A Weekend of Christmas Fun: Opryland & Trolley Tour

Well, again - I apologize for the lack of posts lately...I feel like we have a few days of nothing and then a whole lot of activity.  So, needless to say, I've got some catching up to do still!  Anyways, we had a great weekend full of Christmas cheer!  Friday night was super fun - we went to Opryland Hotel and ICE at Opryland!  We went with some friends and had a GREAT time!  I've Tanja since Kindergarten - and obviously I've known her sister that long too!  Tanja's boyfriend also went - it was so great because he works for the larger company and knows his way around the whole hotel.  I feel certain that is the only reason we didn't get lost! :)  He also had some neat facts about the hotel - especially after the big flood we had about a year and a half ago.  It is amazing that in some places of the hotel, there were 12 or more feet of water!  Anyways - it was so fun to go out there - I hadn't been in the hotel since I was a little kid!  Oh, the memories...here are some pictures of our fun time!

 {the girls!}

 {me with my sweet girl}

 {family picture!}

 {Tanja, Katie, & Sina}

 {another family picture...when we got into the ICE exhibit, I think it was sensory overload for Katie - super cold, bright, loud music....within minutes she declared she was "super all done"...she did enjoy it towards the end once she got used to it!}

 {Tanja and her boyfriend}

{they even have ice slides!  Katie went down the little kid one - half way down, she started screaming...I think it was then that she realized she was by herself!} 

 {and this was when she started loving it}

 {a nativity scene - all made out of ice....amazing.}

 {a group shot in front of the poinsettia tree inside the hotel}

 {another family shot in front of a HUGE tree!}

 {cute picture of Tanja with her boyfriend}

 {and another group shot...what a fun time with great friends!}

And last night was our annual Christmas lights tour (compliments of my brother)!  There were about 26 people and we had a blast - great food, fun trolley ride, and awesome lights!  Katie was thrilled to be riding on a trolley...I have a feeling she will talk about that for quite some time!  Here are a few pictures from the fun we had!

 {Momma and Katie}

{the group in the back - they were singing Christmas carols almost the whole time!} 

 {she was so excited....love it}

 {there's a display at the end of a neighborhood and it is clearly HUGE - this is just out 4 of the windows...I'm pretty sure it is like this in at least 5 yards - amazing!}

 {Brad and his momma - great picture!}

 {a decent picture of me with my momma - she just CANNOT seem to keep her eyes open for pictures!}

 {I love this part of that big light display!}

 {and once we got back, it was time or the annual picture in front of my mom's tree!  this is the first year Katie has joined us for the lights tour, so it is the first time she made the picture! To see past pictures, here are the links to 2008, 2009, and 2010!}

{and the grand host of the evening...it was a blast!  now, let the planning begin for next year's fun...}