Catching Up

I realize that I never exactly filled you all in as to where exactly we were these past couple of weeks. It's been crazy, to say the least. I know this is quite boring, but I'll enjoy looking back at it a year from now, so here's a quick run-down of our travels:

• We left Thursday, Sept. 23. Flew to Fargo, ND via Minneapolis. Arrived late, couldn't fit in the miniature Yaris they gave us and got upgraded to a Tahoo instead. Awesome. I could see my breath upon arrival, after leaving 95* weather in Nashville. Not awesome. Drove 90 miles to Jamestown late that night and checked in to our hotel.
• Friday morning we got up and Dan took Caroline to meet Iver (we were there for Iver's wedding...and because we had always wanted to visit North Dakota...or not). Had breakfast at a local grocery store deli. Caroline smiled at everyone. Wedding fun all day, some girl time for Caroline & me in the pool. Rehearsal and dinner that night. Good times catching up with old friends from college.
• Saturday more wedding fun. The boys golfed and played football, then had lunch at Pizza Ranch (AMAZING). I decided that guys do weddings totally differently that us girls. Dan had a blast - all of the groomsmen & the groom went to college & played football together, so it was a bonus that the whole wedding party knew each other. I enjoyed catching up with other friends from school, meeting knew babies, etc. The wedding was beautiful, Caroline did great (until she spotted Daddy...), and the reception was a lot of fun. Headed back to hotel and packed very quietly after she fell asleep.
• Sunday, Sept. 26 - Left at 3:30 AM (not a typo). Made it to Fargo by 5:00 for our 6:30 flight. Quite a way to kick of Caroline's birthday! Flew to Minneapolis, had breakfast in the airport, Daddy and Caroline played hard until it was time to say good-bye. Daddy headed to Boston for a medical conference, and we boarded a plane for Missouri. It was very hard to say good-bye :(
• Still Sunday (this was a very long day) - arrived in Omaha, NE by 10:30am, met Aunt Linda, Ali & Keaton at the airport. Had a lovely brunch in the Old Market and enjoyed the visit very much. Headed South to Missouri with Aunt Linda. Caroline was in 5 states by 3:00 on her birthday - ND, MN, NE, IA, and MO!
• STILL Sunday - Arrived at Nana & Papa's! Spent the evening exploring and celebrating her big day. Nana made a smash cake that night, Kelsey, Brent, and the Blythes all came over to celebrate and watch her partake. She picked off the sprinkles one at a time until I helped her dig in :-) And finally, we CRASHED.
• Monday - Birthday party day! Aunt Linda and I worked on the cake and other preparations that day. We had the big bash at Aunt Kelsey's, but unfortunately a softball game had been rescheduled and she and Brent couldn't come until late. I'll try and get a whole post up about the party, but in short, it was great! Caroline had her own "baby bug" cupcake to eat , but mostly just enjoyed the frosting. She enjoyed every moment of her big night!
• Tuesday - went to Jamesport with Aunt Linda & Nana (mom). Took Caroline for a wagon ride and got some great pictures at a pumpkin stand. Stocked up on Amish goods. Enjoyed the time very much.
• Wednesday - Stayed home for most of the day so Caroline could get caught up on some rest. Visited Aunt Kelsey at her classroom at school. Went to a softball game that night in Hamilton to watch Kelsey coach and Paige & Torri play.
• Thursday - Aunt Linda headed back to Iowa. Went to a funeral and saw some dear friends. Back home, back to a softball game in Maysville that night.
• Friday - Spent some time at my Grandparents. Caroline explored everything. Grandpa got out a rocking horse, they explored the garden, Grandma fixed a delicious lunch. Good times :) Then spent the evening with Nana, Kelsey, Brent, Paige & Torri. Caroline played and played in her house that was custom built by Uncle Brent & Aunt Kels. Gave her a bath at their house. She peed on the counter. Everyone laughed. Nana brought her home for bed, I stayed and spent some time with Kels & Brent. It was quit refreshing.
• Saturday - headed into St. Joe with Nana. Went to Piper's 1st birthday party for a bit. Watched some more softball. Did a little shopping. Headed back to Nana's.
• Sunday - church. Visited with lots of friends there. Spent lots of time outside with Papa (one of her favorite things). Hung out with Paige & Torri. Delicious dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's. Said good-bye to Papa, Brent & Kelsey.
• Monday - packed up. Said another hard good-bye to Nana. Grandma & Grandpa picked us up and brought us to the airport. Flew back to Nashville. Caroline completed a crazy travel cycle without incident (she really is the best baby ever) and was greeted by a very excited Daddy at the gate. Those two didn't let go of each other until we got to the car, then Caroline fell fast asleep before we made it home. Everyone crashed, happy to be back in our own beds.

So ends the longest 11 days in quite some time. Whew! They were crazy and full, but very very wonderful. We're glad we made it happen, even though we had our doubts at times. We know that some people think we're crazy for traveling as much as we do, but we've realized there is simply no other way to spend time with dear family and friends that live so far away. It's worth every dime and every moment.

But I'm also very glad to be home :-)

P.S. Again, I apologize for the lack of pictures. We misplaced our camera and didn't have it on the trip. The pictures I took with other cameras haven't made it to my computer quite yet. I'll hopefully have some to share soon!