Baby Ann is officially a college graduate! The troops gathered in Nashville, Tennessee for a action-packed weekend (there are 5 days in the weekend right?) to celebrate. The Heffs, my parents, my brothers and their girlfriends, Uncle Jerry, Uncle John, our neighbors the Carters and our good friends the Skidmores and last-but-not-least my brother Jerry's friend who we expect at family events Gary Machado all flew in on Wednesday or Thursday to see Baby Ann walk in the Friday morning ceremony and attend the events, parties, dinners and tours she had planned for us. Francie did great on her first cross country trip, even if Southwest airlines won't pre-board infants anymore we still got "A's" and managed to board the plane right behind Al Gore (who Jan made me go say hi to since we were big pals once) and passed Francie around from isle to isle as we were all on the same flight home. It was a crazy weekend we will all remember... Congrats Baby Ann :)

We started the party Thursday night... Some of the crowd pre-partying at the Union Station Hotel bar

Sisters ready to hit the town with baby Francie in tow

Lots of moving around this weekend!

James and Em looking stylish as ever

Representing the nighborhood... Bethy and Georgia ready to party for Baby Ann

Baby Ann and God-mother Ann Skidmore

Me and Bethy! (If you check out the Picasa album, you'll see we were trying to get a hot "profile pic" for Bethy to finally join Facebook...right Beth!?)

Leaving the hotel Thursday night for Sushi dinner and dancing

The girls: Ann, Em, Bethy, Mare, Georgia, Ann, Jannie and Francie

Ann's boyfriend Matt (his family joined us for Sushi... hopefully they found a way to get a word in edge-wise)

Ann was right about the "Best Sushi Ever" they had a Playboy Roll that was soo good. heff with the Carters chowing down

Ann and Jan with the sleepy-doo

Dad and Matt's Dad Bob toasting the graduates and fighting to pay the bill

Matt's mom and grandmother

The Guncles! John and Jerry... ask them what time they went to bed every night. (hint: Bars stay open in Nashville until 4am and Burger joints even longer)

Francie taking a Sake-Bomb. JUST KIDDING, please. It's water in a "baby glass".

Round Two: Dancing at the Tin Roof! Ann went ahead of us and asked the bouncer if we could get in with a baby (oops, she forgot her ID) and he said "Like a 13 year old?!" Um no, a 7 month old. He said as long as she doesn't drink!

Watch it Baby Ann... that bouncer might see you tempting her! Francie says "Auntie Baby Ann... I'm not sure I like everyone around here giving all their attention to YOU. I'm not used to this."

The bar had great live music and an outdoor deck to see the lights of Nashville

Mare, Ann and Em out on the back deck (we won't call it a "smoking deck" seeing as we had a 7 month old there.)

The boys and their cigars

Dancing Queens Ann and Janet... these two met in Lamaze class when they were pregnant with my best friend Jen!

Jerry and Georgia Carter... after 20 years of carpooling and Sunday night Carter-Simo dinners, they were great to come all the way out to Nashville. They stopped first in Philly to celebrate their TRIPLET grandson's First Birthday!

Cutting up the dance floor with our baby girl... she loves to dance!

Ann and her brother-in-law with the Doodle (who looks like she is ready to go home:)

No wait... it's Uncle James who has had enough ;)

And she's spent.

Moving a crowd this big everywhere we went was no small feat! The valet guy at the hotel got to know us so well he asked if he could come to Thanksgiving Dinner.

******* Friday May 9 ~ The Graduation *********

Getting ready for the graduation ceremony at the hotel... we had to be there at 9am, grabbed breakfast at 8am so it was an EARLY morning for everyone :)

We found some seats on the side so we had a little grassy area to hang out when we weren't in our seats... seeing as how they graduated 1,500 students and 1,750 grad students we were there for awhile. It was a little overcast at first so Francie was sporting her favorite "JanKnits"

Daddy loking handsome in his sports jacket for the big event

The Heffs (yes, we are coordinated... only in the South, I promise.)

I couldn't resist this little J Crew "Crew Cuts" blouse and white jeans!

After a few speeches, a few awards, a trip to "Five Guys Burgers & Fries" and back in time to hear her name read (cum laude, nice work pisser) we are ready for some champagne!

"Let the parties begin"

"Humm... maybe I better take a campus tour first or talk to that Chancellor guy. I might want to go to Vandebilt one day."

"Nevermind... I'm walking outta here, come on Mom."

Fun with a cardboard box (and the best way to avoid grass-stains on baby's white jeans)

PROOF.

Heff snuck up to pole position (no pun intended) to snap some shots of Baby Ann walking

We are proud of you Pissy-Sissy!

Francie is holding on tight!

Family shots:

With her favorite sister, brother-in-law and neice!

James, Ann and Em

With her Uncles

The fam who stayed AFTER they read her name to see Ann... hoping to hit the Champagne and Strawberries reception (don't you love private schools?)

Dad and Mom with Baby Ann

All done!

Baby Ann and her God-father Uncle John

"I don't want to graduate yet!"

******* After Graduation at The Tri-Delt House *********

Back at the Tri-delt house, Ann and her roommates: Killian, Ann, Christine and Susie

Tri-Delta. Everyone Else Has. :)

Southern Vandy Girls

Ann and her freshman/Sophomore year roommate Kate Dinan

Naptime on Dad

******* Friday May 9 ~ The Graduation BBQ PARTY! *********

Ann's and her roommates families hosted a BBQ party at a park near their apartment. John brought Croatian Kabaitza from home and got 70 pounds of Tri-tip at Costco when he got there (along with 400 zip-lock bags, aluminum foil, 40 gallon cooler, etc:) to throw his famous John Simo BBQ

Francie lounging with Georgia, Beth and Emily in her watermelon bubble suit Baby Ann bought online at Saks and sent out the first week she was born specifically to be worn at her Graduation:)

Snoozing on the grass in a pashmina and her Sophie while Carolyn watches her (Ann's roommate Christine's sister who LOVES babies and loves our blog!)

Mom and Dad without the baby!

Playing some bean bag game the boys were all really into. I scored zero points when I tried (did that count as a ball sport Heff?)

"But I wanna go on the swings!"

Dad keeping the Doo happy

Beth, Ann, Em and Mare

Carolyn helped us take Francie to the park and took this picture of Jannie, Francie and I on the tire swing (right before Jannie flipped it and almost ended up on her rear end:)

Carolyn and Francie-pants

******* Friday Night ~ Round Three of Parties *********

Back to the hotel for naps, sleeping off the beer and then rallying to the hotel bar for drinks and bar-service from the restaurant (I played waitress and took orders... the bartenders knew us all by name but LOVED Uncle John and Uncle Jerry who had closed down the bar the night before)

Beth and Ann

******* Saturday May 10 ~ NashTrash Morning Tour *********

Jannie and Ann made us reservations on the "NashTrash Tour" of Nashville at 10am. No one under 13 years old is allowed (I'll tell you why in a minute!) so Francie stayed back at the hotel with Grandpa and Jannie while the whole crowd made our way out the the pink bus tour. Francie is wondering if she can use this key thing to crawl back up to her hotel room and leave this bow up there with her "Buy Me Stuff" sparkle shirt she wore in honor of Baby Ann :) My dad sent ANn a birthday card from Francie along the same lines that had a "hunskie" in it and said "Baby Ann, You can have this one. Grandpa gives me one everyday." She didn't think it was all that funny :)

The NashTrash tour with BrendaKay and SherriLynn!

These Jugg sisters are HILARIOUS. Jan told us this was funny, but we all laughed so hard as they ripped on every person on the bus! Ann's friend's Mom was on the tour too and when she said her son knew Ann the sisters said "Oh he 'KNOWS' her huh? SO are you a hoe Ann?!" and ripped her to shreads the whole tour... when we passes a strip joint they said "Ann, you want us to stop so you can pick up your paycheck?"

SherriLynn had a HUGE CRUSH on Uncle Jerry! She would say "In case of emergency... Me and Uncle Jerry get off this bus first" and "Forget Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy... Save a Horse Ride Uncle Jerry!" Even in the air conditioning he was beat red :)

Jerry and his favorite snack as they say "In keeping with traditional Southern-fried hospitality, the Juggs offer their Fancy Cheese Hors D'Oeuvres for your gastronomic pleasure" Jer was the only one on the bus who snacked on Ritz Crackers and Squeeze Cheese the entire tour

They even stopped at the Country Music Hall of Fame for beers and Lynchburg Lemonades! Needless to say our kidneys are still crying.

Bethy wore her teeth out again

Laughing so hard our cheeks hurt getting off the bus :)

"Would everyone please stop talking about Baby Ann! I"M THE BABY AROUND HERE!!"

********* Saturday Lunch Downtown Nashville *****

Gary, Allison and Jerry eating ribs and coleslaw

Everyone was a little slow today

Francie likes these ribs too

***** Saturday Night Dinner @ Jim Kelly's Steakhouse *****

Cowgirl Up Francie... This party never ends

"I'm happy, I got my Sophie"

Everybody got all dolled up in their cowboy best for a night out on the town Saturday Night! We pre-partied in the Carter Suite. Bethy and the Doodle.

Someone feed that child

Happy Doodle

It never gets old

James and Em ready to rock and roll

The Ladies

We had dinner at Jim Kelly's Steak House in Nashville. They set us up in our own room upstairs and we had plenty of room to "roast" Baby Ann, let Dad sing "God Bless America" and let Francie sleep on the floor under the table while we ate :)

First she got passed around.... Baby Ann quickly learns Francie is fast!

"Arg... they moved the damn plate."

The Heffs with our "Doo in the headlights"

(I think Ann and Francie look alike!) here with Matt...

Thanks for treating all of us to a great weekend Dad! (A drop in the bucket compared to four years of Vanderbilt tuition and Ann's Neiman Marcus bills huh:)

I'm taking bets in the "Comments section" on how long I have until Beth, James or Em email me begging me to take this picture off the blog. In ten, nine, eight....