Saturday
Except for Luke (who had trouble sleeping the night before), we all got up by 7 a.m. Dave took Brie and Reese to breakfast while I got myself and Luke ready. The biggest challenge of the morning was keeping the kids inside the hotel room. Brie could reach the sliding lock which meant they could escape at any time and took full advantage of the fact. At one point, while Dave was loading up the car, Brie made it out the door and all the way down the hallway, which was out of my sight line, Reese started to make a bee line for the "alligator" (his word for "elevator") and I was trying to keep Luke in the room without locking myself out. Some people took pity on me and attempted to get Brie back to the room but it didn't work. In the end, I grabbed Luke, rigged the door so it wouldn't lock and had Reese follow me to where Brie was. I forget what I threatened her with if she didn't get back to the room right now, but whatever I said, it worked.
And off we were again. Our lunch stop was less exciting than the day before. We ended up picnicking from the car in the parking lot of a strip mall anchored by a Food Lion and Dollar General. I visited both stores in my quest to find a bread knife and bowls I could use in a microwave for our oatmeal - two oversights in my packing list. I found the bowls but had to settle for steak knives.
Our only other stop was a sandy lot next to a church when I needed to change Luke's diaper. Dave wanted me to throw the poop on the ground but I thought it better if we took it with us. So that stop brought us a slightly poopy smell into the car plus some sand flies which entertained Dave for the rest of the drive as he tried to smash them on our windshield.
We made it by 3 p.m.! Thank you Jesus! The longest part of the trip always seems to happen between Raleigh and Wilmington.
As Eddie and Kim's neighbors were giving a surprise birthday party for their next door neighbor whom they affectionately call the "mayor" (or is it the "governor?") because he knows everything, we got to share in the festivities. Dave now believes he knows more of their neighbors than he does of ours.
We capped off the evening with a trip to the pool - Luke still wasn't believing that swimming was a fun activity but he did enjoy running around the kiddie pool area.
Sunday
Up early (again!) which was good because we needed to leave for church before 9 a.m. Eddie and Kim's church is huge and it's amazing to see the efficiency with which they run the childcare/Sunday school system. They also are in the midst of a huge capital campaign so I think Dave picked up on some ideas or food for thought for the campaign our church will be embarking upon soon.
The rest of the day was low key. Another trip to the pool and Dave made "Pizza for Everyone." Casey headed off to camp that evening. It's crazy to think how much she's grown since I first met her and Dave can't believe she's the little baby he saw about a week after she came home from the hospital.
Monday/Tuesday...to be cont'd
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