Visit to North Carolina

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Since Monday was a holiday we decided to take the opportunity and drive down to spend a couple of days with Carl and Kimberly and their family. Friday was a half day of school so we were able to get on the road by 1:00 p.m. and headed south. It was nice just driving along with time to chat and just relax. We stopped to eat at a Ponderosa in Virginia at about 4:00 p.m and arrived at Carl's home just before 9:00 p.m. The kids rushed to the door to meet us (being grandparents is so good for the ego!) and we had a chaotic welcome. Even Samuel, who hadn't seen us since Thanksgiving when he was seven weeks old was happy to see us and greeted us with a big smile. Of course, we stayed up late visiting. Esther, as always, graciously gave up her bed for us and slept in a sleeping bag on the floor (I had to move her several times during the night because she kept scooting up close to the bed and I was afraid I would get up and step on her).

The next morning I heard a little voice outside the door saying, "NiNi, NiNi--you in dare?" Daniel at 2 1/2 has become quite vocal since November. Carl and Bill cooked us a big breakfast (actually they each cooked more than enough for a meal) Carl made scrambled eggs and toast and Dad-Dad made his special "Dad-Dad" pancakes (containing M&M's). The only M&M's Carl could find in the kitchen were shades of pink left over from Valentine's Day. Of course, this made Esther happy to have pink pancakes. We stuffed ourselves and then headed into Raleigh to "Marbles". This is a children's museum with lots of play areas.

The first floor is "Our Town". Esther's favorite area was the grocery store where she could take groceries from the shelves and put in a cart and wheel to the check out. NiNi and Esther took turns donning a Lowes apron and being the check-out person. Next to that area was a big kitchen with a refrigerator--the freezer section really got cold. There was also an area with an ambulance you could get in the back of and play doctor or patient, a boat you could get in and "fish " off the side, a dress up area where the kids could put on costumes and then go on a stage with a curtain that opened and closed and put on a performance and lots of other sections.

Upstairs there were areas with different building materials and the kids spent a lot of time there. Esther and I built a "house" out of cardboard bricks but it was quickly demolished when another visitor, a little girl, thought it looked like too much fun to kick. Later, Carl got in the act and, of course, you know what his creation would look like--built by a perfectionist engineer type. There were also areas where the kids could create artistic things and a room with musical instruments. That was Daniel's favorite area. I wish I had gotten a video of him making music and dancing to the rhythm.

We left the museum at about 4:00 p.m. because Carl and Kimberly had a banquet to attend that evening. We got to spend the evening with the kids--getting them all bathed and ready for bed was fun (really!) I was a little nervous about having Samuel as Kimberly would be an hour away. He woke up about an hour before they got home but was happy as long as Bill or I were holding him and talking to him. He just smiled away!

Church on Sunday morning. We always enjoy their church services, although we missed their pastor who was home sick. But we enjoyed hearing his father, who is now the pastor emeritus, preach. The music there is always wonderful. We came home and enjoyed a corned beef dinner which had been cooking in the Crock-Pot and gave Alex, William and Carl their birthday gifts. We gave Alex and William big puzzles and William spent the evening putting his together. He sat and put a 200 piece puzzle together in about an hour without stopping. Carl and Kimberly had choir practice so we stayed home with the kids while they went there, returning after evening church service.

We decided to leave that night since we wouldn't have much more time to spend with them anyway. We left about 7:30 and drove to Ashland, which is just north of Richmond, VA and spent the night in a nice Quality Inn. We arrived at about 11:00 so we pretty much just fell into bed but it was nice waking up the next morning and being able to relax and have a leisurely breakfast before heading home. It was such a beautiful day that we stopped at the Inner Harbor and had lunch at a Spanish restaurant, La Tosca. It started raining as we walked back to our car and we were soaked by the time we got there but it was still fun. We got home in time to spend the evening with Popdaddy and have dinner with him.

I will post more pictures of our trip on another post as it is not letting me post anymore here.