Carolina In My Mind

 

We had a wonderful trip to Charlotte over Easter.  It was so good to be home!  (And to realize that Charlotte is home - a certain member of our family hadn't always been so sure ;-)  Now, Andy's more American than most Americans!

The kids were thrilled with the Easter egg hunts and the Easter Bunny visit.  It was so great to catch up with so many of you too!  Really, we have the best friends. 

Jonas refused to be in our family Easter photo. 
Jonas and Sara both loved riding in the wagon.  Grandpa spent a lot of time pulling them around.  Felix enjoyed it too!

We spent some time on the lake too.  Jonas loved going fishing with Grandpa and caught 2 catfish!  He's now the top fisherman in the family.

Sara loved the boat too.  Although, she had just picked up walking and was more interested in walking back and forth all over the boat.  Once the novelty of finally walking wears off, I'm sure she'll be even more thrilled to be on the water.

Wendy, Grandma & Grandpa treated us to a fun day at MerleFest.  I have to say, it greatly exceeded my expectations.  And the Kruger Brothers are amazing.  Thanks Joey for making sure we saw them!  I definitely plan to go back - although will likely wait until we've passed the toddler phase to take the kids again ;-)
Andy spent most of the time we were in Charlotte working.  However, he did take a break for 2 days and we went to Charleston.  So nice to have such a great city so close!  A huge thanks to G&G for watching the kids! 

We stayed at a B&B on the Battery.  After we booked it at the visitor center, the lady mentioned that the house is haunted.  Hmm.  I wasn't too sure then!  Andy reviewed the guest book that had the history of the house and I asked him if it said anything about the ghost.  Just that there are 2!  We never saw them :-)

Jonas had a absolute blast flying the kite Auntie Wendy got for him!

Molly was so glad to have us back.  And a little heart-broken when we left again.  We miss her!  And all of you! 

The flight back wasn't too terrible.  Jonas slept much of it.  Sara only slept 3 hours but was relatively quiet the rest of the time.  She probably did win the screaming baby award, but honestly there wasn't much competition.  (Pretty sad when you're scanning the gate area before the flight hoping to spot some other toddlers so yours has half a chance of not being the worst on board :-).

As my friend Lenora once said, one only adjusts to a time zone change as quickly (or not) as the kids do.  Our first week back was long!  The kids did take the standard night/hour change to adjust.  I felt sorry that Andy had to fly out to Brussels the day we got back.  However, he definitely got much more sleep than he would have if he had been home!  So, maybe it wasn't so bad for him after all.

And last but not least, a few tidbits from Jonas:

1)  Recently, Andy gave Jonas some money to put into his piggy bank.  J: Why do I have to save it? M: So you can use it some day, to buy a car ... D: or go to college... J: Or buy an airplane!!!!  (And he means a real airplane.  He wants to be a pilot!)

2)  During a ride home from a playdate, Sara was especially cranky in the car.  J: Mom, do you remember that song about patience? M: Yes!  What a great idea!  "Have patience, Have patience, don't be in such a hurry..."  Worked like a charm.  Sara stopped crying and I had proof that Jonas really does listen to me!

3)  One night we read a book about different bears, one of which was catching salmon in a river.  A few nights later, we had salmon for dinner.  The next day, Jonas randomly said:  Mom, do bears eat salmon?  M: Some do. J: Do they cook them like we do?  M: No.  J: Why not?!