Adventures in Traveling

When I found out months ago that Chris was going to be going to North Carolina for New Years and to play a game at UNC, the wheels started racing in my mind and we I decided to drive down so that we could make a little trip of it.  Although I was a bit weary of driving 8 hours with 2 kids, I honestly didn't think it was going to be to bad.  I was excited because we would see my brother and his fiance's new house, visit with our blogging buddies the Donovan family, and it even worked out that we got tickets to a Duke game all the while celebrating New Years.  Yay for adventure!

We were about to embark on an adventure, just not the kind that I had fully anticipated.  The one we ended up with involved a lot of peeing, pooping and throwing up on MANY outfits.  

We left Thursday morning just after breakfast and were off to a great start.  The kids were packed in there (I swear, we couldn't fit ONE more thing in there) and we made it 2 hours before having to stop for the kids to eat lunch.  

As I mentioned earlier, Kailey pooped out of her clothes in the car seat and cried the last hour because she was done in the car.  Overall, it took 9 hours to get there with all of our stops and clean ups.  We spent some time with my brother Tim and his fiance Val and then on Friday, Chris and I headed to the Duke game.  Chris is a HUGE fan and I loved watching him enjoy himself.  

When Adrienne from Our Unexpected Journey told me that they were going to be moving down to North Carolina, I was disappointed because we have loved getting together  with the Donovan family and have our little boys play together.  However, I was really excited to find out that they were going to be living very close to where my brother lives.  We went to visit them on Saturday and it was like no time at all had gone by.  I know I have posted about this every time we have visited with them, but I truly enjoy spending time with their family and watching our boys grow up together.  I am so thankful for blogland for all of the friendships that have been created because something special has brought us together.  We joke around that we are forcing our boys into a friendship, but it seems like it is blossoming on it's own!

Although we were off to a rough start because Colin was NOT ready to be awoken from his nap, we had a GREAT day with the family.  Ainsley and Harper are so cute with the little ones; Bennett is so lucky to have such great older sisters!

Just the girls...

How cute are these boys together?!  I loved seeing them laugh and play together!!

Love this picture from behind!

I don't think we have gotten one picture yet of the 4 of us and everyone looking at the same time, but we try!

Thanks guys for a GREAT visit!  

We celebrated New Years with Tim, Val and her son CJ and rang in 2012 (seriously, 2012?!).  On Sunday, we went to Chris' game at UNC and really enjoyed the experience.  Our seats were ON the court!  It's so neat that we get to have some of these experiences because of Chris' job.  Colin LOVES basketball and although he was a bit sleepy at the game, still had a great time.  

When the game was over, thinks didn't work out the way they were supposed to and I ended up walking back to the car by myself carrying both kids (needless to say, my arms are sore today).  By the time I got close, my arms were quivering!  I ended up improvising and feeding and changing the kids right in the front seat so that we could be ready to go when Chris got in the car.

Despite some struggles when we got started (rain, picking up a sandwich that took way too long, another poop incident, Kailey screaming for over an hour), we survived and made it home in about 8 hours.

I think we will hold off on some adventures for awhile, despite having a GREAT time on the trip.  Thanks Tim and Val for having us and the Donovan family for a fun playdate!!