General Springtime Fun

We have been able to do some fun stuff this spring & as I get caught up on blogging, I decided to list several of our adventures at once.

1. Visit to Hartsville, SC
Before Brandon's busy season kicked into high gear and while I was on Spring Break, we loaded up with the dogs and headed to visit Giddy, Grandad, and Aunt Peggy in South Carolina.  As always, it was a fun trip and we laughed, danced, and played a lot! Here's C next to Giddy's azaleas. Most of our other pictures of people have them in their pajamas. And I'm not sure they want me posting those online...

2. Kace & Judah
Because Jana was about to have her baby, Carson spent the last few months of the school year with another good friend of ours, Kace.  We're so blessed to have friends & family willing to help out and care for our little girl!  You'll remember their family from previous posts--C and Judah are only days apart in age.  Carson had such a great time playing over there and getting used to a new environment.  Toward the end, she got truly comfortable with Kace--we know this because she flat-out told her NO on one of her last days there (this is not uncommon with Brandon & I but is very rare for others).  Kace and Judah welcomed Carson in every way and made it so much fun for her to be there.  Crafts, trips to the park, and a whole new set of toys kept Carson very entertained in her adventures with the Gunters.  You can check out the Gunters' blog HERE for more stories.  We're looking forward to summer play dates!

3. Baby Evie
Jana, Seth, and Lila welcomed their second beautiful baby girl into their family on May 5.  C and I steered clear for awhile because we were sick, but Carson finally got to meet Evie (pronounced eh-vee) last week.  She was so excited to see Jana and Lila, she actually cried.  As we were loading up the car, she kept saying, "Jana. Lila. Jana. Lila...." over and over again, getting more and more worked up until she just burst into tears.  And then she was sort of scared because she didn't understand why she was crying.  It was sweet and hearbreaking at the same time.  Apparently, we need to visit more!
Anyway, Evie is gorgeous, Lila is a great big sister, and Jana & Seth are amazing parents to both!  We're so glad to have such dear friends.  Congratulations, Burrows!

4. Lake Trip to See Kristin
Kristin, one of my very best friends in the world, lives in Boston (for now ; ) ), but her awesome mom lives in South Carolina. 

Kristin, Marc, and their son Lucas came down to visit her mom for Memorial Day weekend, and I took Carson to go see them. It's one of Brandon's biggest weekends for work, so we figured we'd keep ourselves busy--and why miss the chance to see our good friends when they were so much closer than usual?  We arrived Sunday around lunch and headed straight out on the boat. 

Carson loved her first boat ride and was very excited to get in the water.  Until she got in the water.  That's when she realized it feels nothing like her bathtub.  So we hung on the boat, which was perfectly fine with C.

The rest of our too-short visit was filled with tons of great food and endless amounts of laughter.  

Cutie pie Lucas chowing down!

Kristin's brother Tripp & his wife Lindsay, as well as our friends Patty and Vince, also came for the weekend.  After C went to bed, we hung out on the deck with music and drinks and had so much fun just talking.  It feels so good to be with people who make you feel more like yourself than you do in your day to day life.  Does that make sense?  People who can tell stories about you from 15 years ago. People who know you well, who have seen every stage of your adulthood, career, and family.  People who love your child, who will laugh at, feed, hug, entertain, and teach her.  People who make you literally laugh so much it hurts.  I was exhausted the next day, but I would have paid almost any price for those few refreshing hours with true friends.

Here are more pictures:

And now it's officially my summer!  I'll keep you posted on how C and I keep busy these next few weeks :)