Back to the summer. The Berry's visited the first week of June. We then had 3 weekends until our trip to North Carolina. The girls and I filled the weeks with playdates, ballet, Gymboree and Vacation Bible School. The weekends were dedicated to bbq's and remodeling the kitchen. June was gone.
We left on July 1 for Beaufort, NC. B's parents, Steve, Tanya, & the girls and us shared a rental house on the water. B's aunt and Uncle live down there, so we had endless entertainment. It was a fantastic trip, and no one was ready to head back to reality. Click HERE to see the Pictures.
After NC, we drove home, and exactly one week later, I left for Louisiana with the girls. We did drive again, so we were able to stop off in Raleigh to visit the Misitas and Tuscaloosa to visit the Colvins before heading to LA. It's a tiring trip, but it allows us to see friends we'd rarely visit if we flew.
Once in LA, we stayed at Grandma & Papa's for 2 days. While there, the Wale cousins had a "pool" party in the backyard. It was an afternoon of socializing and cooling off, and a great way for me to see as many of my kinfolk as possible. LOVED IT!!
I also got to squeeze in a very quick visit with Nicole and her new baby girl, Caroline. What a cutie! Wish it could have been dinner and conversation, but we know all too well the time restraints put on you when you are only in town for a few short days.
On Sunday, it was back to Hammond to drop the girls off with Mimi & Papa. They were staying there for the week while I flew off to Dallas for the Mary Kay Convention. I have no pictures to show you of their adventures, but I learn a little more each day. So far, here's what I know. They played in the pool, went for snoballs, went to Nanny Beth's in New Orleans and even went to the aquarium, colored pictures, did puzzles with Uncle Richard, ate pancakes with Papa, saw the alligator in Ponchatoula, went to Feed & Seed where they touched a baby chick. Whew, sounds like quite a week!
The following weekend they went back to BR to stay with Grandma & Papa who took them to see Mike the Tiger, beignets, Bass Pro, carousel and who knows what else.
I was back on Sunday, and we stayed in BR a few more days before heading back to NJ on Thur.
Outside of Mary Kay's office
Met up with Adrian & her friend Tracey for a quick hello.
Had dinner with Cameron, Peggy and Maia-friends from when we lived in the Big D
Handing out those Cadillac keys
Dallas was great! I was able to visit with friends I haven't seen in years. It was a short visit, but one I definitely enjoyed. The convention was great too. It's always inspiring, and hopefully I'll take a little of that with me this year to increase my business. So, if you're reading this and haven't tried any of our products, or even, if you have, but it's been years...please try again. The formulas have changed and just b/c one product didn't work for you doesn't another one won't. You have nothing to lose. MK is 100% satisfaction guaranteed! You can return it. And short of sounding like an infomercial, mention you read it here, and I'll give you a fabulous discount. Remember the holidays are coming. Think teacher gifts, hostess gifts, etc. I will gift wrap and mail for FREE :-)
So back to BR. I have to tell you that I was in Dallas when I jumped online to look up a friends phone number when I noticed a posting by my friend Becca on FB. For those of you who have known me forever, you'll remember Becca. She is the red head that lived down the street from us when were little, and we were stuck together at the hip for the majority of our young lives. Well, life happens. We went to different schools, and lived at opposite ends of the country. The last time I saw her was at my wedding in 2000. The posting said she was going to be in BR at the same time as me!!!! Don't think you know the excitement. We could finally get together and we did. She hung out with me and the girls all day, and then continued the night at her mom's later that evening. We should have had a pajama party. All the years melted away. That was fun! We have to do it again. I wish I had a picture here in NJ to scan in of the two of us.
Not to be out shadowed, Addie and I had our girls' night out in Downtown BR at Tsunami. We've tried on many occasions to make it down there, but the timing never worked out until now. Loved the view, the conversation, the company and the food! There's another pj party that needs to happen!
As always, it was time to return home. This time, Grandma was riding back with us. I had help! Overall, my kids are great travelers. But, when you're alone, if anyone has to go potty, everyone has to get out. If the kids drop something, I have to strain to reach or pull off, and if you're stuck in traffic, you can drive yourself nuts.
So, 1500 miles and counting. We got a bit of a late start out of Louisiana, and by the time we made it to Birmingham, the skies were not looking great. We hit the hard rain-the type that turns your knuckles white-and it was pretty much that way the rest of the way into Atlanta. We had decided to stay the night in Marietta, GA because PJ and Arielle had just moved there and we wanted to visit their new house. Unfortunately, PJ was out of town on business, but Arielle gave us a tour. It was late, and we enjoyed visiting, but we had to move on. The next day was a good drive. We stayed the night at the Misita B&B again and got an early start the next morning. According to the GPS, we were to arrive at our house sometime around 4pm. Great, we can do this. Then, Virginia got in the way. Somewhere around Richmond traffic slowed down considerably. Remembering this issue from prior trips, I got off, took a highway we had traveled before and made my way back to I-95. It was the type of entrance ramp where you can't see what the traffic is doing until you're committed, and we were in for it. Traffic was inching along. At this point we still had 6 hrs to go. I called 511 and the list of traffic delays was endless. Back to the highway. Rather than go through DC, we headed NE toward Maryland which meant we had to backtrack SE around the Potomac. At this point we had to make the decision whether or not to go back to DC and thru Baltimore or stay on highways. The welcome center helped with that. I-95 was a nightmare, stay on Hwy 301 all the way to Delaware. So, that's what we did. It was a great drive, and we finally completed our 3000+ mile trip somewhere around 9 that night. I'm just now recovering!
Grandma stayed with us for a week. Lise' had swim lessons everyday, so we couldn't go far. We came back to new kitchen cabinets, which meant I had to figure out where everything went. It's still a work in progress, and the pantry is almost done. The soapstone countertops have been ordered, and should be here in the next week. I cannot wait to send you pics of my COMPLETED kitchen!
The pantry in progress.
