Trip to NC

We recently drove to NC this weekend to check in on the house and to get some paperwork and repairs straightened out. We didn't tell any of Katheryn's friends we were coming and we didn't even tell Katheryn. I told her we were just going to go pick up Matt and stay at a hotel that had a waffle maker. She was excited about that. Friday we left here around 4:30 and reached Matt's work by 6:30pm. We were on the road by 7pm and on the way we stopped by a friend's home in VA to deliver a graduation gift to their daughter. It was great timing. The kids played outside and Brian was doing a great job with dribbling a basketball. I think I may look into signing him up to play. He was doing really well with it. We left there and made it to our hotel in NC by 2am. The beds were twin beds with a little bit extra and Matt had placed Ethan on one and Brian and Katheryn had crawled into the other one. Matt then joined Ethan as I was getting things put away for the morning and when I went to crawl into bed, there was no where for me to lay. So I curled up at the foot of Katheryn and Brian's bed and later hopped into bed with Ethan and Matt. I surely didn't get a good nights sleep after driving. The next morning we met with the realtor and went to the house. We checked out the repair list and most are minor. It turns out that the inspecting company couldn't find any major damage to the house so started to fill the paper up with minor things like spent light bulbs. Ridiculous. The best part was that the moment we drove into the neighborhood, Katheryn's excitement was bursting out of her. She jumped out of the van and immediately ran to the neighbors home. Apparently there was a lot of screaming going on down there and at pitches the human ear is just not accustomed to. We then took Katheryn and two of her friends to the Cumberland Dance Academy recital where her other friend Alanna was performing. Alanna had no idea we were coming. This is the dance studio Katheryn used to dance at while we lived in NC. Terry, Alanna's mom, took Katheryn backstage at intermission and Katheryn surprised Alanna. I wasn't back there but I heard the excitement was overwhelming. Later that evening, we spent our time with our friends. Our friends Diana and Warren had a BBQ and Percillia and Chuck came up too. It was so wonderful. It felt like home all over again. The hardest part of it all was sitting in Diana's kitchen where I could see our house. Brian really wanted to just go across the street and go home. He said he misses our old house. It breaks my heart. :( It really is a great home. We miss it.

Ethan posing for pictures at Diana's home

Brian at the hotel the morning we were leaving.

Katheryn and her friends after their sleepover...so hard to say goodbye

Katheryn and her friends after the dance recital

Katheryn after suprising Alanna backstage

Saturday night was a great night. Great food with great friends. Katheryn spent the night at Julieann's and I was so happy because that meant I could have a place to sleep that night. Brian wanted me to sleep with him so I did. Matt and Ethan slept together and Brian and I slept in the other bed. Before going home, we had brunch with Alanna and her parents at Cracker Barrel. It was a long trip home. We hit traffic right before Fredericksburg and also outside of Germantown. It was a long car ride home. We stopped at McDonald's in Stafford and Brian was so excited. He got out of the van and kept telling how great it was to be going here and that he wanted french fries. With his GFCF diet, we never ever eat out unless I bring his food with us. So this was a real treat for him. After 11 hours of being in the car, we finally made it home. Normally, this trip is 6.5 - 7 hrs. The kids were great though. They are truly great travellers.