we basically skipped Halloween this year and went on a trip instead.

A month ago some friends asked us if we'd be interested in trekking across some of Kentucky and Tennessee with them to go to BYU football game over Halloween weekend. Since we love BYU football (Ben especially!), we love spending time with friends, and we don't really love Halloween, it was a no-brainer to tag along.

I think I've mentioned before that every major city around St. Louis is almost exactly 4 or 5 hours away, and in every direction. (A benefit of being smack dab in the middle of the US?) I hit up Memphis with some girlfriends earlier this year and really enjoyed Tennessee, but I've been dying to visit Nashville for the longest time. Good BBQ, country music, and southern accents? Too much for me to handle. Fun fact: I've always wanted a southern accent, but since that won't be happening, I want to convince Ben to find a job in the south so our kids can pick up one. "Yes, ma'am" and "no, sir" all day long? Too cute. Anyway, moving on.

Friday night we stopped in Kentucky for some southern comfort food - mashed potatoes and cornbread muffins galore! - before continuing on to Nashville. We spent the night just outside of the city, and explored downtown Nashville the next morning. (Did you know Nashville's Music City Center is 2.1 million square feet and takes up 16 acres downtown?! It's probably the longest building I've ever seen.) After a tour of the city, we headed to the BYU tailgate for some food and entertainment.

By 11 am it was still only 42 degrees and pretty windy, so within 5 minutes of being outside, Ben and I were absolutely frozen because we had only packed some sweatshirts and thin socks (my fault - I packed and didn't anticipate how cold it would be). I'm sure you can imagine how fun the tailgate was. ;) At least the free BYU stuff, pulled pork and baked beans, and live country music made up for it. Free stuff can make up for almost anything, right? However, before the game started we made a run to Walmart for scarves, gloves, blankets, hand warmers, etc.

The BYU vs. MTSU game was a good one for the following reasons:
1) Watching football in person is better than watching it on the TV.
2) They were selling hot chocolate (at a ridiculous price, but at that point I would have sold my firstborn for something warm) and it was delicious.
3) WE ACTUALLY WON.
4) Believe it or not, BYU had more fans there than MTSU and trust me when I say they came from all over. We saw California, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Oregon, and Maine license plates. Even a mini van from Utah!
5) The guy sitting behind was uttering hilarious comments under his breath throughout the game.
6) WE ACTUALLY WON.
7) The halftime entertainment was priceless.
8) We high-fived all of the players after the game and I think Ben was in heaven.
9) DID I MENTION WE ACTUALLY WON?
10) And we got a picture with Cosmo before the game. Crossed that off the bucket list.

That evening we discovered that Nashville has the best authentic Mexican food ever. Even Ben, who served a Spanish speaking mission and is highly critical of tacos at Mexican restaurants, deemed their tacos as authentic and amazing. Just stop for a minute and picture the restaurant. Blacked out windows in a little strip mall store that looks too ghetto to offer much, entering to find that every single seat is taken and people are crowding around the bar, a huge projector in the front of the restaurant showing a soccer game between two South American teams, and people going crazy every time someone almost scored a goal. I think in between stuffing my face with chips and salsa, I tried to convince Ben to do a postdoc at Vanderbilt University so I can become a regular at the restaurant. It was that delicious. (Cafe Rio sweet pork, however, is still my favorite food of all time.)

We hit the road, got home super late, and somehow made it to church on time. Life is good and I want to move to Nashville.

The end.