Happy Sunday

We had a very fun weekend in North Carolina. We headed down Friday afternoon, stopping by IKEA on the way to get some great deals on bedding for our kids rooms. We arrived at Chris and Rachel Gee's home in Winston-Salem after midnight. They were kind enough to wait up for us.

We loved their house. They've done a fabulous job decorating it, and we especially enjoyed the artwork their kids had made, and some really neat pieces that my cousin Michelle had done. My older three kids enjoyed the gigantic back yard, and had fun playing soccer, flying kites, riding bikes, and jumping on the trampoline.

Rachel took me to a really fun children's boutique. We also got to enjoy some yummy milkshakes from a restaurant near their home that specializes in creating custom shakes. I had the mint oreo and it was awesome.

Ben and I left Maddie at the Gee's, and we took the other three kids with us to see Ben's brother John's wrestling tournament. We got a bit lost on the way, but Ben made it in the nick of time. In fact, John was already on the mat by the time Ben got into the meet. I stayed in the car with the kids, since I wasn't going to take the three of them in alone and Ben didn't have time to help me get them out. Ben was so excited to see John wrestle.

The weather was nice in North Carolina and the blossoms were already starting to appear on the trees. We had so much fun exploring the area and the housing prices are more in our range there, that we were very tempted to move down.

The drive home seemed endless. We made a few mini-stops to let the kids use the bathroom, change diapers, go through a drive-thru, and to feed Mylie, so the ride home took about seven and a half hours. Ben and I were so ready to be out of the car and home, but at the stoplight right before our house, Maddie asked very seriously from the back, "Can we go for a drive?" It seemed like such a ridiculous request after nearly eight hours in the car, but she spent most of the ride reading Junie B. Jones books and wanted us to continue driving until she fell asleep and could be carried into the house. Needless to say, her request was rejected by the man in the driver's seat.

Oh, and one other thing worth mentioning, one of my stories is in the March edition of the Friend. As luck would have it, our subscription has run out on the Friend. Jessie said she'd track down some copies for me.