walks.  So beautiful and peaceful.

We had lunch at our old standby, Vickory's at Shem Creek.  The girls loved spending so much time with Presley.

And Papa.  They loved seeing Papa.

We walked around Shem Creek after lunch and enjoyed this scenery.  

Another day we met Uncle Hollis and Presley at Folly Beach.  

The weather was gorgeous and we had a great beach day.  

It was hard to say goodbye to this sweet girl.  

Thanks for being such a great host Uncle Hollis!  And Aunt Kristy.  We love you guys!

Coming up next: our last summer post.  It will feature Alexandria and Oak Island.