Another Room Finished

Over the past few weeks, Erica and I re-did our upstairs bathroom. We stripped the pink wallpaper, took out the fixtures and the vanity, and put in new ones. We added wainscotting and a fresh coat of paint, a nice dark green. It looks like a whole new room!

Its A Boy (At Least It Will Be)!

Erica and I are happy to report that by October 1st, Brady will have a new brother.

Adventures in Fatherhood: Building a Swingset

A swingset can't be that hard to assemble, right? Wrong! This past weekend, Erica and I took advantage of a deal at Toys R Us and bought Brady a swingset. After bringing home all the boxes on the flatbed trailer, we quickly got all the pieces out of the box and spread out in our garage. Then, we started to look at the 40-step manual. Amazingly, none of the 10,000 wood pieces are marked. In the directions, it is referred to as the "front/back swing side support", or the "sandbox front". It is up to you to find the dimensions of that piece in the glossary, and then serach through all the wood until you find that very piece. Needless to say, it is a time-consuming rpocess. The result of our seven hours of work on Saturday can be seen in the picture, and we are only in the middle of step five. I included a picture of what it will look like when we are finished...thirty years from now. Oh the adventures of parenthood!

The Moss Just Got Greener for the Pats!

With the addition today of Randy Moss to the receiver corps, Brady should have plenty of talent to throw to next season. Nice pick-up, NE!

Try Something New: GRILLED pizza

Yep, you too can use your outdoor gas grill to make pizza. I had heard of this being done, but now I am on a quest to perfect this pizza cooking method. I tried it tonight for the first time. My experiment produced an ok pizza, although it was a little burnt on the bottom. The following is my revised recipe (I'll put up any revisions after I test them).

1. Pre-grill prep: Start with a pizza dough (store bought is fine...Shaw's makes a great one). A baseball-sized dough ball, when stretched out, will yield a perfect personal-pizza size (and make it easy to flip). Brush both sized of the stretched-out dough with EVOO. Get all your toppings together, and take everything out to the grill.

2. Grill the dough: Start with a ripping-hot grill, but make sure you only light part of the grill. Put the dough down on the hot side of the grill. In a couple of minutes, the dough will be cooked enough for you to flip it. When you flip, place the dough ont he cold side of the grill. Now, add all of your toppings, cover, and let cook for about five minutes.

3. My favorite toppings always start with a simple red sauce, a four cheese blend (mozzarella, jack, parm, and romano), and oregano.

Enjoy!

Summer Tease!

For the past two days, we have been enjoying 80+ temperature days. It has been a great break from winter, and it is hard to believe we had a snow storm just two weeks ago (not even). I made the most of the weather....and my yard is ready for the season. I got the grass dethatched, raked, mowed, and fertilized. All of my planting beds have been edged and I just spread 8 cubic yards of mulch in various beds around the yard. I sprayed for ants, and I rebuilt all of my stone walls. Yep, I was busy. I wonder how many calories I burned....

Biggest Loser

I know you have all been waiting on the edge of your seats to find out how I'm doing in Sanborn's Biggest Loser Competition.

Well, I'm in first right now, down 14 lbs. 22 more to go to reach my goal!

18 Months Old Today!

Brady is officially a year and a half today. My my my how the time flies by! Every day, he is adding new words to his vocabulary, and he is learning to do many new things. He is recovering well from his operation. We go in next month for his kidney test, and that will tell us what happens next as far as his kidneys go.

Update on Brady and baba 2 (by Erica)

So it has been one week since Brady's surgery and he is doing fabulously! Although it still looks really sore he is doing so well. Pretty much by the day after the surgery he was down running around. He has had some days that we can tell he has been in a little pain or possibly itchy but he has been such a trooper! Brian and I count our blessings every day because Brady is such a laid back kid. he just goes with the flow! I wonder where he gets that from. Certainly not from me!

As for me I have entered the second trimester. I'm 14 weeks along today. I have had a little more nausea this time around and possibly a little more tiredness (however last time I wasn't chasing around a 1 year old either) I still find it hard to believe that we have a second child on the way. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time, but I guess that's normal. I can't wait to start to feel movement. I remember with Brady how active he was, we'll see if this one is as active.
That's all for now. Both kids are doing well and we hope will continue to!

Biggest Loser

So I've decided to join Sanborn's Biggest Loser competition. The winner takes home $250 and bragging rights for the whole year. People from all over the School District have joined in.

So far so good, after two weeks I've lost a total of 8 pounds. My goal is to lose 36 pounds between now and the end of the competition, May 29th. It may be a bit ambitious, but who knows, right?

My strategy is really not to make too many drastic changes. I'm running two miles every morning and eating better, that's it.

A Painful Recovery

Erica and I had to bring Brady to MGH this morning at 6:30am to get a circumcision. Without it, the doctor won't be able to run all the necessary tests next month to see if his kidney reflux has corrected itself or whether or not we have to operate on it.

It was a long day for all three of us. The worst part for me was having to watch my son go under in the operating room. It has not been easy to watch him in pain this afternoon.

But Brady is a trooper. He's taking Tylanol with Codine every four hours, and has pretty much sat in his recliner most of the afternoon watching tv. I'm glad to see that he has been eating and drinking. We also gave him a warm bath, which helped.

It will be a slow recovery, but hopefully it will be for the better.

The moral of this story: If you have a baby boy, just get him circumcised at the beginning. It is much easier that way.

Congratulations Mike & Tara!

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Racano, who were married on St. Patrick's Day 2007. Erica and I were so happy to share your day with you!

17 Month Update

Hi everyone, its me, Brady! Can you believe that I turn 17 months tomorrow? Do you like my picture? Dada and I have been busy working on the bathroom upstairs. He was tearing down wallpaper, I was busy painting.

Anyways, I'm growing up in a lot of ways! My vocabulary is growing everyday. Now, with Mama and Dada's help (mostly Mama's), I can say small sentences, like: "Mama, more please!" I still use signs, but I'm using real words more and more.

I know how to turn a door knob and open a door, I like taking my shoes off, and then saying, "Shoe?" I like watching tv. Just today, I picked the remote up off the floor and started flipping through the channels. When it got boring, I changed the channel again. But, I was getting very frustrated because I couldn't find the Wiggles (which has to be the best show on tv right now, don't you agree?), so I had to run in the kitchen and ask Mama to put the Wiggles on.

Mama is having more morning sickness with this baby than she did with me, so she says. All three of us are going to be going to the doctor's in a couple weeks to get the baby's first ultrasound done. I can't wait to see what it looks like. Dada would like to have a little girl, Mama isn't sure, but I know what I want, a new brother!!!

So long fro now,

Brady

Brady's New Bedroom: Before & After

So, Brady has officially moved into his new bedroom, right next door to his old one, which will be used again in October.

We decided to go with a Red Sox theme. So, we pianted the top of the room gray and the bottom a deep blue. Then we put up a nice Red Sox wall paper border. We still have to get some more decorations, but its a nice start!

We also finished the walk-in closet that is in the room, which was never really done. Now it has a nice light, a closet shelving system, and a hard-wood floor.

Happy March!

March has been a busy month already. Both Mama and Dada were on school vacation. Dad has been working on my new Red Sox bedroom, as well as the upstairs bathroom. Yesterday, we went to the Children's museum in Portsmouth. I had a lot of fun exploring all kinds of things there.

Do you see me using a fork and spoon in the picture to the right? I'm still working on this, but it is fun to bang them on my tray. Dada had made southern style pork ribs that night. Yum yum.

I'm also happy to report that I am expading my vocabulary every day. In addition to being able to sign eat, more, all done, please, and bye, I also know how to say and understand Mama, Dada, hello, bye bye, binky, shoe, night-night, oh-oh, fish, and all done. Every day, I seem to be learning new words.




So long for now!

Brady

Time Outs, Tantrums, and Terrible Two's

Brady isn't two yet!

But every once in a while, we get a taste of what is to come.

We use time outs from time to time when Brady doesn't listen us. Usually, he warned first. We don't have to use it often, Brady is generally good.

But tonight......that was not the case at all.

We decided to go to dinner at a local Chinese buffet with Erica's sister. Brady started acting up int he restaurant, throwing his cup and his food. He was mad because I wouldn't let him play with my fork (he was banging it loudly and wouldn't stop). Despite our pleas, Brady continued to act up. Erica tried to take him to the bathroom to give him a time out, but there were too many people around. She brought him back to the table hoping he'd be better, but he wasn't. We actually had to get up and leave. That was a first.

On the car ride home, Erica and I kept asking ourselves, was it us? Are we bad parents? We had to keep reminding ourselves that we weren't, but sometimes these things just happen. Ohg well, better luck next time.

Find Your Path, Give Back, Make Good Choices

Dear Brady,

I'd like to share something with you. Although you are probably too young to understand, one day you'll be able to look back at this blog and learn from what I am about to tell you.

One year ago today, I was getting ready to leave Andover High School for the weekend. I stopped by my friend Peter Arthur's classroom. He was busy setting up his new projection system to run his power-point presentations. Peter was always looking for ways to make his history classes interesting. He was known int he school to be one of the best teachers because he was always challenging his students to "find their path, give back, and make good choices." When I walked in, he asked me: "Hey Stackman, how's Brady doing?" "Not bad," I replied. ""He's getting so big, before I know it, he'll be crawling everywhere!" Peter replied, "Just wait until he starts walking. That's when it gets really fun, just ask my wife!" Peter had a little boy of his own, not even two years old. His name was Jeffrey. We talked about how we needed to get together again. This wekeend Peter was going to be busy, but we made some tentative plans for the following weekend. I waved goodbye, and walked out the door.

I didn't know it at the time, but that was the last time I would ever talk to Peter. By 3:00pm the next afternoon, he was gone. Peter had told his wife he was going to go upstairs to finish putting in some grades into his computer. He suffered a heart attack and died instantly. His wife found him an hour later. At 32 years of age and in great health (he was an athlete and a coach), Peter left behind the ones he loved. He also left behind a legacy for the rest of us in Andover to learn from. Later that week, two thousand people attended his funeral mass, which was held in the Collins Center at Andover High School.

On the anniversary of his passing, I'd like to share some of the things I've learned, because you never know when your time will come. Please keep these things in mind as you grow up.

1. Never say "if." Say "when". Set goals for yourself, and stick to them. I always knew I would go to college, become a school administrator, get married, and have a family of my own. I never doubted myself.

2. Don't stop dreaming. I still have dreams. I'd like to get my PhD. I'd like to build my own house. I'd like to travel around the world. When you stop dreaming, you stop living.

3. Make time for the ones you love. Tell them everyday how much they mean to you. You never know when they'll be gone.

4. Find a positive role model to inspire you. I have many. Peter is one of them. He always made time for everyone else.

5. Enjoy giving. Its much more rewarding than receiving.

6. Take chances. I learned early on that you won't get anywhere if you don't take a chance on something.

7. Learn to take everything in stride. Once you get your life going the way you want it too, you'll be able to ride out the highs and the lows without much effort on your part. I could have a very stressful job if I ever let it get to me, but I don't. I always keep an upbeat attitude no matter what comes my way.

8. Find something to be passionate about, and do everything you can to do that "something" for the rest of your life.

9. Keep laughing. You have the best laugh, and it is contageous.

10. Don't ever become a Yankees fam or a BC Eagles fan. They are both part of an "evil empire." Remember, Patriots, Sox, and Terriers forever!

I hope you will keep these things in mind as you grow up Brady. Everyday I look at you, I'm amazed.

Love Always,

Dada

Sixteen Month Check-In, By Brady Stack

Hey guys, its me, Brady! Can you believe that I am sixteen months old today? Time flies! As you can see, I'm getting really big. How do you like my new recliner? There is nothing quite like kicking back with an ice cold cup of milk in your favorite chair and watching soem Wiggles, don't you think?

So, other than that, I have lots of news to report. My tube operation went well, and now I have to wear these bright orange ear plugs everytime I take a shower. Did I mention how much I love to climb now? I drive Mama and Dada crazy because I liek to climb onto the couch, stand-up, and turn the light on and off int he living room. Haha, I could do that for hours!

Mama keeps telling me about my new sibling. Every week, she reads to me about how the baby is growing.

Dada and I have started working on a new project: my new bedroom. We are planning to make it a complete New England Patriots / Boston Red Sox shrine, with a little Boston University Hockey thrown in for fun. Dada even told me he would try to find some BC or some Yankees diaper wipes, just to finish the room off. Yup, I'm going to be moving into the other bedroom pretty soon. Its even going to have a walk-in closet with hardwood floors! I can't wait.

Well, I'll talk to you all soon.

Love,

Brady.

Brady II: The Sequel!

We've had so much fun with Brady, we figured what the hell, let's have another.

And have another we will.

Actually, he/she should be arriving on or near October 2, 2007 (which for those of you that pay attention, is just ten days shy of Brady's second birthday.)

Names? Well, right now we are leaning towards either Megatron or Optimus Prime, but its early yet.

Check back soon for more details...

Terrier Hockey Trip

Friday night, Erica and I made our annual trip to Harry Agganis Arena to watch the mighty Boston University Terriers. BU played U Mass Lowell. The two teams decided to thank us for attending by scoring zero goals. Yep, it ended in a 0-0 draw. Oh well. It was fun to see them play anyways.

My Adventures in Surgery (By Brady Stack)

As most of you know I was going to the hospital today to get tubes in my ears. We had to get to the hospital for 6:30 am. I don't usually even get up until 7:00! Anyways, they took me and mama and dada into a room where I had to put on a gown that opened in the back (it was chilly) They also gave me a pair of pants that were WAY TO BIG! I couldn't walk around because I would trip on them. Then they told Mama that she could come to the operating room with me until I fell asleep. She had to put on a funny white suit and booties and hair net. She walked with me to the operating room then put me on the table. I was not thrilled with this but I was okay. They put a mask on my face and about 5 breaths later mama said my eyes rolled back in my head and they told her she could leave. 20 Minutes later Mama and Dada were told they could come to recovery. At first they couldn't find the room, then they heard me screaming at the top of my lungs. I was scared and shaking, but once mama held me for a little while I was okay and we went home! I loved being home today, I got to run around and play with mama and my toys all day! and you know what I hear alot better. The doc said that my hearing was definately being affected. I hear so much better already! all in all it wasn't too bad and if this stops my ear infections It was all worth it.

It's Been A While

I know I know, I haven't been the best "blogger" these past couple weeks. I'm still getting over the Patriots defeat, which was over a week ago.

Not much int he way of new news to report, although we are taking Brady in on Thursday to have tubes put into his ears. This should curb those pesky ear infections.

All Charged Up!!!

We just finished watching the nail-biter victory for the Pats. What a great game! What an end to a long day too.

We just spent six hours in the ER at Mass General Hospital. Brady spiked a fever this weekend, and his doctor told us this morning he didn't think it was an ear infection, so he wanted to check his urine. Easier said than done...we have been kicking ourselves for months for not giving Brady the old snip snip when he was born. Now, several ear infections have led to several yeast infections which has practically closed Brady up tight. You'd never be able to get a tube up there to get a good sample. So, to the ER we went. They couldn't draw a sample with a needle into the bladder, so they had to settle for what they collected in the bag. We are headed tomorrow to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, and we'll be back at MGH early next month to see if the kidney reflux issue has correctedc itself or if he needs an operation. We'll also discuss his snip-snip.

Oh the joys of parenthood!

Brady Learns Some Words!

15 Month Update: A Little Older, A Little Wiser, by Brady Stack

This week I'll turn 15 months. Wow, I'm getting to be so old! Here are some of the new things in my life since the last time I blogged:

1. I'm a very good eater now. Mama and Dada rarely have to make me a separate meal at dinnertime, I eat whatever they eat.

2. I'm learning how to say a few new words. Right now, when I want Mama or Dada to get my juice, I simply walk over to them and say, "Cup." If I want them to play with me, I run and get my ball, throw it to them, and say "ball!"

3. Dada moved his office downstairs to the finished basement. Now, I have my very own toy room, and I love going in there to play with all my new toys. Dada even repainted his old basketball lamp that used to hang in his bedroom to put up in my toy room. Its great!

4. I'm still battling ear infections. Next week, I am going to see a special doctor who is likely going to put some tubes in my ears to stop all the infections. At least then I won't have to feel sick so much.

5. I babble a lot. I guess it is because I don't know too many workd, but I want to talk because other people are talking.

6. I own my house. I go everywhere, and I get into everything. One of my favorites involves running into the dining room to bang on the fireplace doors, then running into the kitchen to try to open all the cabinet doors (which have these hooks on them that I can't figure out), then running over to the pantry, opening the doors, and pulling out the bottles of soda, then running into the bathroom to unravel all the toilet paper, then running to the stove to pull the dish towel off the door, and then going back into the dining room to take my bib off the hook and running around the house with it. When Mama and Dada aren't looking, I go into the trash and take things out of it. I'm in charge. But...

7. Sometimes I do things I'm not supposed to do. Pulling out trash is one of them. When I'm being a good boy, I stop what I am doing when Mama and Dada ask me to stop. Sometimes, I like to test them. For example, the other day, I went over to the trash. Mama looked at me and said, "No, no Brady. Make another choice!" I looked right at her, smiled, opened the trash up, took out a piece of paper, and booked it for the playroom. As you might imagine, I ended up in a timeout, which I don't like at all. When I am in timeout, I have to sit in a corner and I can't play for a whole minute. Then, Mama or Dada has to talk to me about why I went in a timeout. I have to apologize to them by giving them a hug, then I am off again to play. I don't like timeouts. That is why when Mama and Dada say no, I make another choice....usually anyways.

Movie Review: The Pursuit of Happyness

IMDB synopsis: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454921/plotsummary

In 1981, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) was a struggling salesman in little needed medical bone density scanners while his wife toiled in double shifts to support the family including their young son, Christopher (played by Smith's son, Jaden). In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship where one in twenty has a chance of a lucrative full time career. Even when his wife leaves him because of this choice, Chris clings to this dream with his son even when the odds become more daunting by the day. Together, father and son struggle through homelessness, jail time, tax seizure and the overall punishing despair in a quest that would make Gardner a respected millionaire.

My Take: Great movie! It was an eye-opening look at what so many American's live with every day: Poverty, not knowing how they are going to pay for their next meal, not knowing if they are going to have a place to sleep at night, etc. I highly recommend you see this drama before it leaves the big screen (and then you'll understand why they spelled "happyness" with a "y")

2006: Year-End Blogger Review

To celebrate the end of 2006, let's countdown the top 15 best, worst, most controversial, and most surprising posts to make their way through our little blogger community.

15. Lt. Stack tries to throw an already wounded John Kerry under the bus again while he is halfway across the world in Korea. http://jasonstack.blogspot.com/2006/11/dear-senator-kerry.html

14. At number 14, we have the Doc's only post of 2006, Things that have happened since November 25th. http://gotsprue.blogspot.com/2006/02/things-that-have-happened-since.html

13. At number 13, in let this be a lesson, Stack describes the drunk driving accident that happened right in his own driveway! http://brianstack.blogspot.com/2006/03/let-this-be-lesson.html

12. At number 12, we all rejoiced with Princess Buttercup when she was able to recover some of her Hawaii pictures. http://christellize.blogspot.com/2006/05/aloha-again.html

11. We thought P. Sophie was going to give us a post on American Idol, but if you go back and look at it now, its just a bunch of porn!!! http://legendofme.blogspot.com/2006/04/ai-post.html

10. The "Master" explains to us in October why he's been a very bad blogger lately. http://whosthemaster.blogspot.com/2006/10/ive-been-very-bad-blogger.html

9. IA has reason to celebrate, as he was accepted into the NYU LLM program! http://iyazakhtar.blogspot.com/2006/06/you-have-reason-to-celebrate.html

8. In a comical look at the life of a pregnant chick, P. Sophie tells a great story about craving some chocolate cake. http://legendofme.blogspot.com/2006/05/p-sophies-baby-story-chocolate-cake.html

7. The Stack's introduce BradyVision, an interactive look at the life and times of Brady Stack. http://brianstack.blogspot.com/2006/07/brady-vision-2006.html

6. IA tries to make us all believe that someone offered him money for his blogger site name in this April Fools Day prank. http://iyazakhtar.blogspot.com/2006/04/theyre-trying-to-buy-me-out.html

5. P. Sophie announces the beginning of her nine-month journey through pregnancy in this January post. http://legendofme.blogspot.com/2006/01/miracle-of-life.html

4. Stack talks about his own version of Mouse Hunt as he tries for two weeks to catch an ellusive rodent in his house. http://brianstack.blogspot.com/2006/11/there-is-mouse-in-my-house.html

3. In another funny post, P. Sophie talks about her woes of motherhood in "Stretch Marks and Stupid People." http://legendofme.blogspot.com/2006/06/stretch-marks-and-stupid-people.html

2. Princess Buttercup makes us all want to cry in her romantic post about the joys of marriage o her anniversary. http://christellize.blogspot.com/2006/09/une-bonne-anniversaire.html

1. And the best post of 2006? Why none other than David Wick's famous dating video! http://legendofme.blogspot.com/2006/12/davids-dating-video.html

RIP: My Office

My office has been moved to the finished basement to make way for Brady. Yep, he has too many toys, and they have consumed our living room. So, we decided to convert the office space into a new room for him. We got lucky at Building 19 by finding a nice big area rug for him for only $40. I'm refinishing an old basketball lamp I had when I was a kid for the room too. Now, we just need to find a piece of furnature so that we can store all the bins of toys! I might make one...if Erica and I can decide on what we want. More to come on that later...

Home Renovations

In an attempt to make our kitchen look a little bigger, and to improve the traffic flow when we host parties, I decided to put a big hole in the wall that separates our kitchen and living room. You can see the before and after pictures below. All I have left to do is to paint all the new trim white. I was a little worried this morning when I started that there would be pipes or wires to contend with when I opened up the wall, but lucky for me, there was nothing there. The only thing I really had to do was move the telephone jack and install one new outlet. Other than that, it was a piece of cake!

Too Many Toys

Erica and I have decided to move my office downstairs and turn that space into Brady's toy room. (OK, This was Erica's idea, but I've conceeded that she is right) As you can see, Brady has too many toys to keep in the living room!

Merry Christmas 2006!

Oh Fudge!!!!

I know what you are thinking...are the Stack's planning to eat 18 pounds of fudge this Christmas? No way! But we did make 18 pounds of fudge and filled them into 18 Christmas tins, to give out to co-workers, neighbors, etc. In case you are wondering, there are seven varieties: Oreo, Andies mint candy, chocolate walnut, dark chocolate coconut, butterscoth, candy cane, and peanut butter. I would have to say my favorite was the dark chocolate coconut, which tasted just like having a mounds bar. If you are interested, I've included Erica's fudge recipe below (for the Oreo fudge...for the others, use your imagination!)

Erica’s Holiday Fudge
18 oz. package of white chocolate chips
14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon of salt
20 Oreo cookies, crushed finely
1 8x8 fudge pan, lined with parchment paper

Melt the chocolate chips with the condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Add the salt and cookies and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat, and pour the mixture into the fudge pan. Chill in the refrigerator until firm.

Be creative! Substitute the cookies and white chocolate with other ingredients to make your own fudge flavors. My favorites include peanut butter chips, chocolate mint chips, and even English toffee pieces.

Christmas Update, by Brady Stack

Hi guys, its me, Brady Stack. I just wanted to give you guys in cyber space an update on how things are going at ye 'ole Stack shack.

Well, Christmas is almost here. Mama and Dada said Santa is bringing me lots of toys this year. Mama wants to get Dada to move his office upstairs so I can have his office as my new playroom, but he's not convinced I need it yet. Maybe he will be after Christmas!

Dada went on a business trip to Nashville Tennessee last week. I was so excited when he got home, I hadn't been away from him for that long ever!

Dada keeps talking about how he's changing the living room around over Christmas vacation. He told me how is going to put the TV on the opposite wall, and cut a huge hole in the wall that connects the living room with the kitchen. He says something about it making the kitchen look bigger!

Next week, Auntie Pam and Uncle Charlie are bringing my friend David Wicks over to play. I get to see Auntie Christel and Uncle Scott as well. I can't wait for that!

Friday night, Dada, Mama, and I went to cheer on the Sanborn girls basketball team. I was so excited to see them play that when Dada put me down, I decided to run right for the court. I run pretty fast now. I have too....if I don't run, Mama and Dada will catch me and pick me up. That's no fun. Too bad they caught me at the game before I got to the ball. That would have made the referees very mad. But I wanted the ball. Did I mention that I know how to say ball?

Well, that's all for now! I'll give another report after Christmas next week, and I'll tell you guys all about the toys I got!

Welcome to the Opryland Resort!

Known to be the largest non-casino hotel in the country, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville boasts three large glass-enclosed attriums, covering an area of 54 acres! As you can see from the pictures, these attriums are completely filled with plants, flowers, trees, and even a river, complete with a working boat tour.

At Christmas, every square inch of the hotel is decorated. They say the only place with more Christmas decorations is Disney World itself!

Greetings From Nashville Tennessee!

This past week, I have been at a national conference for school leaders in Nashville Tennessee. It has been a lot of fun, and very informative. The entire conference is being held at the Opryland Resort, which is the largest non-casino hotel in the country, and the second most decorated place in America for Christmas, second only of course to Disney World. If you looked at the hotel from a plane, you'd likely describe it to look like one big "donut" shape, with a large glass-enclosed attrium in the middle. How large? They say ten foot ball fields, but that doesn't seem to do it justice. I'll have to post some pictures of it when I get home so you can get a sense of how beautiful it was in the attrium, which was completely landscaped with palm trees, flowers, even a river! It really was a spectacular sight.