Catch Up

I have a little time, so let's catch up on all the going ons of the Holmans.......

To start with, my anniversary was a couple of weeks ago.  The anniversary of my 29th birthday, that is.  We won't discuss which one.  It's not that I'm horribly vain about my age, my kids know how old I am and announce it to everyone, but I still like the sound of 29.  Keeps me young!  :)  Anyway, for my birthday all I really wanted was to go to Chicago for the weekend.  We caught the train on Saturday morning and met my brother and sister-in-law at the train station.  And the weekend was so much fun!  I love Chicago style pizza, so lunch at Gina's East was a real treat.  I wasn't sure that the kids would like it, but they ate it up, too. 

Then we were off to the Lego and American Girl store.  Calah was so excited.  She has been saving for almost a year for the American Girl wheelchair.  I wouldn't buy it for her, and I know that it means so much more because she saved for it herself.  I did buy her a dress for Molly.  I'm not opposed to American Girl things, but I am very specific about what I am willing to spend money on.  If it is historical doll specific or if it is an outfit that is unique and something Calah does (like dance or basketball) then I am willing to buy it.  If it is just playclothes or a random dress or some accessory that doesn't relate to Calah, then no.  If she wants it that bad, she can save for it and spend her money on what she wants.  And usually we decide before we get there what we are going to get.  This time, her decision on what I would buy for her took a little longer, but she walked right to the wheelchair as soon as we walked in.  That girl knows what she wants.

It just so happens that the Lego store as moved so it is LITERALLY right next door to American Girl.  Handy, one stop shopping!  The boys headed over there and Gabe came away with a Lego Garbage truck.  He and Uncle Josh had fun putting that together.  Then we had to make a stop at Hersheys.  MMMMM, chocolate.......ok, sorry, easily distracted by the chocolate.  We headed back to the hotel and Josh and Can took the kids for the evening.  Chuck and I had a nice dinner at a little old Italian place.  The pumpkin ravioli was awesome!  Although I was glad it was a little smaller portion, because I was still full from lunch.  Then it was just a nice relaxing evening.  The next morning, Chuck and I walked around a little.  Once the kids came down, the six of us went over to Millinium Park and over to the lake shore.  A little more shopping and we were off to the train station.  It was a great weekend!  We did have our hands full trying to get off the train.  Two sleeping kids, 4 suitcases, 5 bags...a challenge, but we did it.  Calah is such a big girl.  She woke up enough to carry her stuff off the train.  I had told her, whatever she packed she had to carry on and off the train and around Chicago.  And she did, without complaint.  What a big girl!

The next big event was our trip to North Carolina.  We left Sunday afternoon around 3 and drove all night.  The kids were happy to be tucked into their sleeping bag for the night.  I took the end part of Ohio, which is flat and boring, but it was late and I didn't mind.  I really didn't want to drive in the mountains at night, and Chuck was ok with that.  He actually said he would rather drive the mountains at night because he can't see what he should be nervous about!  :)  We stopped for a couple hours to sleep, but overall, it was really nice to travel at night with very little traffic.  So on Monday morning about 9:30 we arrived and hung out with Granny all day.  The kids were so excited to see her.  They haven't seen Granny since Memorial Day.  After checking into the hotel and a quick swim in the pool, we were back for a yummy dinner of chicken divan.  MMMM, chicken divan.....oh, sorry, easily distracted by yummy food.  Tuesday we went to Fayetteville with Granny to the Children's Museum and the Transportation Museum which were both really interesting.  The kids had a great time.  There was beautiful weather, in the 70s and sunny.  Shorts and t-shirts.  Very nice. 

Then on Wednesday we traveled with Granny to Wilmington to see the North Carolina Battleship.  That was really cool!  It was fun to see all the way that sailors lived on the ship.  It is really a whole town on board.  The kids loved climbing the ladders and checking out all the quarters and equipment.  We went over to Wrightsville Beach and the kids played in the ocean.  They were soaking wet, but had a good time.  Thursday morning we spent with Granny, and then left again around 3.  An all night drive had us arriving home about 5.  Chuck and I slept in....it was well needed.

It was a really nice trip.  After getting home, there was a lot of cleaning to be done to get ready for Easter.  We had a really nice dinner on Sunday with the family, including some face time with Emily in California via the iphone.  And now it is back to the grind.  Everyone is back to school and the routine.  One addition is that Chuck and I are trying to cram in a class in the next couple of weeks.  So, we are taking an online class and I will be busy trying to get that done ASAP. 

Ok, I think that is everything!