Sometimes you don't know what you need...

until you have it.

We had decided this really wasn't the summer for a vacation. Before Gunga took her turn for the worse, we were thinking that we didn't want to leave her. And then after she died, things were just too crazy, both emotionally and otherwise, to get away. But we decided to attach a few days onto the aforementioned wedding celebration in Nashville in what turned out to be a very good decision.

First we had visits with old friends (the Lacher's) and new friends (the Johnson's). Then, we made a delightful new acquaintance in Franklin, TN. Her name is Sweet Cece's Frozen Yogurt. What a darling place...
The kids are still talking about it.

We spent the night in Sikeston, Missouri at a Drury Inn with a pool...
And a great, hot breakfast too.

The reason we stayed in Sikeston was just so we could eat Lambert's Cafe, the Home of the Throwed Rolls. It's kind of like a Cracker Barrel with down home cookin', but SO much better. Not only do they have 3 or 4 items that are "pass arounds" that they just come around to offer you, but they have a very fun claim to fame. They are not called "the home of the throwed rolls" for nothin'!They literally throw hot rolls across the room for you to catch...

It was definitely worth the price because not only was the food yummy, but it was such a fun experience for the whole family...
Lest you think we only plan our mini-vacations around food, we also visited the St. Louis Gateway Arch...
I have never been motivated to visit , but the middle two were so hyped about it so we gave them their wish. The wait was long, but there is a museum there to pass the time...
Then you board your Mork from Ork tiny little egg spaceship and head up to the top...
I might have been a little wigged out by it all. Which my kids found hilarious. They are sensitive like that. Here they are mocking me...
But, I had to admit it was a really sweet view once you got to the top...

(the shadow of the Arch in on the Mississippi)

Thankfully it was not a windy day. I have heard it sways in the wind and I do not believe my fragile self could have handled that. I was struggling enough to handle the sight of this...

Proving that we do plan our mini-vacations around food afterall, we had to have Imo's Pizza for dinner. We were running way behind schedule, so we had to eat it on the run...
Not exactly travel food but once again, our food choice was totally worth it.

We didn't realize how much our family needed this little getaway. Both the time with family and friends in Nashville and the food-inspired vacation were refreshing and fun in the midst of a summer that has been sad and not what we had been expecting. It wasn't much. There wasn't any of this...
But there was this...
And it was very, very sweet. I'm thankful that God knows what we need and when we need it.