Tuesday was one of those days that made me so happy to be homeschooling. I've lived in Nashville for almost 10 years, and I've always wanted to go to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. When I saw the commercials this year I made up my mind to go for it. Since we aren't confined by public school times any more, we were able to make a day of it. We still did school in the morning, and then it was time for a field trip!

After a lunch at Cracker Barrell, we headed out to Opry Mills. Parking at the mall is free, and within walking distance of both the Grand Ole Opry and the Opryland Hotel. Since we had over an hour to kill, we decided to hit the mall. Our first stop was the Aquarium restaurant. Not to eat, but just to look. That place is amazing!

Here's my little darlings, still young enough to humor their mom taking their picture in the middle of a crowded mall.

When we entered the candy store, my kids went nuts. They acted as if it was the first time they had ever seen candy in their entire life. They were each allowed to pick 1/4 lb., and I thought it would take forever. They finally settled on some loot, and I earned some serious mommy points.

Now it was time to head on over to the show. We met up with some other homeschooling friends, and the excitement was palpable. Our seats were in the balcony, and the kids thought we had the best spot in the house. I love experiencing things like this with them, because they make every moment new.

Although parts of the show were a little hokey, the Rockettes did not disappoint. The precision of their moves is just mesmerizing. I'm so glad we went!

Here's our future Rockettes, working out their kicks in the lobby. I'm so glad my camera takes video, because these clips are classic.

The very best part of the day was when Daddy and Bryant met us after the show. We had dinner at the mall and then walked over to the Opryland Hotel to see the lights. My goal was to get a Christmas card picture, and what you see above is the best it got. I was determined not to get too stressed out about it, because they were all really tired, and I knew getting "that" shot was going to be unlikely.

But we got a lot like this...
and a few like this...

Our final event was to watch the water show. In the Magnolia Garden of the Opryland Hotel there is a place that has about 30 fountains all shooting up out of the ground. Every hour they do a music and light show and the fountains put on an incredible display. My kids LOVE it, and this year Bryant got to truly experience it for the first time. The oohs and ahs were enough to melt anyone's heart, and made any stress up to that point completely worth it.

These are the moments when I can't imagine my life being any other way. May we all have exactly this look on our face at least once this Christmas season!