Easter Camping Trip, the first 24

Over the Easter weekend, we headed south of Fayetteville, to Tabor City, NC for a camping trip.  We went to a Jellystone Park, which is a little more expensive than other places you can camp, but there is a lot for kids to do.  Since we haven't camped in a long time, since Hannah was an infant, we wanted this first trip to be more about her.  So we pull in Friday evening and get set up.  

Jared and Noelle's tent.  

The girls.  Hannah turned out to be really sick, but here is just the beginning.  That's why she's all bundled up.  

Riley, right in the middle of things.  

Making adult hot apple cider.  

Friday night, after the girls got tucked in, we sat around the fire and just relaxed.  

My girls, all snuggled together Saturday morning.  

The weather wasn't too bad.  It could have been a hair warmer, for my liking, but we all managed.  We were more concerned about being cold at night, which didn't happen at all.  

Making breakfast.  

Dutch Oven hash browns, which were very good.  

Cheese and potatoes, you just can't go wrong.  

Our hey ride with Yogi Bear.  The ride took us around the park.  Again, you can see how cold Hannah is.  

Heading to the egg hunt.  

On our way to the egg hunt, there was a family there having a birthday party.  They thought Riley deserved a green cupcake.  And she really enjoyed it!  

New Years Eve

Josh and Leah decided to come in for New Years, and we also had Noelle and Jared over with Kadence.  It was a full house, with a lot of fun.  But I'm jumping ahead.  

The evening started late, since New Years Eve was on a Monday.  David and Noelle had to work, so they didn't get home until after 6 p.m.  And then the guys all wanted to go geocache.  They left a little after 8 I think, with a promise of being back before midnight.  

While they were gone, Noelle, Leah and I chatted over a bottle, ok maybe two, of wine. The guys got back, after having to give up on a cache so they could make it home in time to ring in the New Years.  

We had drinks, and played games.  We played Compatibility, and Loaded Questions.  

The pictures are blurry.  

We had so much fun, and laughed so much!  It was one of those nights where your abdomen hurts from laughing so much.  

Somewhere in their we also called my sister to FaceTime.  She was in the same condition as we all were.  Which made for some very interesting conversations.  

I don't remember who won the games.  I don't remember a lot of what was said but I remember the laughing.  

We somehow managed to stay awake until 5 am, which was quite the accomplishment for us all.  However, we weren't very productive on New Years Day.  

My Hometown: What I'll Miss

I'm saying goodbye to Fayetteville, again.  Except this time it's for Chicago.  I'm sad.  This moves hurts, it hurts to say goodbye, it hurts that we didn't make it work here.  I'll miss my family.  Pretty much my entire family lives within a 10 to 20  minute drive of our Hope Mills home.  On the other hand, there are things that I am very excited about living in Chicago for; museums and culture galore.  And 18 mile paved, running/cycle track along lake Michigan.  In honor of the city I call home, here's some other things I'll miss.

Arran Lakes has been my church home since I moved in with my Grandma when I was 4.  I have a very special relationship with church because my Grandma has been there since the church doors opened.  I know the pastor on a more personal level.  And I like that.  He preached my grandfather's funeral.  He was there the day  my Grandma was wheeled in for her mastectomy.  He baptized me when I was 12 years old and he married David and I.  He baptized David 2 years ago.  I have history with Pastor Jeff and the church.  When Riley was at Duke, they donated money to David and I, as well as countless, round the clock praying for her health.  Arran Lakes was our church home.  And they're doing things: http://www.dontgotochurch.org/.  I'm sad that I will not be here to witness this, because I believe it's going to be life changing.  

The doctor's at Fayetteville Children's Clinic are phenomenal! There are three doctor's there.  The practice is one of the oldest in Fayetteville and the founding doctor's son practices here today.  Dr. Iskander was the pediatrician for both girls.  I knew I liked her the minute she said "Honey is the only thing proven effective for coughs."  I like, and want, a doctor that doesn't push medicine on patients.  She found Riley's heart murmur, leading to the discovery of her VSD, while Riley was just hours old.  After telling this to many nurses, I know it's very uncommon for it to be found that quickly.  They are the only pediatric clinic to still round for their patients at the hospital.  

Finally, Fayetteville is becoming a city with options!  Sweetbottom's appeals to a more natural sense of parenting.  They sale cloth diapers, slings, and other products in line with a more natural approach to parenting.  They also hold classes for making your own baby legs, a baby wearer group and so forth.  

Hannah's preschool was run through the local YMCA and it's also were I went to the gym at.  It wasn't a fancy gym, but it was everything I needed.  I had a relationship with the employees and the teachers in the Prep program.  The Prep program is awesome.  I really believe the teachers; Ms. Faith, Ms. Pat, Ms. Rakia, Ms. Kat and Ms. Lisa, are there because they love working with kids.  Hannah had been there for 2 1/2 years, growing in the school with the same kids.  And Hannah loved her teachers!  I hated taking Hannah away from this program.  

The sparkling gem of Hope Mills, the owners here will help you out any way they can.  They helped orchestrate a blind taste test for us this past Christmas, which I just learned I have not blogged about yet!  Geesh, I'm behind.  

Another addition to downtown Fayetteville.  The owners are wonderful, helpful and incredibly nice.  They have a fantastic "tea time."

The Marra's.  We were together in Italy, and then together in Fayetteville.  She was always there; to listen, to help, and to entertain.  

Our small group at church.  The best group of people at Arran Lakes, or at least I

think so.  ; )

Josh and Leah.  While they don't live in Fayetteville anymore, it's where Josh's parents are, which meant that Josh and Leah will always come back to visit.  Now we're 12 hours apart and it's going to be much harder to see them!

Jared and Noelle.  These two very quickly became close friends.  Since Josh and Leah left for DC, we didn't have a "regular" set of friends.  Then we met Jared and Noelle, and they became our regular friends.  It wasn't "do you want to do something this weekend?" it was "what are we doing this weekend?" 

Dr. Miller with Duke Children's Cardiology.  This was Riley's Pediatric Cardiologist.  I love him! He was honest and took his time with David and I.  He never made us feel rushed or like our questions were unimportant.  

My backyard.  It was big and beautiful, with my flower beds and organic garden, my fruit trees and my birds.  

We had bbq's, cornhole games, vegetable and lots of water play in this backyard.  And now it'll offer someone else that same joy, hopefully.  My next backyard will be a re-creation of this one.