That time we drove across the country... [part 1]

We just got back from a trip.

A long trip.

A really ridiculously long trip.

Richard had a class to take in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Something about Engineering. And an MRI machine.

I didn't ask.

Since we are crazy, we decided that we all should go!

Because taking our kids out of school for 10 days is the responsible thing to do.

But let's be honest, they learned more driving across the country, then by doing worksheets.

(but they did worksheets too!)

The road map proceeded as follows:

It would be too hard to show you everything at once,

so I'll break it up into a few different posts.

Instead of showing you day to day, in chronological order,

I'll just highlight different elements

the people we saw, the food we ate, the places we visited, etc...

Who's ready to go to North Carolina??

The PEOPLE

My absolutely favorite element of this trip was seeing so many wonderful, beautiful people that I've missed.

We were able to visit Scott & Julie and their beautiful children in Colorado.

We see them whenever they come up for a visit to Idaho.

This was the first time we had been to their house,

and it was glorious!

Good food, comfy beds, lots of laughing... free dental advice

(Thanks Dr. Scott!)

We got to see them on the way there and going home.

After the longest and most excruciating drive of the trip,

their home was a refuge, an oasis, a complete blessing!

I seriously cried when we finally got there.

Memphis brought us another great cousin visit with Karlee and Jeff and little Quinn.

Again with the food, and the comfy beds, and the fun games!

Karlee is a creative force behind 

Letters & Company.

Check her out on Facebook here, 

you'll want to buy something.

Very few people enjoy board games and Mystery Science Theater 3000

as much as we do,

except JEFF!

We always look forward to our bonding time with him.

He makes us feel much cooler than we actually are.

We also got to see them twice.

There and back again...

On the way home

we went with them to Jeff's sister's soccer game.

I've never been so excited at a game for people that I'd never met before!

The kids were going crazy!

It was a close game with a lot of rivalry.

We also loved playing in their very lush backyard.

Perks of living in humidity... lots of trees and bushes.

Their little Quinn was so good to share her home and toys

with FOUR giant crazy kids.

Jeff told us a funny story that as he was putting her down to bed after our first night there,

Quinn said, "Daddy, I don't like my new friends!"

But then he said he liked us so she gave it another chance.

She liked us better the second time around I think.

Quinn and Britta are only 11 days apart,

but they still aren't quite so sure about each other.

Tennessee also brought us close to my old college roommate LINDSEY!

So many memories and too many wonderful things that I could say about this lady.

I wrote a little about it here.

I will just start crying, so let's move on...

Unfortunately we didn't know anyone in Charlotte,

where we spent most of our time

(more on that later)

So we decided to have a little weekend getaway from our vacation.

haha.

The weekend break took us from our Charlotte Extended Stay Home

to Raleigh!

We were so happy to find our old friends, the Bairds, close by!

With their new precious baby and super talented daughter.

I mean, look at her photography skills!

Then, in between Raleigh and Charlotte we found...

THE NICHOLS!

You can actually see other posts of them from many years ago

here, here, and here.

Let's just say Nikki's home cooked meals and treats

were just what our gypsy family needed after so much fast food!

We were very great friends during those college days.

New babies and college homework...

good time to make good friends!

Our college babies are all grown up now,

plus it was fun to meet the new kids we've had while we were apart.

Lots of Games,

and a resounding FHE just like old times

in Rexburg.

The best part was that our kids just clicked and had so much fun together.

We joke that we are doppleganger families.

We both have boy, girl, boy, girl in each

and they are even almost the exact same ages.

We both have gold minivans...

It's like looking in a family mirror...

Although, with baby #5 in the works on our side,

we are kind of ruining the fun pattern.

But they have a cute bunny,

so we'll count her.

That was Colette's hardest part about leaving!

She wanted to take the bunny with her!

Another great visit came when we met the Marshall's at IKEA!

They are also college friends.

There college babies are grown up as well,

with two new great additions!

I loved their kids immediately.

They drove and hour and a half to meet us,

and it just warmed my heart all night long!

Being at my favorite store with good old friends!

(Richard wants to make it clear that the man planting the tree is not with us)

And again with the kids just clicking,

they created quite a stir everywhere we went!

Luckily nothing in the store was broken,

which is quite a feat considering it was all IKEA furniture.

(hahaha... ikea burn... and yet I still shop there)

This elevator was bouncing!!!

Well, you might say we had more than our share of fun visits from old friends

and wonderful family during our trip.

With social media you can get a little bit of an idea how people are doing,

and how they live their lives,

but not like an intimate, personal visit

where you can face to face see the world they live in,

and enjoy it with them.

And I can hardly forget to mention how grateful I am 

to their warm hospitality towards our family.

We were quite spoiled!

Having a family a six come visit is quite a chore, and yet we never felt like a burden.

Quite the contrary, I felt our burdens being lifted.

I will cherish all these visits for many years.

I wrote about it first because it truly was the most fulfilling part of our journey.

Worth every mile of driving.

Well, what did we do next?

I'll tell you later.