Nashville Trip!

**Prepare yourselves, this will be long.  I mean like REALLY long. **

Oh my goodness.  Tim and I just got back from the most wonderful trip to Nashville!  It just feels like everything is falling into place for us to attend Vanderbilt this fall.  I mean, seriously, EVERYTHING.  We absolutely loved everything about our visit (except for the humidity...why can't it be a teensy bit drier?).  Peter, Tim's friend from high school, graciously offered to let us stay at his house.  He and his wife, Candice, live in the cutest little house with their own fenced in backyard and garden vegetables growing in tubs.

You know how you kind of get worried when you meet another girl?  There's always a risk that you won't "click" or like the same things or that it will be awkward...but luckily there was none of that.  As soon as we got there, we started talking about sewing and gardening and cooking and being married...needless to say, we are kindred spirits.  She was even telling me how much she likes to go shop yard sales and fix things up.  Candice is a great sewer and crafter.  While we were there, she was in the middle of making a cute button bubble gum machine shirt for her 1 1/2 year old, WITH a matching shirt for her doll!  I was in heaven.  I was just so glad that we got along with each other, because if we move out there, it is so nice to know that I already know someone.  Their daughter, Laura, is adorable.  We had lots of fun times playing with her.

Anyway, on the the visit itself!  We were supposed to fly in Thursday night, but our flight was delayed because of weather so we had to fly out the next day.  We missed out on most of the Admitted Students Program for Friday because of it, but it ended up being okay.  Peter was such a great host--he was so helpful, and so was everyone else at Vanderbilt! So kind and thoughtful.  He arranged for Tim and I to sit in on a real class (no, I did not understand anything they were saying; yes, Tim loved it and got very excited).  After that, he introduced us to another guy who was a Member and going to the law school.  We were all standing around talking when another guy suddenly interrupted us and said, "Hey, are you guys Mormons?" He was there for the Admitted Students day too.  Turns out, he had heard Tim say something about priesthood meeting, and then he double-checked our garment lines...Ha ha!

Peter also arranged for Tim to talk to the Dean of Career Placement, Dean Workman.  She was very straightforward, but you could tell that she really invested herself in helping the students be accountable for their success.  She told us that if Tim works hard here at Vanderbilt, and follows the advice from the Career Center, there is no reason for him to not have his pick of jobs.  Of course, it depends on the economy, but it's one thing we were concerned about with law school in general.
We were also able to walk around campus.  It's crazy, because Nashville is such a big city, but when you're on campus it's so peaceful and soooo beautiful.  There are big trees everywhere, lots of grass, and huge old buildings.  Oh, and tons of cute little squirrels, too.  Anyway, the campus was just stunning.

On Saturday, we drove around with Candice a little bit while Peter studied so that we could see a little bit more of Nashville and of where we might want to live.  I think we've definitely decided on living a little further out (like 10 or 15 min away) in a house, because it's a lot cheaper than renting an apartment right next to the school.  We drove past so many big, beautiful churches and old houses.  Everything is so green there because of the humidity.

Peter and Candice had something going on in the afternoon, so Tim and I walked around downtown Nashville.  We went to the Frist Center for the Arts first.  I had tried to get in touch with someone there about job or volunteering opportunities before we left, but she never emailed me back.  It was a free admission day, though, so we went through the exhibits and toured upstairs where they had the children's art room.  It was so cool!  They had so many neat activities for the kids.  While we were there, I happened to spot the lady I had emailed!  Coincidence? I think not.  Call it a tender mercy.  We are going to have lunch together when I get to Nashville this fall.

After walking around downtown (and by the way, we counted 4 churches downtown...not small churches, BIG, take-up-half-the-block churches...), we rejoined with Peter & Candice to go out to dinner with some of their friends.  We went to eat at the Loveless Cafe and it was. so. good.  Of course, we had barbecue pork.  And we also tried sorghum for the first time, and they had the most heavenly biscuits ever!  We also got to take a walk in the most beautiful park.  Everything in Nashville was so charming and quaint.  We loved how it was such a big city without the big city feel. (Well, who are we kidding...mostly I loved that.)

On Sunday, Candice made us The Best Pancakes I Have Ever Had In My Whole Life.  We forgot to get the recipe from her, but we are definitely going to need to do that.

The point is, Nashville was amazing.  We are moving forward with plans to attend Vanderbilt Law, while still keeping our minds and hearts open to feelings and impressions we have.  So far, as we've talked about it, I've felt nothing but good.

Here are a couple things I am definitely going to take advantage of here in good ol' Utah before I move away:

• The cool, dry heat.  Cool, you say? YES, compared to Nashville.  90 degrees + humidity in early April? Yowzas!  I mean, I would much rather have hot weather than cool, but that plus humidity is a bit much for me.
• Mexican food...it's all southern BBQ there.
• The water.  It wasn't horrible, but it definitely wasn't great, either.  
• Friends...Family...'nuff said.
• Hikes! We went on a walk with some friends there and they said the "hikes" are more like unpaved walks.
• Being surrounded by The Bubble.  It's what I've known my whole life, and while I am super excited to move away, I think it will also be a little scary, too.
• Seeing the mountains.
• Living in a grid system, where you always know how to get to 451 N 300 E.  Not so with 302 Charlotte Pike.

Oh, and can you believe we went our whole trip and only took ONE picture? It's because we forgot to charge the battery...and then we forgot to take pictures.  We definitely need to get better at that.  Well, here is us at Loveless Cafe: