Caroline's Birthday and other randomness

We have had a great past week. We went to Nashville with Attache' on Wednesday and came home Sunday. It's always a great trip. Robert judged the bands in the competition this year, so we always have less time with him when he does that, but it's ok. I like getting to spend good one-on-one time with Caroline when there's not laundry or housework or something else taking my attention from her. She loves the Gaylord Opry hotel. That place alone is like a theme park. There's so much to see and do within the walls of that resort, it's crazy! She's been going her whole life, but each trip she loves it like it's the first time. Not to mention the huge outlet mall right next door that takes days to walk around. On this particular trip, she really seemed to miss the rest of our family. She kept telling me how she missed her cousins, and then she'd name them - "you know, Hannah and Sarah and Jack and Maddie." As if I don't know who her cousins are..... She cracks me up sometimes! I think she was so enthralled by the waterfalls and rivers in the hotel that she was super sad that she couldn't show it to her cousins. We were sitting at The Falls restaurant in our part of the hotel where the huge waterfall comes down, and she had the saddest look on her face. I asked what was wrong, and she again said she missed them. So we had a little FaceTime session with Lyda Sue so Caroline could show off the waterfall. That seemed to make her happy and she was fine from then on. We all do so much together, I think she was just really thrown off by the fact that they weren't all there to see it. Sunday was her 5th birthday. I can't even believe it...... She will be starting kindergarten in the fall! AAAHHHHH! So Robert and I had a present for her when she woke up in the hotel. Poor thing had to spend most of her birthday trapped in the car, so we tried to make it as fun as possible. She picked Waffle House for breakfast, and then McDonald's for lunch. And we listened to Pitch Perfect 10 times in the car. Then she finally fell asleep for 2 hours, which was nice for her and us! Then we always do a family birthday dinner, so she picked Baked chicken (legs for her), Sweet potatoes, Green beans, and Cornbread for her dinner of choice. Southern kid, or what??? And then wanted chocolate on chocolate cake. She opened presents from our family and had a great time. So her "real" birthday was great. Then tonight we had her "friend" party at Funtime skateland. She absolutely LOVES to skate so we decided to let her have one, but only when it could be "private" which means it has to be during the week. And since we were gone all weekend anyway, it made the most sense. Who wants to wait a whole week for their party?? So we invited all of her little friends and she had a great time. She had a Disney "Brave" themed party and had an awesome cake done by Theresa Smith. (If you live here and need a cake - she's your lady! It tasted amazing and was super cute!) Caroline got her little Funtime t-shirt and skated until she was flat exhausted. Then she opened presents and insisted on handing out her party favors to each of her friends. She's all about doing things by herself since she's "5 now", and I think it's great. She's becoming so independent and I can't wait to watch her continue to grow and change. She's the sweetest little girl and I'm so blessed God chose me to be her mother. Happy Birthday sweet Caroline!