NC Trip - Day 5

Today, Tuesday we had quite a day... It started off a little earlier than normal - 9:30 am. We took the kids to downtown Williamston to walk from town to the river on the new bike trail. We got about halfway down the trail when I realized I didn't have my cell phone. So, back to the car we went...no phone...back to the hotel room we went...no phone. Now I'm in a panic - not for the phone itself but for the sensitive information I have on it. After a prayer of desperation...I just felt strongly that I had left it on top of the car when I was buckling Hailey in. So Dani and I retraced our drive and low and behold there it was! Laying beside the 4 lane highway unharmed. I ran out, picked it up and did a happy dance all the while saying a prayer of thanks to Heavenly Father for his help. My little miracle of the day!

Afterwards we headed to the river and met Dad and Sarah for a half an hour of walking along the boardwalk and showing Hailey the ducks and the river. We all went to Bunns BBQ in Windsor. There is still some debate as to whether their BBQ is better than Shaw's.

We headed back to the hotel for some much needed naps before our planned trip to Greenville for the Pitt County American Legion Agricultural Fair (yes that really is the name). The fair was great...Hailey rode the adult ferris wheel, the worm roller coaster, the dizzy dragons and the carousel. She definitely has her mother's and grandmother's DNA. We all love rides - the faster the better! We also watched the pig races, Nick's Kid Show, the Carolina Girls dance (80+ years old) and then on to the animal barns - cows, sheep, goats, horses and chickens. A little fair food and we were headed home by 8:00. Taylor screamed most of the 30 minute ride home with Hailey trying desperately to quiet him by singing the ABC Song.

We finally made it back to the hotel safely... Kids asleep by 10:00. Whew! (For pictures, see Dani's blog at folsomposts.blogspot.com

NC Trip Day 4

Today we once again didn't get out of the room until 10:00 am. I guess having two babies rule your life makes it difficult to get an early start. Today was the "Jumpin' Monkey" said in a southern drawl cuz it sounds better. Hailey had a great time! We jumped and played for 2 hours for $5. Worth every penny to keep her entertained that long.

After jumping, Dad and Sarah met us for lunch at a seafood restaurant. Taylor didn't really cooperate but the food was still good. But Dani and I finally had a nice "quiet" two hours on a drive to "Little Washington". We drove around the Pamlico Sound and through the historic part of town. It was nice...except for the part where we went around the McDonalds twice looking for the entrance into Walmart for sodas. After much giggling we finally found the right entrance.

We spent the evening with Dad and Sarah - once again she brought out the food - ham, collards, corn bread and more cake...I swear she has an endless supply of homemade cakes.

NC Trip '09 Day 3 - Hailey Defends Herself?

Today was really special to my dad. His son Bob "Bobby Joe" was in town and I finally got to meet him in person. Bob is Dad's son from his first marriage and they just found each other again after 50 years apart. Too long of a story to print here. We spent the day getting to know each other and visiting with various family members who came and went all day. My cousin Kevin, his wife Lisa, their son Devin, their granddaughter Madison, my cousin Dorothy, her husband Asa and their grandson Ryan dropped by for lunch or "dinner" as it is called in NC.

To say that Hailey and Ryan did not get along would be an understatement. It all began with Hailey trying to tell him to be careful - the argument went something like "you have to be careful", "I do not", "yes you do", "no I don't" - well you can guess the rest of that argument. That argument was quickly followed by various tug-o-wars over several toys and Ryan "telling" on Hailey for saying no to his request to play with her toys and vice versa. As you can tell it was quite enjoyable....not. But after a couple of hours and a few "time outs" they settled down into a tense relationship of "sharing" toys.

But even with the kids' antics we had a really good day visiting with family and friends. We got a few pictures with Bob and I and Dad. Danielle's blog at folsomposts.blogspot.com has more pictures.

NC Trip '09 Day 2

Our first night at the Hampton Inn went really well. The kids slept great! Thank goodness...I'm really too old for midnight feedings:) We had breakfast at the hotel - which went ... well let's just say we had breakfast with a 5 month old and a 2 1/2 year old...you can fill in the blanks.

We arrived at Dad's house and I knew we had done the right thing by coming for a visit. As Dad hugged me, he shook with tears. It was nice to feel how much he loves me and sad to feel how much he missed me.

We spent the morning catching up, having Hailey get used to Great Grandpa Joe and Great Grandma Sarah. We sat on the back porch and played with Taylor and watched Hailey play in the dirt. Sarah made a Red Velvet Cake and put it out to cool.

We went to visit my cousin Debra in the hospital. It was really good to see her after 4 years and nice to have a private visit. She's doing pretty well and should be released on Monday.

After our visit we headed to one of my favorite places to eat in Williamston - Shaw's BBQ House. Dad, Sarah, Dani, the kids and I sat at a table in the middle which soon became the center of attention for all the people having lunch. As soon as our food arrived Taylor began to cry and needed to be fed. While Dani was outside feeding him, Hailey dropped her hot dog on the floor. When Dani returned she took Hailey potty and upon their return Hailey sat on her knees in the high chair and immediately got her tennis shoes stuck in the back and her knees stuck in the front...and of course she immediately had a meltdown. It took both Dani and I to free her. And, of course we were then really truly the lunch entertainment. But we all survived and actually did enjoy our BBQ.

Immediately following the restaurant fiasco, we headed to the park. Finally Hailey got to work out some of her wiggles. Taylor got his first ride on a swing and followed that up by entertaining Dad, Sarah and I under the gazebo in the shade.

After our park visit, we got the kids to nap at Great Grandpa's house and the adults got to enjoy sitting on the porch and having some adult conversation. A few people dropped by to say hello. We got a visit from Mike Pollard (an old friend), Aunt Oneal and my cousin Charlene. It was really nice to sit around and just catch up. Dad bought us pizza for dinner and Sarah twisted our arm into eating some of her Red Velvet Cake. By the time we headed back to room we were well fed and exhausted. After a bath and an hour or so of wrestling...the kids finally went to sleep.

North Carolina Trip '09

Friday, October 2, 2009
We got up this morning at 3:30 AM and went to pick up Danielle and the kids. We realized we didn’t have both strollers so we went back to our house and I couldn’t find the stroller in the garage. I quickly realized that it was in Danielle’s garage. So back to Danielle’s we went. We finally made it to the airport at about 4:50 for our flight at 6:00 am. We piled on 2 car seats, 2 strollers, 2 suitcases on sticks, 3 backpacks, 1 purse and 1 diaper bag. Wow are we good or what?

The first leg of the flight was great! Danielle had 3 seats for her and Taylor and Hailey and I had 3 seats for us. Hailey said “This is so fun Mom. We’re going on an airplane!” She played with her stickers, her phone, had snacks and watched Cinderella. She went potty on the plane several times and no accidents! Taylor was even good. It was a nice surprise.

The 2nd and 3rd legs were a little more crowded, but all still went well. Hailey napped in my arms for a couple of hours and so did Taylor.

We arrived at Raleigh Durham airport at about 4:30 and after missing 2 rental car shuttles we were finally on our way to get our car. It took about 30 minutes to get the car, put the car seats in and get on the road. After about a half an hour we made it to dinner and got back on the road. We arrived at our hotel at around 8:30. Now the kids are struggling to get to sleep. Wish us luck…