In NC!!

Hi Again. Now that we've gotten all that unpleasantness out of the way (with The Drive) I can fill you all in on the fun that we had while we were there. Unfortunately, my camera broke while we were in Kansas (there's that awful place again) and my Dad was able to fix it about half way through the visit. So things like Piper's first haircut and playdates with the cousins on the Rogers side are all on Carly's camera. So, it's gonna be up to her to post those pictures. But no pressure Carly :).

So these are starting from the middle of the visit. (I warn you - it's a little picture heavy.) For the second straight year we've gone to my grandmother's old church to pick out pumpkins. It's sort become an annual thing now and Fisher expects to cut jack-o-lanterns with his Bella. So here we are at the pumpkin patch. Note to self, if you want cute smiling pictures of the kids, bribe them with the suckers, don't hand them out up front.






I had a really rare opportunity present itself. Most people who still live where they grew up have the option of lifelong friends being close by and everyone's children knowing each other. I don't have that. I have my sister and her son close by. But, she's the only one. Through facebook I've come to find all my old school friends. It just so happens that one of those friends and I decided to get together one night. And our children played together! She has 4 beautiful daughters Maddie, Delaney, Elizabeth, and Caroline. And my children LOVED them. I think they all had fun playing together. It was neat to see my old friend and all these little faces that hold so much of her in them.




And here she is... Haley. She used to be Haley Neal for those of you who would remember. I believe it was our junior year in high school that just about every other weekend we headed to the beach. We had our little separate life there. Friends. Places. Boys. (I think I even sat my SAT's at the beach.) Anyway, I have too many good memories with her to list and it was such a blessing to reconnect. I hope our children continue to grow up with each other. (even if it's just a yearly visit)


A highlight of our trip (aside from all the fun with cousins and friends) was going to downtown Charlotte to the Discovery Place. Or as Fisher called it the Dee scovery Place. We parked on the edge of Charlotte and rode the light rail into the heart of the city. For a little boy who loves trains - that was almost more exciting than anything else.



He counted all the stops and just loved every minute of it. Then came the actual Discovery Place. Big fun. They have all sorts of exhibits and this amazing aquarium.

This one of the jellyfish is one of my favorites.

The kids learned all sorts of amazing things. Hands on experiences with air and water. Learning through playing. And my parents got to enjoy all of it with them. (something that doesn't happen too often)

We saw a 3D movie about sharks. Fisher's first movie in a theater I believe. He kept saying, "Mom! It's swimming right at me!"

This area was also really fun. Fisher and I had made a much smaller version of these out of toilet paper tubes and a cotton ball one time for our fridge. He is fascinated with lining things up and making stuff go where he wants it to.

And here was Piper's favorite. Remember lite brite from when we were kids? Well this is like that ... on steroids. This actually held her attention for a really long time. She loved setting the tubes in and seeing the light come through. (I've been trying to come up with something like this we can do at home too so if anyone has any suggestions on making one I'd love to hear it)


And what could be more fun than a water table? I came up with something similar for the house that you'll see in a later post! It's awesome by the way.

A neat shot of Downtown Charlotte

Back on the train to the car. I'm fairly sure they are BOTH asleep here.

A cute one of Pipey and Johnny. They really do love each other.

This is Fisher showing Kendall (my cousin's daughter and one of Fisher's NC favorites) the cool thing he got at the gift shop of Discovery Place.

Fisher and Kendall baking cookies with my Mom.

Kendall is one of Fisher's all time favorite people. He starts talking about her (among others) as soon as we set up a trip. And all the things he plans for them to do. It's super cute and she willingly goes along.

And to cap it all off ...pumpkin carving. Piper was way too little to "get it" last time. She's still a little confused at first but, she figures it out in the end.

Fisher draws out the design on paper and Bella recreates it. Perfectly I must say.

So that about does it. Some of you have wondered about the trip home. It sucked too. We left around 9:00 Sunday night and drove to St. Louis, MO. About 10 or 11 that next morning we got a hotel room just for a few hours. We thought napping in a real bed and even playing in a pool would maybe help everyone sleep better in the car. But, as usual, it did not. I had all 3 kids in the pool trying to wear everyone out. I succeeded. However, when we all laid down to nap... Piper started cutting a molar. So, no sleep for mom. Again. We left St. Louis about bedtime for the kids and again - drove til we got home. I have never been so happy to see my crappy tiny house. Ever.

I vowed not to go anywhere for at least 4 days. And then, continuing with our theme, Bob got into the trash. There just so happened to be broken glass in it. Long story short, Bob had to go to the hospital. He basically shredded the underside of his little tongue. He had already had an ER visit in NC. He got attacked by fire ants (who are on the devil's payroll, by the way) and was on antibiotics and steroid antihistamines so I guess that was a plus? They just added painkillers into the mix and this....

is what happened next. One part awful trip home and two parts painkiller = really funny dog picture.

So far, November has treated us much better than October did.

I still want to update you with the "Big News" (no I haven't forgotten) and Halloween and a couple others so stay tuned.

Love,
JKFP