A Homecoming...

We spent the last few days in middle Tennessee and I had a blast introducing "the gang" to Franklin and Leiper's Fork, my hometown. The weather was absolutely ideal, I was able to see some of my favorite Tennesseans (both current and former) and we even had time to do a little early birthday celebrating. Jason had been working for weeks, along with my old friends Tiffany and Patty, to surprise me with a little early 40th birthday party and it was amazing! We also attended my friend Niki's wedding to wrap up a perfect weekend. 

Gramma and Grandad Beaty's house in pristine shape, although the garden in the back is now a manicured lawn.

Jewel's Market was around the corner from Gramma's house looked exactly the same, including the sign.

The gals at my surprise birthday in The Fork. Jennifer (Brown) Hacker, Kelly (Garrett) Hancock, me,
 Heather (McCandless) Ryan, Tiffany (Ciullo) Taylor and Patty (Lee) Cannon.

Kohl decided to take a shot at the mechanical bull while
we sampled the food at the Leiper's Fork Chili Cook Off.

Our old barn, still in great shape, in Leiper's Fork.

An infamous tree in our household (that was involved in a sledding accident). 
The old yard was in immaculate shape, as was all of Leiper's Fork. 
I was glad to see everything had been so well cared for without much change. 

Our old house, though not too recognizable. The front room had been revised, but the big windows
 still spanned across the front. The deck, garage, smokehouse, chicken house and many of the trees
 had been taken out, but the metal roof and paved driveway (complete with a iron gate and keypad...
yes, I was tresspassing) were nice additions.

The 5th graders (Merritt Woodham, Lauren Taylor and Skylar Hacker) became fast friends!

The 2nd graders (Bryce Cannon, Alex Cannon and Kohl Woodham) along with Porter Taylor 
(my sweet red-headed godson) had a miraculous marathon playdate with no quarrels!

The wedding was at a beautiful venue in the "Cool Springs area" 
(that didn't exist when we lived there) on a historic farm. 

My sweet friend Niki on her happy day! Mason jars were filled with fruit tea or beer 
and bottles of soda pop (we call it "coke" regardless of what it was) were enjoyed by
all the little ones. The tables were topped with milkglass vases and wildflowers that 
the little girls had Niki put in their hair at the end of the reception. Such a great day!