Spring Break, Day 1: Spring Break Begins!

Yesterday morning we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, dropped Buddy off with Marco and Stacy and packed up the car and headed to the Baron to kick off our Spring Break trip to Washington D.C. CK originally came up with the idea of going to Washington D.C. to be a tourist for the week, visit friends and see Aunt Shirl a bit (Uncle Steve was in Ireland for the entire week). Sofia hasn't been back to D.C. since we visited less than a year after we moved away in July 2008. Olivia has never been and we looked forward to a fun visit. Sofia loved the idea since she loves history and already knows a lot about Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Martin Luther King and Thomas Jefferson - far more than I knew in the 2nd grade! In fact, Sofia was super excited about going to Washington D.C. so she could visit Mt. Vernon and the Smithsonian Museum. I'm pretty sure I didn't even know what Mt. Vernon was until I moved to D.C. when I was 22 years old!

We loaded into the Baron with Olivia cuddled with me in the backseat and Sofia riding co-pilot with CK, where she read and watched him fly. It's infinitely more comfortable with Sofia in the front seat and Olivia sitting on her seat while resting her head on my leg. Olivia was asleep in a few minutes and Sofia also took a nap on CK's lap. We arrive in Dalton, GA around 3pm where CK's cousin Huel and Bonnie and their daughter Caitlin met up and picked us up. We headed to their house about 20 minutes away and were glad for a smooth and easy flight to Dalton. The girls and I had never been to their house before and CK hadn't been in many years so we were excited for a fun visit overnight and through Sunday around noon. Once we arrived, the girls immediately headed to their backyard to play in their yard, on their swings and on the fort. It was pretty soggy from the recent rain so we changed them into their rain boots which they got wet and muddy and had a great time. Huel smoked a pork shoulder for dinner and it smelled amazing!

Huel and Bonnie had invited CK's sister, Cynthia and her family to visit for dinner and a visit so the cousins could be together and play. Cynthia, Jay and their kids arrived around 5pm and Chandler, Jillian, Sofia and Olivia immediately fell into playing together. They had a ball while Jackson roamed around and explored. Dinner was served and it tasted even better than it smelled! Yum! Huel also makes his own BBQ sauce, which was a bit spicy and very delicious! Served with salad, cole slaw and bread, it was probably one of the best BBQ meals I've had in memory!

After dinner, Kyle, Huel and Bonnie's son who arrived before dinner, played the guitar and sang a few songs he has written which were all really thoughtful and catchy. Huel played the piano, CK played the guitar and Bonnie, Kyle and Caitlin all sang songs while the younger ones ran around with microphones, tambourines, maracas and Bonnie's knitting needle and pretended to be part of the band too. It was a great night! The kids had a ball together and play so well as a group. We said goodbye to Cynthia and her family around 1030pm, which was really 11:30pm with day light savings and put the girls to bed upstairs in Caitlin's bed. Not surprisingly, they both slept like puppies.

Girls are ready to go!

Olivia, the budding photographer took this picture....along with many other fuzzy pictures of the inside of the Baron.

Huel, Bonnie and Caitlin

Olivia, Jillian and Sofia singing along to the music

The full band in action!

The girls with Caitlin

Saying goodbye to such a sweet and fun family

The four of us just before loading up and heading to D.C.