We left on Saturday morning (July 18th) and flew to Charlotte, NC. The boys were exceptionally good on the flight and the pilot made good time and got us there early. Memy picked us up at the airport...talk two little boys happy to see someone...and an aunt happy to see two little boys! We were all starving so we headed to the Cajun Yard Dog (a favorite of Em and Henry's) for lunch - we had the best Mac and Cheese I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, the waiter told us how easy it is to make and gave us the recipe. I kinda wish I didn't know it! :) After lunch, we went to the Owen home to unload, meet the chickens, see the cats and take naps. After some good rest time, we walked over to Stumptown Park, one street over from their house, for a fun outdoor concert. The boys were SO tired, but we listened for a little while, ate some gelato and enjoyed the wonderful, MUCH cooler weather. We commented over and over all week how we loved the NC weather and were definitely not missin' the triple digit temps in Texas! Lucky for us, it was even cooler than normal in Charlotte for this time of year.
Sunday morning we walked to church (they live three houses down from the church) and got to hear Emily preach - always a treat. She did a wonderful job, as always. That congregation LOVES her...so many people told me how much they like her and enjoy having her there. I certainly think the feeling is mutual...they are loving Charlotte and we can see why. Sunday afternoon we hung out at the house, napped, relaxed and listened to Carson ask at least 50 times (no exaggeration) if it was time to go pick up Henry. Henry was on a mission trip in Mexico and did not arrive home until Sunday night. Carson could not wait to see him!
While Kenny and I went on a date, Emily took the boys to go pick up Henry. Kenny and I had a great time. We saw The Proposal with Sandra Bullock, then walked over to a restaurant that Em had made reservations at for us called "New South". Sunday was the last day of Restaurant week in Charlotte and participating restaurants were offering special menus. Em and Henry had given us a gift card to this restaurant as a late birthday gift for me and an early "10 year anniversary" for both of us. The food was phenomenal. Kenny had a steak with sweet potatoes and green beans. I had Shrimp and Grits - yum! Good food, good wine and so nice to sit and have a leisurely, uninterrupted dinner with no kiddos! We topped it all off with chocolate mousse cake and butterscotch bread pudding (yes, it is as good as it sounds). Thanks again Emily and Henry for a fun date night!
Monday morning we headed to the light rail station, the "Lynx" as it is called in Charlotte, and took it downtown to Discovery Place. We took Addie Pederson (Bill Pederson's daughter, Bill is the Senior Pastor at Em's church) with us and we met the Bagleys (another family at Em's church that has a little boy Carson's age) there. We had a fun day of exploring the museum. We saw an IMAX about Ocean life narrated by Jim Carey (they said it was good, I was out in the hall with Collier who was not interested in the IMAX!). They had a great exhibit on Pirates and Shipwrecks that the kids loved - very interesting. Lots of hands on stuff related to science and a fun "younger kid" area that Collier had a blast in. The museum is currently under major renovation and will reopen a lot of the exhibits in 2010, so we will definitely go back next time we are there. After a quick stop for some ice cream, we headed home to rest and make dinner. Emily made a great dinner - bar-b-qued pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese and veggies from their garden. It was delish! We made some margaritas and relaxed after the boys went to bed. It is always fun to just hang out with Em and Henry!
Tuesday morning we went over to meet Henry at Friendship Trays...a non-profit organization he has been working with. We got to see the garden that he helped set up for them, meet the staff and hear about the program. It is a very neat organization. It is similar to Meals on Wheels, but the cooks are all ex-convicts that are trying to start over and learn some life skills to make them productive members of society. Henry has helped start a garden (another outlet for education, etc...for these folks) and the produce is then used in the meals. He has also started a garden at the church where he is working and some of that produce is also contributed.
Tuesday night, Annie Keyser (her mom and my Dad are first cousins) came over for dinner. Henry made homemade pizza dough and we all made our own pizzas - very fun! The kids all had a great time together and we had a really good, long overdue visit.
We spent the rest of our evening getting ready and makin' plans for our "trip to the mountains" the next morning!
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