We’re home from an amazing week with my family in North Carolina. We spent 13 hours of travel getting there, and the kids were amazing. I was all prepared with two movies on my Kindle Fire, kid sized headphones and a splitter, new activity books, and car games. They watched one movie, didn’t touch their new activity books, and played one game. Better over prepared than under!
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| In the airport |
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| Watching planes |
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| Movie time! |
We arrived at 3:00 AM eastern time, so we went straight to bed and slept in the next day. We had brunch poolside at my brother’s house and then enjoyed the warm weather and the pool!
Haley had such a great time with her girl cousins. Ali and Madi played with her and even let her have a sleepover with them in their room one night. Our first night there, Haley prayed at bedtime “Thank you for coming to Aunt Gena and Madi and Ali’s house.”
JT really looks up to Preston, his 18-year-old cousin. They had so many adventures throughout the week. Preston graduated high school (our first purpose for the trip), was recognized at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor (our second purpose for the trip) and leaves in a few days for Army Basic… yet he spent tons of time with JT playing guitar, golfing, mowing, fishing, swimming, and more.
Sunday was church and Preston’s graduation. It was packed, but we had sent ahead a group to reserve seats for eleven. Preston graduated third in his class, so he gave a welcome message to open the ceremony.
We came back to an amazing dinner and gift opening.
Monday we spent a lot of time by the pool. My sister in law did a great job planning a vacation that included a perfect mix of activities and relaxation! In the afternoon, we had family photos taken by the barn.
After our photo shoot, Grandpa Cole treated us all to dinner out. Because it was Memorial Day, lots of the restaurants were closed. But we found a great dinner at The Burger Basket, a local burger joint near one of my brother’s offices.
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| Haley and Uncle Jeff |
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| Ali checking out the menu |
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| Haley loved the sweet tea! |
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| We think JT may have a hay allergy… his eye was so puffy! |
Tuesday we went on a motorcycle ride. Jim’s parents rented him a motorcycle as a birthday gift so we could ride with my parents (each on their own Harley) and my brother. We rode the Tail of the Dragon on Hwy 129 (318 curves in 11 miles) and then home on the Cherohala Skyway. It was absolutely beautiful!
While we were off riding, the girls were making rice krispie treats and playing, and the boys went fishing.
When we got home, everyone did a quick change and headed to a local church for Preston’s Eagle Court of Honor. Jim was asked to do the invocation. It was our first time at such a ceremony. It was really impressive!
Tuesday morning, I went with Ali to clean out her locker at school. It was perfect timing because when we arrived, they were having an awards ceremony (school was still in session but she wasn’t going to go because we were in town!). We walked in and, a few names later, Ali was called! She ended up earning three awards for having the highest average grades in her classes. I was so excited to be there for her awards and get to cheer her on!
Then we all headed out to a pontoon boat ride on Lake Santeetlah for the afternoon. It was over eighty degrees and lunch on the lake was a perfect last day.
We swam and Preston took us over to a huge eagles’ nest on the lake. We got to watch the eagles and eaglets in their nest! Last, we headed over to a bridge to jump off. I’ve always wanted to bridge jump, so I was super excited.
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| Madi and me jumping off! |
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Tuesday night ended with s’mores by the pool, lots of laughter, and promises to see each other soon. The Coles will be here for their annual summer pilgrimage in a mere two months. Hooray! We miss them already.
Wednesday we made the trip home in just over 12 hours. The kids were so great we decided to treat them to brownie sundaes for dessert before an early bedtime. They were excellent travelers and we got several compliments about how well they did on every flight. All that hard work parenting pays off sometimes. 🙂
The Keene Family 