Let the Christmas Chaos begin...

I am from a big family. I am the oldest of 5. My mom is one of 9. My dad is one of 5. All of this adds up to a whole lot of Christmas Craziness and Chaos. When I was growing up, Christmas was always loud but fun. A time to see cousins you hadn't seen in a while, play with new toys, be surrounded by Christmas cheer. I remember always getting dressed up to go to my Grandparents for Christmas dinner. It was insane. 4 folding tables all placed together spanning 2 rooms with a seat for everyone. A separate "kids" table for the cousins in another room (there are 18 of us now). An assembly line in the kitchen with a huge buffet feast, all served on matching Christmas dinner ware-down to the silverware! There were presents for the kids. I remember laundry baskets filled with our goodies (to separate the families from one another). There was a heated Yankee Swap for the adults. I am the oldest grandchild and therefore broke ground when I (along with my next cousin, Erica) was old enough to leave the other kids to participate-only to be used as a pawn by our parents to claim "the best" prize. Ah the Christmas spirit at it's finest! HAHAHA

I have had the pleasure of being included in Tom's family's Christmas traditions. Another big family that is loud and fun. We all get together the week before Christmas for a special dinner and celebration at Kiki's house. Santa has been known to make an appearance, even in the snow. There are tons of kids! We had to miss it this year and as we sat enjoying our "virtual party"  As talked about here.  We realized how much this IS such a HUGE part of OUR CHRISTMAS. We need to plan better for next year. :)

As the years have passed our traditions have changed, but the core of it all remains the same. It IS a wonderful time of year. It is a time for family to come together. It is a time to try out new recipes, eat good food and drink a little wine. It is a time to eat to many desserts. It is a time to be surround by love.

There is a new Hallmark commercial that ends with:

"Traditions are not for keeping, 

they are for keeping us together."

I love it!

And so this year starts another tradition. We will pack up and join fellow travelers as we make our trip from SC to RI for a week. It will be crazy. I am nervous about the flight with the littles. I am excited to be welcomed home. I am excited to see all our family and feel the excitement of Christmas that comes with everyone coming home. I am excited to feel it a little colder, so my body knows that it is Christmas time too. I am excited to see Jack's face on Christmas morning and the faces of those that love him as they too are reminded about the magic of Christmas. I am excited for our families to see how much Will has changed and all that he does now. I am excited to start new traditions and to continue old ones.

So let's start this Crazy Train to Christmas.....I have my ticket and I am ready to hop aboard!

Things I love right NOW

Things I love right now....

-Finding treasures (Lightening McQueen, a plastic horse and a ball mixed in the laundry)


-Jack saying "Get them over the butt, it's the hardest part." EVERY TIME he is done in the bathroom and pulling up his pants. (This IS what I said when I was explaining pulling them up.)


-How Will wins the ladies over with his smile and then tucks his head into my chest when they smile back.


-That Rhody will be going back to the north pole in just a few more nights (he is exhausting).


-Hearing Will say mamama and dadadada


-That my thumb is finally healing.


-EOS lip balm


-Michael Buble Christmas Album


-Watching Jack do "kung fu" while watching kung fu panda 2 (and reciting the lines in a little whisper).

HAPPY TUESDAY!

Random Pictures

TUBBY TIME

 

Going in for a slobbery attack

If you listen closely you can hear him making the sound of a laser gun. 

More Christmas Cheer....

So last week we decided to do a follow up on our Roper Mountain Holiday Lights drive. On Wednesday night I packed the boys up and met Tom at work (right around the corner from the lights). We headed up to check out the Winter Wonderland. We walked through paths lined with lights and came up to a little snack shack selling "s'more's kits" and other goodies and then there was the big garage with Santa in a 100 year old sleigh and an elf making balloon animals. Jack was a little skittish about Santa, but very excited for a balloon animal. He and I got in line and Tom and Will went to stand in line to buy some s'more kits. 45 minutes later, Jack and I were still 10 or so kids from the front of the line, Jack was starting to cry and wanting to be held (AKA-It was bedtime). Tom and Will were patiently waiting outside with our marshmallows (roasting marshmallows was all Jack had talked about all day). Will started to fuss because he needed to eat again. The night seemed to be unravelling before my eyes. I had pictured us having a festive evening and getting some great pictures and taking in some awesome Christmas-ness. What I had was 2 crying kids, 2 uneaten marshmallow kits, 2 parents that were ready to go home and very little Christmas Cheer. I made an executive decision to abandon the balloon animals and try to do s'mores. I was hoping that the meltdown that would follow would be small and sort lived with a bribe of marshmallows. There were tears, but we got over it pretty quick! Jack thought roasting marshmallows was so cool and he thought eating them was even better. Christmas cheer restored!

Roasted marshmallows make us forget all about balloon animals. 

I ventured out with the boys for a quick stop at the mall to pick up a few last minute things and there was Santa in the middle of the mall. Jack exclaimed "Look it's Santa, Can I sit with him?". So of course I said yes, thinking he would not really want to sit with him once we got closer. He surprised me and after being lured in by a gingerbread man cookie went and sat on a stool right in front of him while Will sat on Santa's lap. They both even smiled for picture. Too bad they were both dressed in everyday play clothes and Will had the remnants of lunch on his outfit-oh well...I got it emailed to me for free. :)

On Saturday, Jack and I made a big jar of reindeer food to feed to Santa's reindeer. Jack had fun using a scoop to fill a jar with "flying power" (flour), Oats (for energy), Chocolate powder, Crushed graham crackers (Jack's favorite snack, so it must be a favorite of the reindeer),  and Christmas spirit (red glitter). Shake and it is ready to spread for the reindeer on Christmas night. I LOVE HAVING A PRESCHOOLER! :) And then it was just fun to mix all the ingredients together and pour and stir.

Last night, we attended our first virtual Christmas party. Tom's Aunt Kathy (Kiki) has a Christmas party every year the weekend before Christmas and we were not able to attend. It was our first time missing it and we were very sad to have missed it. We set up a skype date to "attend". Jack and I made Rice Krispie Treats and Tom bought a bottle of wine. We were able to say hi and give a little tour of our place over Skype, but the connection was not great so our conversation was cut a little short. We hope everyone had a great time and know that we missed them all very much. Maybe next year we will be able to attend.

Sunday morning homemade waffles from scratch. 

Even Rhody wanted some Rice Krispie Treats. That crazy ELF! :)

And so we are now in the get ready to travel phase again. I will be busy organizing and packing us up for our flight on Wednesday back to RI.

All About Will

So I have recently been told by my wonderful, loving husband is that he LOVES the blog, but thinks Will needs a little more face time. So the other day I set out to do just that and then it was so sunny and warm out and I got a few great shots of Jack and the entry ended up being solely about him. Oops. So my little Will here is an entry just about you!

In a few weeks you will be 8 months old! I really can't believe how fast the time has flown by. I love watching you everyday, learning, growing, talking. Everyday you wake me up with a smile. I hear your little cries saying "come get me mama, I'm awake" and when I enter the room and you spot me, you flip all around to get a better look, to make sure it is really me, and then you give me the biggest and best smile ever! So big, it makes your eyes all squinty and then your arms and legs start flailing about, kicking and slapping the mattress in excitement! No matter what time (although I prefer after 6am) it is the best way to start the day! You are probably almost 19 pounds by my estimates. We call you our little butterball because you are so perfectly plump and round. You have the meatiest thighs and I just love to squeeze them. Your dark baby hair is slowly disappearing, although you do have about 5 super long strands that are still growing from the top of your head. Daddy gave them a little trim one night because they had just gotten SO long. You have blond/light brown, short, soft hair coming in, in place of your baby hair. You still have NO TEETH. This does not surprise us at all. Jack didn't get teeth until he was over a year old-so we were prepared to not see any on you. You definitely make it seem like they are coming-drooling until your shirt is soaked to the belly and chewing on everything in your reach. You are a great little eater-trying everything that is put in front of you. I love watching you pick stuff up off your tray and figuring out how to get it into your mouth. Your chubby little hands work so hard to get one cheerio up and in and you seem so proud when you do it. You love to have stuff to pick up off the tray and some of your favorites right now are-cheerios, puffs, wagon wheels, baby cookies, "cheese puff" looking things (in veggie or maple cinnamon), macaroni and cheese cut up small, and bananas cut up small. This week we gave you a small frozen bagel and you chewed it and mashed it all up. It was so fun to watch you make such a mess with it. I also tried some canned veggies (since they are so soft) and you loved picking up the different colors and shapes and trying them. You normally gag on peas and green beans, but you ate these right up. Maybe you will be my good little eater!

You are on the move! When we put you down, you are instantly off, crawling, army style on your belly-after a toy or book or shiny something that has caught your eye. Jack is starting to get a little territorial with his toys now that you are attracted to them. He does do a good job sharing and showing you how to work one toy or another. You love to push trucks or cars around while you scoot next to them. You can almost push yourself up to sitting, but get stuck on your side. You can stand up for a few seconds on your own, holding onto a toy like your music table or the ottoman in front of the couch. We received a play pen (the old fashion kind-bigger, more square than the pack and play)from a neighbor and it has been a lifesaver. When I need to cook, or step away from you for a second, I know you are safe in there and can only crawl a short distance.

You are quickly finding your own little voice. You love to scream and squeal to see our reactions (mostly Jack's). The two of you will squeal back and forth at one another and then you just erupt into a fit of giggles. You can say Dada and just yesterday really started saying Mama. I love it!! We have just started teaching you sign language. We are working on using/learning "more" when you are eating or playing. So far you just stare back at us like we are silly. We plan to teach you the same signs we taught Jack-More, Please, Thank you, Milk, and All Done. I can't remember when we started it, so we decided to start now...and see what happens.

You are a very, very sweet baby. You know what you want and don't like to have things taken away. You throw your head back in a very dramatic display of disapproval. The other night you and I went out on an adventure to Michael's for some Christmas decorations. We walked up and down every aisle, looking at the different craft stuff. You grabbed my wallet from the cart and started chewing on it. I took it away and put it behind your back. When it was time to check out, my wallet was no where to be found! I was panicked. I started combing ALL the aisles again with no luck. An employee found me at the end of one aisle and asked if she could help me find something-I burst into tears "MY WALLET! The baby threw it out of the cart!". She immediately asked all the cashiers if anyone had turned in a wallet and THANKFULLY someone had. She returned it to me safely!

Like I said before-you love to chew on stuff and put everything in your mouth. Your favorite thing to put in your mouth is your socks and shoes. Thankfully, it has been warm here in SC so I have left you barefoot when we are in the house. As soon as I put your socks on you pull them off and put them straight into your mouth. I find socks in the car all wet and soggy. You do the same with your Robeez. You crazy little monkey!

Don't worry, I grabbed them away before he put them in his mouth-but I LOVE THIS SHOT!

So little Will that is YOUR post! I hope Daddy approves ;).

SC Sunshine

After a cold and rainy day, the sun came out and the sky was the most brilliant blue. The day just called for us to be outside. After lunch we headed to the "Lellow playground" around the corner from our house (it has a big YELLOW slide and a yellow tunnel). Will got to swing, while Jack pretended he was on a spaceship going to outer space and then a pirate (of course). We came home for Will's nap and Jack and I headed back outside for 2 more hours of wonderful, warm sunshine. We played Frisbee and tag and built a sand castle in the sandbox and found little rocks to be the people in the castle. There was even a Beauty and a Beast rock and a Cinderella too. HAHAHA Too many Disney movies :). And then we dug out the bubbles. 

I am trying out some new things with my camera. Bear with me!

 What is it about bubbles that just makes me happy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how excited Jack gets over bubbles. How he loves to chase them to pop them and try and eat them. How he loves me to make "a lot, a lot" for him to run through. How he thinks it is magic how they sometimes land on the grass and don't pop right away. He does very well with blowing bubbles on his own. He no longer puts the stick INTO his mouth, but keeps it right outside. Somehow we always end up pouring out half of the bubble mix onto the driveway though :).

The bubbles and the sunshine and the free hands during nap time told me to run and grab the camera. And that little, crazy 3 year old was having so much fun, he put down his guard and let me get a few pictures of him and they just make me laugh!

My little baby is turning into a big boy.

And when we had used up all the bubbles, we moved on to chalk, the few little bits that made it in the move. Jack rolled over his name and was a complete ball of chalk dust and sweat. HAHAHA 

And the tubby was our next stop. A big, "bubby tubby" as Jack calls it. 

At the end of all this fun, Jack plopped on my lap in the sunshine on the driveway and blew bubbles through the straw of my water while I took in the sweet mix of sweat and dirt and chalk and bubble mix and sunshine and Johnson's baby shampoo.

Christmas is creeping in...

This weekend was a busy one. Tom and I took advantage of Will's long nap and the beautiful weather outside (low 60's) to organize the garage a little more, find the Christmas decorations and decide what was left in the boxes that we HAD TO HAVE out. Although it sort of made another mess inside with new boxes to sort through, we can almost fit ONE car in our 2 car garage now! HA We are making progress!

Last year at Christmas time, we found this amazing family run tree farm. You did not need to previously tag a tree, you just showed up and walked among the trees until you found the one you liked, they cut it down and put in on the roof. I was halfway through my pregnancy with Will-little round belly to keep me warm. It was a cold but clear day. We had just gotten a new camera and captured some amazing shots of Jack running through the rows of trees. It was a magical place, complete with hot chocolate and goodies when you left. The magic ended as we pulled out of the long dirt road-we had to stop 5 times in 15 minutes to retie our tree to the roof. Instead of asking for help, Tom acted as if he had ever done this before and did it himself. As we pulled into the driveway we were just thankful that the tree was still with us!

Being in a new area and moving in the middle of the holiday season did not leave us a lot of time to research where to go for a tree. So, alas, we ended up at Lowe's and bought a tree from the garden center. Un-magical and super quick. Will and I didn't even get out of the car. I didn't take any pictures to remember the day by. And then the magic happened....Tom told me that they do not help you tie the tree to top of the car. I had flashbacks to last year (but this time we had much farther to travel home). He said he knew what he was doing. He tied and he tied, while I joked and joked about how the tree was going to end up in the middle of the interstate. We drove out of the lot, me cringing a little as we made the first turn. Two things happened next, one-we passed another family also buying a tree and being helped by a gentleman in a blue Lowe's vest-funny I was told they didn't help you tie the tree on and two-the tree didn't budge. We made it up I85 and home with out the littlest tug on the ties. I, of course, had to eat my words and taunts and praise my husband for his stellar tree tying skills. And so a little bit of Christmas cheer has started to creep into our home.

 All along interstate 85 there are billboards stating "Clark Griswold would be SO jealous". I, of course, am instantly intrigued as to what this is all about. A quick google search revealed the Roper Mountain Science Center light display and winter wonderland. Found here: http://ropermountainholidaylights.com/ This is the 20th year and it seems like a great family centered, holiday spirit filled event. We decided, despite our last holiday light disaster (the Halloween jack o lantern unspectacular at the zoo), we would venture out to bottle up some Christmas cheer to bring back to our little house. We did a quick turn around from bringing home our tree and headed up to the Roper Mountain Science Center to see the lights. Jack was so excited. Will coughed and cried most of the way. Jack comforted him by saying "Don't worry Will, Santa will know what to do to make you feel better." Aaaahhh a pure little brotherly love moment! We entered and followed the signs. You turn your headlights off and drive slowly through this Christmas Light spectacular. It was magical. Jack was calling out all that he could see-elves, Santa skiing down a ski jump, teddy bears, reindeer, trains. We entered a part called Candy Land with a long straight path lined on each side with 10 foot high candy canes and lights connecting them over head. The pinnacle of the lights was a huge star at the top of the mountain (that we can spot when we are driving around at night now that we know it is there). There is a second part to the holiday lights that is called Winter Wonderland. You park for this part, get out of the car and can roast marshmallows, sit with Santa in his sleigh and see many more lights as you walk around. We skipped this part for tonight b/c of Will's cold. We are planning to return this week to do that part.

I downloaded Michael Buble's Christmas album and I am obsessed! I have been listening to it over and over. I am slowly letting go of the stress of the move and letting Christmas take over! Rhody has even rejoined us. Rhody is our elf on the shelf. He was sent to us from Santa at the beginning of November (when the terrible three's started to rear their ugly head) and I soon realized that finding a new and exciting or mischievous thing for Rhody to do every night for 2 months.....is a pain in the neck! HAHAHAHA So for the move, Rhody was sent back to the North Pole for a few weeks to report to Santa. Now that our tree is up, he has returned! Jack gets pretty excited to see where Rhody is hiding and the best reveal so far was on Jack's birthday when Rhody was found in a "bubble bath" of mini marshmallows in the bathroom sink. ( I had to clean it up with in a few hours b/c Jack kept "going to check on him" and leaving with a handful of marshmallows!) Thanks to Pinterest for the Elf on the Shelf ideas! :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Upside Up

Upside up? Why the opposite of Upside Down of course-as in;
Jack: Look at me, I'm upside down (hanging off the couch with his head towards the floor). How do I get upside up?

Me: It's right side up.

Jack: No Mama-it is UPSIDE UP!

Who could argue with that?!

I love it and I hope that he says that always! I feel like we are all finally upside up. This past week has had us all turned upside down, me especially, and now we are back-upside up. Moving out of our house, living in the car for 2 days, staying in 2 different hotels and moving into our new house, but having it look like a bomb went off made us all a little crazy. Throw in a car accident and I was completely upside down. Again, me especially. Jack was just not himself when we were in the hotel in Greenville and now he too is back. Let me back up a little.....I have recovered from my accident (emotionally that is). I have gotten back behind the wheel, returned to the scene and been able to laugh at myself for creating another layer of annoying stuff for us to deal with since we moved. My car-will be ready in about 3 weeks-ouch! Tom has his work car and I have a rental until his Acura arrives (got a call that there will be a delay with that-so hopefully by the end of this week). The moving truck arrived and started unloading on Monday morning.

Quick side note: I got a text from Tom Monday morning (I was still at the hotel with the boys, while he met the truck) and it was a long text, so the only part I could read was- "took the wrong truck and it is empty". My heart literally stopped! NO, NO, This can NOT be right! As I backed up to read the full message, I was filled with a sense of relief-OUR movers had been talking to OTHER movers for the same company that had taken a truck from VA to TX and upon arrival realized it was EMPTY! YIKES!!

Ok back to OUR story-
I swear our stuff multiplied during the drive down. There is no way we had this much stuff in Providence. I have tried to stay calm and not let the shear volume overwhelm me. The movers that drove our stuff down were awesome-unpacking at my pace and stopping when I said stop. They are hired to unload and unpack everything and take away all the boxes/paper/trash. I let them unpack about 50% and then I told them to stop. Alas-we are left with our 2 car garage about 2/3 full of boxes still packed! By today, I have managed to get the kitchen mostly under control, the living room set up, the playroom and dining area off the kitchen in good shape, the boys room almost done, the bathrooms all set (minus a trip to target :)), and our room is 90% put together. My goal is to feel like the house is manageable by Friday, so that we can go out Saturday and get a Christmas tree and bring in the boxes with all the Christmas stuff this weekend. I think we will be right on track! I bought the Michael Buble Christmas Album today on itunes and have been playing it all day, trying to get myself and the boys out of moving mode and into Christmas mode! I love this time of year, the lights, the smells, the goodies, the shopping and I have been so preoccupied with moving that I haven't taken any of it in.

I AM READY NOW!

And onto the boys....

Jack has started eating-completely blowing us away. He had 4 waffles yesterday for dinner after eating a significant breakfast and lunch and a whole sleeve of graham crackers! Looks like cutting the whole milk down to 2% is having an effect. For those of you who don't know Jack, he doesn't eat and when he does, it is one of like 10 things. No veggies, no meats, but would drink milk constantly if I let him.

Tonight, I asked him what he wanted for dinner-he said "Special Milk" (translation, Carnation instant breakfast-one of his staples) and toast (Cinnamon toast by Pepperidge Farms). I told him that was a great choice and asked him if he wanted to help make the toast (his favorite part). He started to pull the stool over to the counter and looked at me and said-"Mama, you can start getting the milk ready". Where does he come up with this stuff?!

Meanwhile, across the kitchen, little Will sat in his highchair stuffing pieces of cut up banana and puffs into his mouth while I made his dinner. He has been crawling like crazy! He has realized that when he lifts his belly up off the floor he goes farther and faster. When he sees something he wants, he is on a little mission to get there. I love to see him move and see how fast he goes. He is babbling more and more and I swear he said 'DaDa' to Tom as he was walking by him tonight. Will has had a little stuffy nose and a bit of a cough for the past few days, but seemed to wake up a lot happier and less snotty this am. Will's other new trick is making this puckered lip face. He puckers up and sucks in, sort of like he ate something sour, but he looks like a little old man without his dentures in. I love it and call it the kissy face. :)

I love seeing the two of them together. Will gets so excited when Jack is near him. He starts flailing about and smiling and cooing. He loves giving Jack 'kisses'-a big opened mouth, slobbery attack that makes Jack squeal. Jack is so sweet to Will and gets upset if Will is crying or sad and trys to come up with ways to make him feel better. It truly melts my heart to see them together. I can already see the best friends that they will become.
.

We are hoping for the rain to stop so we can maybe meet some neighbors and get out and explore more.
I will try and post some pics of the house by the end of the week. I changed the commenting for this blog, so you don't have to be a user or whatever it made you do before.

I will leave you with one more little Jack-ism that makes me smile.

A few months ago, Tom had Jack in the car running errands and Jack had his trusty pal "Little Buzz" with him. Little Buzz is a 6 inch tall hard plastic Buzz Lightyear. Jack was looking out the window and banging Buzz on the glass as they drove. This is what followed:

Tom: Jack stop banging Buzz on the window.
Jack: But he is a hammer Daddy.
Tom: No, He isn't a hammer, he is a toy.
Jack: Noooo, He isn't a toy-He is a SPACE RANGER!
Tom (defeated): You're right.


So that is all for now.....have a good rest of the week!

See you later Rhode Island......Hello SC!

On Thursday morning we packed up and headed on our way. It was very hard to say goodbye to our family and friends. We left at 8:00am and within 2 minutes of being on our way Jack says "Mama-GET ME OUT OF THIS CAR SEAT!". I looked at Tom and we both started laughing...what had we just gotten ourselves into. We pulled into Panera for some on the road breakfast sandwiches and Jack pipes up again-"Is this South Carolina?"....uummm...no...still have a ways to go before we get there! :) And then our journey really began. Day one of driving went very smoothly. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day. A brilliant blue sky above us and very little traffic to get in our way. We zoomed along and passed from RI, to CT, to NY, to NJ. Will slept the first half of the trip and Jack played with his new computer from Kay-Kay and his Buzz Lightyear. In NJ we made a stop to feed Will, have a potty break and stretch our legs.

Potty Time!

We continued on from NJ to PA where we made another stop to stretch. When we returned to the car, we told Jack we had a surprise waiting for him. He got to pick a movie and watch it on his VERY OWN TV! :) He was so excited. He watched The Polar Express as we zoomed through the Pennsylvania farm lands and into MD, WV and Finally VA. At each change of state we said a loud goodbye to that state and a hello to the new state.  Jack insisted on staying in his PJ's the entire trip and I made a few climbs into the backseat to enjoy some of the movie and entertain Will when he woke up.

Movie time.

We arrived at James Madison University (my alma mater), in Harrisonburg, VA at about 5:30pm. This was our stop for the day. We made a quick trip to the bookstore to restock on JMU tees for the boys and then headed to the hotel. I could not believe how much had changed since I was last on the campus. While we were getting out of the car at the bookstore, the marching band was practicing and we could hear them. Jack thought that was so cool. I was instantly nostalgic-I could see myself walking with my girls from McGraw Long Hall to Dukes for dinner, or running from a class in ISAT to Burrus Hall (which seemed a million miles away), walking under the tunnel to UREC, watching a football game in the much smaller and older stadium and a million more images ran through my head. A pang of jealousy entered my heart for all the students currently attending. I had such an amazing experience there and met the most wonderful people. I would give anything to get to have that time back to experience again. Thankfully, one thing that I took away with me from JMU when I left, was a strong bond with a few precious people. I am able to relive my time at JMU with them through stories and pictures. I have been fortunate to have some of my siblings follow in my footsteps and attend JMU as well. Since Caity and Mike are currently there, we had the opportunity to meet with them for a quick visit. Although I am sure they would have liked to show us around to THEIR JMU, we were all tired and worn out from our long drive. They met us at the hotel and played with the boys for a few hours before we put them and ourselves to bed. We could not put the boys back in the car or ask them to behave in a restaurant after such a long day in their car seats.

Friday morning came quickly and we packed back up and headed out at 7:30am. We made a quick stop at "The Duke Dog Museum" (really known as Bridgeforth Stadium) to take some pics with the Duke Dog statue. Please know, upon arriving and driving around in Harrisonburg, Jack stated "That Duke Dog is EVERYWHERE!". HAHAHA. We took a quick drive past the other side of campus to see all that had changed there and then hoped back on 81 heading south.

We drove past cattle farm after cattle farm and took in the breath taking views of the mountains. It was another beautiful day. As we neared the NC border we were presented with the most amazing views of the trip. We started to come down from the mountains and all of a sudden you could see this valley with many little towns spread out below us and as far as we could see. We could see more mountains in the distance and were blown away by the beauty before us. Everything seemed so big and open. We made a quick stop for a bathroom and stretch break and then headed on. Jack got to watch another movie and chose Megamind this time. Unfortunately we had not recharged the battery fully (the plug had come out a bit during the night) and the battery died in the middle. I spent much of the day in the back seat entertaining both Jack and Will. They continued to impress us with their ability to be strapped in and not make a fuss. We drove seamlessly into SC! Friday went much quicker until the last 30 miles. Jack finally spoke up about going potty and asked for 3 potty breaks in this last stretch. When he says he has to go, he has to go and we don't waste time making him hold it. Since this was our first long car ride and first one since being potty trained, we took no chances. The first stop was sort of emergent on the side of the road and the next two were at times when we could make better and safer stops. At last we reached our destination! The TownePlace Suites by Marriot in Greenville. The boys and I got unpacked into our 2 bedroom suite while Tom got the key to our new house and set up the utilities. When he returned we decided to stay in and just order dinner. I decided I would go out to pick up our order and even though Jack begged to come with me, I made him stay behind. I thought it would be a good way to see where we are and get acclimated to our new surroundings. But that did not happen......just a mile from our hotel,  I got into a car accident with an oncoming car. The short version of this story ends with me being fine-minus a small burn to my neck from the seat belt, the other driver being fine and both of our cars messed up. Tom spent Saturday morning walking to work to pick up his company car and then walking to the rental company to pick up our rental car. Yikes....another headache!!

Monday our stuff will arrive and we can finally move in. We plan to show the boys the new house on Saturday and start to explore this area more with them. Hopefully, I will be able to get back behind the wheel, although my confidence is quite shaken for now.

WELCOME TO SOUTH CAROLINA

 I will leave you with some pics of our happy baby in his bouncer in our hotel room! Have a good week!

If only there was sound...you would hear the new SQUEAL/SCREAM that Will enjoys sharing with us.