Sunday, September 30, 2012

a love letter to north carolina

back in april, spencer's dad turned 60, and his birthday wish was to complete a century bike ride with his son. -zero hesitation from spencer on agreeing to that.

and so the planning began. 

the kids and i weaseled our way into the plans (i'm not a very good sport about missing out on the fun), so in september we all spent a week in north carolina together. 

spencer and i lived in charlotte when we were first married and his parents live in the raleigh area. it had been two years since we'd been back, and that canopy of trees as we pulled into the airport was a breath a fresh air from the smoked filled fire ridden home we'd left behind in the west.

i haven't traveled a whole lot, (though i'd like to), but in my opinion north carolina is one of the most beautiful places on earth. the trees, the architecture, the weather, the woods, the beach, THE BBQ, i wish i could package it all up and bring it closer to home.

nana and papa marshall put so much time and energy into preparing for us to come that it was debatable whether or not it was more magical for us or the kids. a million thank yous, gosh you guys are nice.

"nana camp" included a picture clue scavenger hunt with treasure, going to the beach fun bags, gobs of sand toys, a driving to the zoo soundtrack, homemade gak, papa's hideout, a 60th birthday party (with talenti gelato), and olive even made and served us dinner one night.

we spent two days at the beach (my favorite place to be) and harrison was a first timer. he chased the waves and laughed when they'd reach his feet over and over again. i love that both of my idaho kids have seen the beach for the first time on the atlantic coast. its now a tradition that we plan to uphold (this is not an announcement), just saying.

spencer and his dad went on their beautiful, long bike ride and diane and i got a girls shopping afternoon as well. 
fyi: furbish in raleigh-go.

the food was good, the fun was excellent and the company was the tops. reality since has been a hard pill to swallow.