Our weekend.

This weekend, we went "back home" for a few days. Although the main reason of the trip was for a funeral, we had a great time being back. It was nice getting to see all my family again. I don't know if any of my aunts, uncles, or cousins had ever met Blair, much less Sloane. And Reid was just a wee kid the last time we were together. So it was great getting to see everyone and catch up. We headed out Thursday evening and drove about 4 1/2 hours before stopping for the night. Friday morning, we ate breakfast and then it was back on the road again. We got into town around 3, and visited with Amy, Mike, and Lawson who stopped by to see us while we got dressed. The funeral was very nice, and we had a great dinner afterwards. The kids all had a blast playing with each other. I'm glad my kids are friendly because even though they don't ever see their second cousins, they get in there and play as if they were the best of friends.


Saturday, we leisurely got up and had breakfast. Blair discovered all of Melissa and Denise's old dance costumes. Eventually, we headed out to the beach where Denise, Melissa and their families were staying for the weekend. But not before picking up Melanie and stopping at Wal Mart first to get the appropriate beach gear. But on this day, "appropriate beach gear" meant rain boots and a pancho. And all that was to to be worn OVER our pants, sweatshirts, and winter coats. Yes, it was 44 degrees and raining off and on...and we were heading to the beach! After WalMart, and then a stop at the DQ, we finally made it to the island. We got to ride the ferry across, which was probably more fun for me than for the kids. I've always loved riding the ferry--we even saw dolphins swim by! Being back on the island brought back so many memories for me--we used to go every summer as a kid. Anyway, just as we got TO the beach, the rest of the family was LEAVING the beach. All of their kids were wet and cold and were ready to go back home and dry off. But, we could not be deterred and off we went. So, with our shrimper boots, heavy coats, and winter hats on, we got to the water and the kids splashed around. It wasn't long, though, before Blair fell down...in the water. She was soaked. Thinking she would be done (as she is normally the one that has to change her shirt if her sleeves barely get wet when she washes her hands), she completely surprised us. She loved it. She stood up and sat down, in the ocean, with her FULL clothes on, over and over and over. We tried to get Reid to do it too, but he only got half-way down and decided he didn't want to be that wet. So, the boots that were supposed to be keeping their feet dry were now full of water. So much for that idea. After "swimming" for 20 minutes, Blair finally figured out she was cold and so we called it a day. Oh, but how are you supposed to dry off wet kids when you don't have any towels?? Good one, mom! So we used what we could find in the car to strip them down, dry them off, and get dry clothes on. The poor kids--it was 44 degrees and slightly windy, they were half-naked and half-clothed in wet clothes, standing in boots of water, Blair reminded me of that scene in Dumb and Dumber when they're riding the mo-ped through the mountains and their bodies are completely numb and the snot is frozen to their faces, they are obviously not in a good state, but all we (the parents and grandparents) could do was laugh at just the craziness of the events! But, no one suffered any hypothermia, so all is well. We spent the rest of the day at the beach house, snacking on the multitude of bananas, fruit cups, and bottled water, and lurking on facebook while the kids ran amok (sp?) around us.

Reid thinks the helicopter ran out of gas while flying and fell to the ground, landing on that base


Sunday, we did church, more catching up with people we haven't seen in years, ate lunch with my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and then it was home for naps. Everyone needed and got a good nap. After naps, we went into town to see Paul and Leslie. We had a nice dinner and visit and the kids had a lot of fun playing. Then Monday morning, we got up and headed back home; our visit was over. Melanie came back up with us to spend a few days of her Spring Break with the kids, and I know they're very excited about that. It's really cute. Everyone did well on the drive home, not TOO much crying or whining, although traffic jams seemed to make it last forever. But we made it safe and sound and can look back at the weekend with good memories. I'm excited to go back again in a couple months. Not so much for the drive, but hopefully the pain of that will pass before the time comes to embark again!