Hickory Dickory Dock....

We just returned this week from the second annual trip to North Carolina to visit with Brian's family (it is my first trip however because I was unable to schedule the vacation time at work last year). Brian's Aunt Alice hosted the event in Hickory, North Carolina.


We flew early last Saturday morning into Charlotte. The check in and security checkpoints went surprisingly fast. (Im sure Brian was so HAPPY that I made us arrive at the airport at 5am for our 625 flight when checking in and security took literally 15 minutes).


Danielle enjoyed the flight until her ears started popping. (For those of you who also don't give gum to your childern, fruit gushers also work to assist with those painful ear pops.)

The rest of Saturday was relaxed. We enjoyed late breakfast/early lunch with Brian's sister Angie and her fiance Jerome and then just hung out to visit. After naps at the hotel for all....MUCH needed we headed back to Aunt Alices for a feast of fried flounder, baked beans, burgers and other fine southern foods. One little "hitch in our giddy up".....too many new people for Danielle to take in all at once and she FREAKED out. So, prior to getting any food......Mommy took Danielle back to the hotel. She just wanted to relax she told me. About an hour or so after we got to the hotel and into her jammies to watch the Disney Channel, she confided in me what her real problem was....."Mommy, today was just a bad day because I missed out on my breakfast. I need to eat my breakfast everyday." Well, more proof that it is the most important meal of the day.


Sunday morning brought more heat and humidity. After sleeping in....and getting BREAKFAST, we headed out to see the sights. We ended up at the Hickory Mall and we ALL got pedicures. This was something that BJ has wanted to do for a while and of course something he enjoyed. ( you know a runner has to take care of his feet)


Brian's mom also flew in on Sunday. It was her birthday last month so we all went out that evening to celebrate. (She didnt know and boy was she surprised)



On Monday, we also feasted again. The women got to stay at Aunt Alice's and prepare the food. We had southern style meatloaf, mac and cheese, cabbage, green beans, fried chicken, corn bread and Im sure something else I am missing.



We also went to a Hickory Crawdads baseball game on Monday night. Brian and I and his cousin Fred took the kids to the game. Danielle provided TONS of entertainment as she danced and sang through out the game. BJ battled some youngsters for foul balls....and caught one as well as a nasty looking scrape to his knee and hand in the process. He also caught a bag of Hamburger Helper.....LONG story. LETS GO 'DADS is Danielle's new battle cry. Who would have thought a 1A league game could provide so much entertainment? She even took time to pose with Conrad the Crawdad.





We spent time at the hotel pool. Danielle got a new swim vest to go with her floaties. Hopefully this means her fear of getting her face and hair wet wil soon dissipate and we can try swimming lessons again. Her cousins Amber and Terrell came over on Wednesday afternoon to swim with her.

Daddy got to visit with a golf instructor at the Rock Barn Country Club (home of the Greater Hickory Open). Mommy got to visit their spa.


And just to think....we get to do this all over again in a couple of weeks with Mommy's family.

Busy Busy

It's been a busy few weeks here. Here is a pic from Dziadzia's birthday dinner night. Danielle and Becca had fun playing on Busia's kitchen floor.



Danielle also has been keeping active with cheer camp. She went for a week to the park district with the high school team. Several of the girls on the squad are friends with BJ, so I knew she would be in good hands. Thanks to Busia who took her and picked her up everyday. I bet Busia knows all those moves now too. (Dont you Busia?)





Danielle is also on a cheer team for the fall through the Lakes Cheer Association. She will practice 4 hours a week. They will have two to three "competitions". She and I went for her uniform fitting last weekend. Her team colors are royal, black and silver. This summer in preparation for cheerleading, she is in a Tuesday night tumbling class. Last Tuesday was her first class. She worked on BACK HANDSPRINGS. (She is five I kept thinking. Five. My five year old is learning how to throw herself backwards and hope she lands safely. One of the other Moms there told me that I might want to wait outside while she worked on this.)






We also finally broke down and bought a second car. Since BJ cant drive my car, we thought we would buy something used for him to get back and forth to work and practices. It was nice last night at 10:30 to not have to get up out of bed to tell Brian he needed to go get BJ (you didnt think I was going to say that I would go get him, did you?) But the car is one day old now as far as we are concerned. Seems to ride well. AND it came with a warranty for 12 months.