"The Hills of Home"

The last week before school started, we took a fabulous trip to NEBRASKA!!!! My mom is originally from western Nebraska, and her mom and sister still live there. Plus, her brother, who lives in Tenessee, planned a trip this same week, so it was a family reunion!

Ashton was an angel on our 10+ hour car ride! I couldn't believe it. He did better on this car ride than he does on our 4-hour trips to Idaho.

We ate at McDonald's for lunch and it was Ashton's first time!! I'm not sure how we have deprived our child of McDonald's for two whole years...

He looooved it! 

Shootin' hoops with daddy-o!

Wyoming is the MOST boring state to drive across! So flat and nothing to see! We stopped for a little while to stretch our legs. There was tons of garbage on the side of the road and Ashton kept saying to my mom, "Uh oh! Uh oh!" while trying to pick up the trash! So cute! :)

Our spoiled little boy got to celebrate his birthday for a third time while we were in Nebraska!

My cute cousin Christian and Ashton playing together!

Ashton was soo excited to see his Uncle Carl and Aunt Laura! Here he is "talking" to Laura on the phone!

My grandparents built this beautiful home and raised their children on this ranch. My Granma actually designed the floor plan herself, which she was very proud to show off to Nelson. The bluffs are so pretty and it is always so fun to hear my mom and her siblings' childhood memories from growing up on the ranch. 

Ashton making himself right at home! :)

Ashton practicing his catching skills...they need a little work! ;)

Ashton throwing the ball to my Aunt Tina (which Ashton lovingly pronounced "tie-na")!

Tina brought her mom along, who is originally from Japan! She was the cutest little lady and couldn't pronounce "Ashton," so she called him "Punky!"

We found a frog!! 

Check out those horns!!! 

Ashton was absolutely enthralled by all the animals! Most of the animals he saw on the ranch he has only seen in books.

Checking out all the livestock!

This was a trip of many "firsts" for Ashton...he got to ride a horse for the first time!

He loved petting Prince!

My cousin Catherine put on a little horse trick show! 

Aww...Prince giving her a hug! 

Ashton riding a horse for the first time!! He loved it!!

He was so cute holding the rope!

He wasn't scared at all and kept asking to ride again!

Nelson riding bareback by himself!

My brother Carl on Prince!! Carl makes the horse look small because his legs are soo long!

The whole family at the ranch!!
The back row from left to right: Uncle Chuck, my mom, my beautiful Granma, Tina's mom, Carl, Laura, me, Ashton and Nelson. The front row: Aunt Tige, Aunt Tina and Catherine. 

My Granma is one of the most creative people I know and has written several songs, one of which is entitled "The Hills of Home." I have performed it with her at several venues and it tells a beautiful story of her entire life. She loves those bluffs so much. The land is a part of who she is. Here is the chorus:

"Oh--oh--oh! How I love the hills of home,

No matter wherever I may roam,

My heart soon longs for...

The hills of home."

Later that day, we went on a wagon ride on the real Oregon Trail! 

My cousin Christian got to help with the horses!

It was so interesting to learn about the pioneers that passed through!

Ashton and Laura tossing the football!

Ashton throwing it to Daddy! He LOVES balls!!

Here is another one of Ashton's firsts: an ice cream cone!! He is a big fan! :)

After dinner, a man came to do a little show and my Uncle Chuck, mom, Carl and I were chosen to be his "special helpers" for a song!

It was pretty embarrassing! Later on that night we did some sing-alongs and the man started singing a Marty Robbins song that Nelson and I love. Afterwards, the man asked us if we do a lot of performing in Nashville. My uncle is from Nashville, so he assumed that we were too! It was quite the compliment, maybe Nelson should forget this whole architecture thing and we should try to make it in Nashville as country stars!! ;)

Here is another "first" not only for Ashton, but for Nelson and me too!! We tried cabbage burgers! They were interesting to say the least!

Ashton thinks he can run the laptop all by himself...

Ashton playing shuffleboard!

It is a tradition to play ping-pong in Nebraska!

Ashton found a way to entertain himself while the ping-pong tournament was going on...

Hahaha! I love the pose from Nelson! :)

This is what my Granma sees every morning when she wakes up! It inspires her and gives her energy for the day.

More birthday presents for our cute guy!

Nana reading a new book to Ashton!

My cousin's cat had little kittens which we all had fun playing with!

On the last night of our trip, we watched a slideshow of pictures from my mom's childhood. It was so fun to see! 

Our little monkey got creative on the way back home by putting Fruit Loops in between his toes and then eating them!!

Quite innovative and also quite gross!!! :)

I'm so glad we were able to make the trip to Nebraska, even though it went way too fast! It was actually Nelson's first time meeting my Granma since she was not physically well enough to make it to our wedding. Even though it has been over a month since our trip, Ashton is still talking about all our relatives and about seeing frogs, cows, and riding horses. We had a blast!!