The Thanksgiving whirlwind!

Wow, I had no idea how much last week would wear me out!

Monday we left bright and early (umm, well at least bright and early pre baby ~ it was about 9 before we got out) and headed north on 85. After a quick jaunt, we stopped at Elon University to pick up a little something for the baby. After many minutes of deliberation on what style and size to buy, we settled on this adorable hoodie sweatshirt in 18 months. (I figure that she will be able to wear it regardless of the season ~ we do get some cooler nights in summer ~ and the only other size was much bigger in that style). Isn't it adorable along with a onesie to show Ian's school colors? After shopping and admiring new buildings on campus (wow has Elon changed since I was there, of course I guess it has been 11 years...) we headed to the Blue Ribbon Diner in Burlington for lunch. Mmm, some things from college years don't change! That is the only place in the world where I will eat a bologna sandwich ( it's really thick cut, grilled, and served on white toast ~ don't diss it if you haven't tried it). They also have onion rings that have to be in competition for world's best! With a to go cup of sugary sweet tea, we got back in the car and continued north.

For the first time EVER on 95 headed into DC during the beginning of rush hour, we hit NO traffic. That gave us a few extra minutes before dinner to swing by Ian's dad's house to drop off our luggage and say hello. But then it was time for dinner with my life-long pal Craig and his wife Kiyoung. These two were made for each other and it was a great time to catch up on what is going on in life for all of us.

From there it was back to Ian's dad's to visit with his brother, sister, dad, and a surprise visit from Uncle Jim and Aunt Carol. We all stayed up entirely too late, but lots of pumpkin pie, chocolate cake, and coffee was consumed by all.

Tuesday brought a quiet morning and then lunch at our favorite Dim Sum resteraunt, Fortune. We got to enjoy many plates of delicious dumplings with Ian's dad and sister. We decided to go shopping afterward to encourage us to move and therefore burn some calories... Then we went to AWAA to meet the folks that are taking care of us during this crazy process we call adoption. It was so great to meet everyone there, but especially Laurel our family coordinator. Now there will be a face to go with the voice when we get "the call."

Wednesday the weather was dreadful, but we held true to our plan and headed into DC to explore. This is a tradition for Ian and I on every visit up to see his dad and we have seen almost every museum and memorial in the capital city by now. As we were trudging through the rain, we found ourselves wondering if our daughter would have such a crazy, adventerous spirit. I suppose time will tell. Finally as museums were closing it was time to go meet my cousin Chad and his girlfriend Caroline for dinner. Our only criteria was that it needed to be a cuisine that we can't get readily here in Charlotte and we ended up in a Belgian resteraunt. The heaviness of the meal suited the cold weather outside and we had a fantastic evening.

Thursday found us headed north toward Baltimore to visit with my Uncle Larry and Aunt Carol. We had Thanksgiving dinner with my aunt's family who graciously added Ian and I to their dinner party though we aren't really related. Following football and way too much food, we headed back to UL/AC's house to crash.

Friday we spent the better part of the day with my cousin Melanie, her husband Reid, and their sweet baby Ella in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor. It was a beautiful day (making up for the rain in DC) and we ate lunch and just wandered around people watching. Being around Ella (born in February) really made me want to know about our daughter more and more! I can't wait until those little girls get to play together. After we ran out of steam ~ and Ella fell sound asleep ~ we went back to UL/AC's house for dinner. Dinner was followed with browsing through their photo albums from their trips (yes, plural ~ these are some folks that are excited for us to go to China ~ they've been there more than once! Uncle Larry and Aunt Carol have the "travel bug" and were very influential in our brief time overseas three years ago) to China and getting a little taste of what is to come.

Saturday was the long ride home, but we broke up the trip by visiting with some of the folks Ian went to VT with on the way home. We stopped in Stephens City, VA to have "tailgating snacks" with Brian & Kelly and their toddler age sons Jacob and Luke. Amy brought McKenna (11 months) and the party was on. We caught the first half of the VT/UVA game and then headed south on 81 to Blacksburg where we stopped for dinner with Vanessa & Andrew along with their toddler Elijah and Matt & Kelly with little Anna and Hudson. Finally it was time for the last long stretch home and we passed the time by whole heartedly singing along to the retro 80s tunes on the Saturday night special.

Final count of visits:
One parent
Two siblings
Five sets of friends
Two sets of cousins
Two sets of aunts/uncles
LOTS OF FUN

And the common theme of the entire trip ~ getting to tell everyone all about the adoption process... There are a lot more experts in the China adoption world out there now!

It all had me so worn out that my little sis and I had to take a nap on Mama's living room floor in the middle of a sunbeam yesterday afternoon...
Can't wait until our little one is here to nap with us!