We're going on a trip on our favorite rocket ship... (part 2)

The day after the wedding, Lorry and I got up early and took the kids to the church service in Ocean City. I always look forward to attending a service there and was excited when I realized we could make it work. There is always an incredible speaker and this week was no different. The man who gave the sermon was the President of the Adventist Disaster Relief Agency and I could have listened to him all day. It was a wonderful way to start the day. Besides making you incredibly grateful for what you have and the life you live, it was a very thought provoking sermon and makes you think about who you really are and the legacy that you will leave.

Welcome to NC! A ridiculous offer for pork and biscuits that had my sister deliriously laughing as she puts it..."There is NO reason for ANYONE to need 6 sausage biscuits!"

We then motored on down 95 to our most recent "old" hometown, Havelock, NC. John, April, Tyler and Aaron were so sweet to let us stay with them. It's funny how time can pass and when it comes to great friends, very little changes. We just picked up right where we left off 9 months before! The best times were just hanging around the house in our pj's chatting with the kids off playing. We did make time to see some very important people while we were there. Our old church had their annual swimming party while we were there, so we were able to see most of our friends from church. I wish we'd had more time so that personal visits would have been possible, but as usual, time goes so quickly. Marshall and I went to visit Marshall's favoritist Occupational Therapist (HA! RHYMES!) Ms. Kathleen. She worked with Marshall for a few years before we left NC and he just adores her. Just before we left NC, I found a young Siamese kitten on April's porch. I knew I surely was bananas when I scooped it up and took it home. I just couldn't leave her out to get hit by a car. She was so sweet and we all loved her... except Creampuff! She seemed to do fine with all of us as well. She would even walk around our dogs legs, rubbing on them. For many reasons, keeping her was not an option. We were beginning to pack our house that week, so I had to find her a home quickly. Kathleen agreed to give her a try and she seems to have worked out well. We visited Kathleen at her home and then absconded with her dear little boy, Dominic, who had so much fun playing with Marshall that he asked if he could come with us while his mom finished her work day. They had a great time swimming at April's house and Dominic was able to see the very porch where I found their kitty almost a year ago! Dominic was so funny. On the drive back to his house, he was lamenting how quickly the time had gone and wishing he hadn't spent so much time in the pool because his Dad told him that time spent swimming goes quickly. :) Too cute!

Amelia listening intently to one of our favorite Pastors, Pastor Jason during the swimming party

Down time at the Copas house

Marshall, Ms. Kathleen, Sagwa the kitty, and Dominic

Dominic on the porch where Sagwa was found

Amelia, Noah and Aaron taking a break from swimming

While in NC, we made a little trip down to the Aquarium for Marshall to see his second family, the sharks! When we lived there, he developed quite the love (obsession? eh, why split hairs?) for the toothy little guys. We planned to go to the beach afterward, but someone must have been doing one doozy of a rain dance as the area got 10 inches of rain in less than 4 hours. I'm not going to name any names, but you know who you are....

Cool Sculpture at the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium
(We LOVE the river otters!)

Marshall found Marshallberg, NC on the map at the Aquarium

Marshall kissy facing with a fish that kept creeping up behind him and watching him. At one point the fish even spooked him! ;)

Future engineers for the military simultaneously trying to figure out what's wrong with this telescope...

Amelia and Ms. April at Amelia's favorite... the stingray touch tank!

This has always been one of my favorite views in NC... Even with all that rain on the way, it's still breathtaking.
A gnarly looking snapping turtle that was searching higher ground in April's backyard after the rain. John was brave enough to remove him so that the dogs didn't get assaulted. He used a shovel that the turtle was whacking so hard with it's mouth that the shovel sounded like a bell with each hit... dong... dong... dong....

Cute little Tony, my friend Hser Ku Paw's little boy. Somewhere over the last year, someone has taught this little munchkin how to play drums with silverware. He was just adorable! We were lucky enough to have a visit with them at a local Thai restaurant where I was also able to cross an item off my "bucket list".... Sticky rice with Mangoes.... It was SOOO good!

Two of the funniest dogs you'll ever meet. Minnie and Casey aren't allowed in the kitchen while April is cooking, so they strategically place themselves just on the other side of the line that they aren't allowed to cross.

Amelia sleeping, Havelock, NC

On the way back to Pa, we stopped by to see Aunt Beth, Uncle Rick and their boys in Silver Spring, MD. What fun! The kids had a great time playing together and I had a wonderful time staying up way too late talking. The next morning brought more playtime for the kids, more chatting for the adults, only this time it came with coffee! Once again, there's no friends like old friends!

Amelia sleeping, Silver Spring, MD

Josh, Marshall, Luke and Amelia hanging out

We were lucky enough to be able to celebrate Luke's 3rd birthday with him!

Back in Pa, we tried to make the best of our few remaining days and visit as many people as possible. We even ran back down to Baltimore to visit Uncle Mark. The kids are always happy to see him and had a blast playing with what they know of as the "Worlds Largest and Best Organized Collection of Lego's" Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we ran out of people to see and we are looking forward to our next trip so we can start with those we missed this time.

Granddad wowing the kids with his specialty, MAGIC!

Reading an I-SPY book with Sue

The kids with my very favorite Grandma!

Amelia giving her opinion of Uncle Paul's hair brushing talents
(Notice the shocked look on his face! LOL)

Marshall making Star Wars planes at Aunt Lorry's!

Amelia defending her apple slice from Phoebe and Sully... dogs who eat apples!

Ice cream at Friendly's... YUMMY!

Playtime at the Park with Zachary and Lauren

Jeremy's nephew Zachary with the infectious smile and laugh!

Lauren and I had a great time on the slide and playing Peek a boo!

Lauren brave enough to hug a sweaty played out Marshall

Zachary brave enough to hug Amelia who seems intent on lifting him off the ground!

Another set of cute, funny siblings!

Loading Uncle Marks Lego gun...

Firing Uncle Mark's Lego gun!

Amelia having too much fun with Uncle Mark's Legos to look at my camera

Chuck E. Cheese? Nope, it's Caleb!

I missed Abby and Jeremy while we were gone. I've never been away from any of my kids for so long before. I knew that I missed them and was consoled by the knowledge that they weren't even home for the bulk of our trip, but I wasn't prepared for the rush of emotions that I felt when I got off that plane in good old Yuma. My baby girl looked bigger and older and had so much to tell me. I just couldn't get enough of her. It's good to be all together again... just as it should be.

And Marshall finally falls asleep between L.A. and Yuma...