Hey you guys!

I'm back! Home that is, and maybe to blogging, although I have a to-do list a mile long. Probably the precise reason I am blogging.

It was very surreal to be back at Aunt Beth's house without Aunt Beth there. We worked very, very quickly so we could get back - so there wasn't much time for reminscing, but I did anyway. Is it wrong to mix feelings with places and belongings? I would venture to say it is because Aunt Beth mixed emotions with things and hence and kept everything, I didn't stutter, EVERYTHING! Anyway back to my emotions...

The house she lived in was a house Kyle and I looked at renting as newlyweds. I fell in love with it, but it was out of our price range at the time. I couldn't let it go though so I made Aunt Beth go look at it. She agreed with its perks and the little doggie that the departing tenant were going to take to the pound. So she moved in to my dream house at the time and adopted a little dog named Buster.

Being there knowing it would be my last time there brought back all those memories: Wanting to make that place a home for Kyle, helping Aunt Beth move in, Dinner after Benjamin's blessing at church. Pictures with my kids when there were five generations alive to photograph. Late night board games with cheese and crackers and accusations of cheating. Many birthdays and Christmas celebrations. Being with Maw-maw as she passed away. Gathering there to plan my brother's funeral. Tears shed in every room. Being there again as Me-Maw (my great-grandmother who I am named after) left this world.  

There was also the time that my sister lived in the duplex upstairs. It cracked me up at the time to watch the kids love to sneak upstairs. It reminded me of my childhood. My "Auntie" aka the cool one of my dad's four sisters,  lived downstairs at my granparents house on the lake. It was buisness upstairs and fun down. For a litte while it was the opposite for my kids. Business downstairs, fun up.

I miss Aunt Beth a lot, but I was surprised that it was so hard to say goodbye to that house.

Now that I covered the emotions of the trip, I have to say the logistics went better than could be expected. THANKS to everyone who helped me with the kids!

And a big THANKS to Cora. I was thinking of all that has been asked of her since being born:

A trip to Disney in September, 

a long road trip to VA and on to Pennsylvania in October,

Back to VA in December, and

back again in March,

Countless miles, three airplanes, several hotels, naps in carseats, nights in different playpens, nursing anywhere and everywhere - she has rolled with it all, slept well, smiled tons. Man I love that baby!

Can I just say how it kind of hurts my feelings that after being exclusively nursed, she enjoys the heck out of a bottle. That's why I only put water in it.

So this picture probably seems really dumb to you, but check this out - Its a forest fire in the mountains of tennessee. We turned a corner and couldn't figure out if there was some UFO ahead or something, but as we got closer we realized it was the mountain on fire. It was about 1 in the morning and right after we were sure it was a fire we realized we were the only ones on the road in either direction. When we entered the smoke we began to get worried that we missed the message that the road was closed because of the fires. So we did what any insane person would do, went faster to get the heck out of dodge.

Doesn't do it justice - I love Texas but Virginia is BEAUTIFUL

How we roll in the UHaul...

oh in the battle of... Cora and the Carrier vs. Me - I am losing.

My babies are always in regular carseats by now, but I knew the Va trip was coming up so I decided to keep her in the infant carrier until after. It was much easier to deal with in the UHaul than a regular carseat would have been. But I'm done, carrying her in that thing is like lifting a bag of bricks.