Wanted: A Repeat of June '08

If I could vote on it, I'd make every month like this past one. Yep, I'm the kind of person who never tires of trip-taking, and the day it's over, Harland accuses me of quietly cooking up another plan--another place we NEED to see. I counter that if it weren't for me, we would never have discovered some of our favorite spots since moving to Charlotte two years ago: Charleston, Hilton Head Island, Oak Island, and South Mountain are among my faves. Some of the not-so-fun adventures I convinced our family to check out: "Historic Brattonsville" in the middle of January, and Cane Creek Park. I can never seem to live down the "busts".

Anyway, it started out with a fun camping trip to South Mountain State Park, which was absolutely beautiful and we camped right next to a creek which pooled every hundred feet or so, giving us a great place to romp and splash around. We hiked to a waterfall which was gorgeous and a short hike, so Cannon did the whole thing without trouble.

Soon after, the boys and I flew to Salt Lake, where we played with our cousins, aunts, uncles and of course, grandparents. We also spent memorial day with Harland's family in Fish Lake Utah, where we had fun INDOORS since it was snowing. Hmmm, sort of weird coming from Charlotte to that. I left the boys with family and took a little side trip to DC, where I met up with Harland and his class for a conference. It was such a great trip. I love DC and have so many great memories during my Page-days. We also caught up with friends and family who live there, and get this... I even got to sleep in! I have to say, taking a trip kid-free is so liberating! Of course I missed my little buddies, but it was amazing to spend some real time in the National Gallery of Art, Holocaust museum, National Archives, and dine at Ethopian restuarants and Italian (I didn't have to ask anyone if anything was gluten-free!). So we had a blast. We also took in a Red Sox v. Orioles game. My first time at a major league game.

Henry at Fish Lake, after making a castle-cake with grandma

Red Sox v. Orioles...13 innings

I flew back to SLC for a few more days, had a happy reunion with the boys, and spent a couple more days with family before heading back to Charlotte. The boys hadn't seen Harland in two weeks, so they were SOOOO excited. Then a couple days later, we were off to Oak Island, on the southern shores of NC. We shared a condo with some friends and had a wonderful time. So that's our month...so totally out-of-the-ordinary and absolutely great. Of course, stepping into our home again after that long felt so wonderful. It's great to be gone and great to come home. I love our little home and I love Charlotte.

(L-R) Cannon is fearless in the water--not from my side of the family, I can assure you.
With the McKinnons and Woodwards