I've been everywhere, man…

Go ahead and try NOT to sing that Johnny Cash number.  And if you don't know what song I'm talking about…we cannot be friends anymore.

Juuuuuuust kidding!

Well, we left Nashville on March 1st for some shows and some family time and some more shows and some more family time.  Our first stop was in Van Buren, Arkansas to play Sunday morning at Bethlehem Free Will Baptist.  We were able to get set-up and sound checked Saturday evening.  (That always makes the next morning run a little smoother.)  After we were finished, the pastors and their wives took us out to eat.  Yay for a steak dinner!!!  Oliver held it together pretty well, but he was slowly coming unglued, so we had to eat and run.  

We got to our hotel and Oliver had a gift waiting for him!  Just look at all the preciousness.  Monkey AND mustache fabric?  I can't even.  Thank you Dale and Beth!

Leaving the hotel Sunday morning.  And I'm sorry to say, but this is sexy.  Can I say that?  Yes I can.
(Oh, and he also cooks and cleans.)

The morning went great!  It's fun to play the new songs officially as We Are The Monks.  Everyone enjoyed it and that makes us happy!  And Oliver slept the whole time.  Then had diarrhea.  Bless it.

 Rachel posed with us after.  And even included a #Oliver on instagram.  Love.

We had planned on leaving after church to go to Amarillo, but that darn Polar Vortex stranded us.  The church offered to put us up another night and we were so thankful for them!  We had naps and our very own Oscar watch party.

So, we left Monday and made the drive to Amarillo dealing with this about half of the way.

We were only there 3 days and we packed that time with family.  Oliver met some family for the first time!  Granddad Larry, Aunt Amy and Uncle Travis and Mama Pat and Papa Tuck.  Such a sweet time.

Four generations:  Tuck Noble, Timothy Tuck, Trenton Tuck, Oliver Tuck.

They're not in love or anything...

Family tuckered him out!

Denim, plaid, and pearl snaps.  When in Rome Texas…

We flew my mom in so she could join us for our trip to Arizona.  Her first time as road nanny and she rocked it.  And let me just say, traveling with a nanny is where it's at.  (Forgive me for using 'at' with 'where'…sometimes it's needed.)

 

We BEARly had time to snap this picture.  (Sorry for that terrible pun.  I can't help myself sometimes.)

We stopped in Albuquerque on Thursday and Oliver met more family!  Chad, Christie, their boys (Caleb and Connor), and Paula.  Plus, my mom watched Oliver while we had a date night (our FIRST date post-baby) for our anniversary.  We were those parents and talked about him the whole time.

Our next stop was Phoenix.  That travel day was loooooong and this is the result:

We had all day Saturday to relax and take in the wonderful Arizona weather.

The warmth made us long for spring even more!  Go home, Old Man Winter!

It was awesome to be back with our hosts, the Whitens.  We stayed with them last summer for a week and it was great to stay there again…even if it was just for one night.

The Habeñero Collective house show was super, tons of fun, and we loved the ambience.  And Oliver slept the whole time.

We had to leave immediately after to drive to Tucson (about 2 hours) so we could share special music at Fellowship Bible Church on Sunday morning.  We got to the hotel in Tucson and set our clocks forward so we wouldn't be late to church.  What can I say?  We're responsible people.

Well, turns out Arizona doesn't change their clocks, so Sunday morning was a little confusing.  After calling the front desk, we were all squared away, but mercy.  Overly tired + spring forward + not really springing forward = what in the world.

Anyway, Sunday morning went well.  Everyone loved the two songs we played during the services.

 After church, we had lunch and then rested up for the show that night which was at the same church.  It  was super fun!  A lady bought a CD and said, "I just loved it!  I can't wait to play this in my car.  I listen to Christian radio all the time but I get tired of all the same songs they play all the time."  That warmed our little hearts.  Then we went and had some dinner at BJ's.

We try to avoid chains restaurants, especially while on the road but LISTEN.  BJ's is delish.  We also ate at one in Albuquerque on our anniversary.  And it's where we had our first real date when we met.

That's all I have to say about that.

Monday was spent being lazy.  We had the whole day to do nothing.  We ran some errands, which included finding a Babies 'R' Us so I could buy nursing pads because LEAKAGE.  (Side bar, when will that business stop?)  Then we ate lunch at one of the best Vietnamese restaurants evah, Miss Saigon.  So good.  And my mom even ate with chopsticks!  Proud daughter moment.

That evening, we led worship and shared special music at the Southwest Pastors and Leaders Conference at Calvary Tucson.

The Grammie Nanny!

We left super early the next morning.  We even got to see the sun rise up over the mountains.  Excuse the through-the-windshield picture.

We drove all the way to Fort Stockton, TX where we ate at the only restaurant in town along with everyone else who had to stop that night, where the waitress was less than decent.  Oliver was extremely tired.  


But then he woke up and I put a spoon in his hand because it's funny. 

So that's that!  We then headed to Salado, TX and then had more shows in Louisiana.  I'll tell you all about it in the next post!

(For those of you keeping up with us at home.)