The Week of the Fourth

We headed to North Carolina after church on the Sunday leading up to the Fourth of July. The plan was to enjoy Sunday evening with my parents and then head up to the mountains to Tim and Kate's house on Monday after lunch. However, Elsa was not feeling well Monday and ending up throwing up (all over Jarrett) while we were out to lunch with my mom. She had a fever, so we didn't want to risk spreading germs to Robert and James (Tim and Kate's boys), not to mention the fact that it seemed kind of cruel to make Elsa endure a long, partially curvy car ride when feeling so poorly. We decided to play it by ear into the evening, letting the girls nap at my parents' house after lunch. By that evening, Elsa had perked up a bit, but it was clear Avie was feeling ill. I knew full and well that she was eventually going to throw up by the way she was acting, so I sat with her in a chair, bowl in hand. Sure enough, it happened -- just once, and she never had a fever -- but it happened. And we decided to spend another night in Charlotte. By the next morning, everyone was feeling better, and we hit the road.

We ended up staying at Tim and Kate's from that Tuesday afternoon through the following Saturday. Stephen came up to visit Tuesday evening and left Thursday morning, so it was nice being able to visit with him for a bit too. As always, it was gorgeous and refreshing up in the mountain air. However, it became a little discouraging when, by the end of the week, it was still raining. It rained -- and poured -- nearly the entire time we were there, no exaggeration. We would get little breaks here and there, and would try to get outside whenever that occurred, either setting of a few fireworks, letting the kids run around or bounce in the bouncy house, or go pick in the vegetable garden. On Friday, we thankfully got enough of a break to even enjoy a couple of hours blueberry picking and hanging around the blueberry farm. It was wonderful, and a much needed outing, for which I was thankful. And the blueberries were plump and perfect.

Avie rediscovered her (now Robert's) bouncer while there.

And the baby doll Kate had as a child!

Waiting for fireworks.

You can hear in the above video that Avie was not the hugest fan of the fireworks. She seemed to think they were going to fall on her head, either because of something she heard someone say or based on her own thoughts. Each time we would go out to do fireworks, she would say, in a very concerned way, "Fireworks? Head?" and then "Nooooo...! House?" [pointing to house]. She did, however, seem to enjoy the sparklers.

The guys/girls also did their usual on this trip, and Jarrett and Tim headed into town one evening to have dinner, and Kate and I had lunch out one afternoon, as well as a nice treat to a pedicure (thanks again, Kate -- I think I am actually becoming one with my unusual [for me] bright color choice!).

On Saturday, with more rain anticipated in the forecast, we decided to hit the road and head back to Charlotte, via Boone. I was driving, and somewhat spontaneously decided to take the scenic route, down one of my and Jarrett's most beloved roads, Highway 194, which goes through Todd and Meat Camp before heading into Boone. The sun came out during that during that stretch, and in that time I think Jarrett and I decided we might be able to live there someday -- out enough and surrounded by beautiful countryside, but close enough to Boone to not feel to isolated. Hmm...

By the time we hit Boone, it was pouring again. One of these days, I would like to get out and walk around our alma mater's campus with the girls, but this was not our day, so we headed on to Blowing Rock, where we had lunch at Woodlands BBQ.

That night, we stayed at my parents' house again to break up the drive back home. Elsa had a grand time trying to fly a helicopter toy with my dad, and Aveline enjoyed watching and running around in excitement. My brother also stopped by, and the girls enjoyed jumping on and tormenting him as well.

Despite all the rain, it was a wonderful time to attempt to relax with sweet friends and family. The rain just seems like something we have to come to terms with this summer!