Sunday, August 28, 2011

The Trek Back



After saying Farewell to Fayetteville we began our trip back to Durham to begin Russell's last year at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. We decided that we weren't going to rush that 16 hours plus drive and we wanted to see as many people as we could.

First Stop: Benton!

We stayed with my parents from Saturday until Wednesday morning. While in Benton we tried to squeeze in as much as we could. I helped my mom prepare for her 25th year of dance registration which involved lots of merchandise organization and opening the new adorable leotards. Why weren't leotards that cute when I was little? It was great to spend time with my mom and be in the studio again!

On Sunday, we went to church with my parents and got to have dinner with much of my family: parents, both sets of grandparents, and my Aunt Nancy and her family. I love having dinners with my family! The older I get, the fewer chances I get to see everyone. I'll have to say, my grandmother really out did herself for dinner. It was like Thanksgiving! We even had 3 desserts! I'm such a lucky girl to have 4 grandparents at this stage in my life. I thank God for them everyday!

Russell and I biked the Big Dam Bridge trail in Little Rock. This is such a great trail. It's between 12-13 miles and it takes you through the River Market (where we stopped to play on the playground), out to the Big Dam Bridge, through a wooded area and park in North Little Rock and back to the River Market. The trail is wide enough for traffic in both directions and provides plenty of turns and small hills to make the ride interesting. We were definitely tired and definitely sweaty when we finished so what's better than meeting a friend for dinner right afterward?


















I also got to see my friends Rebecca and Anna. Rebecca and I got to spend some QT by the pool hanging and chatting. Anna and I had a great time and I loved seeing her babies. They are growing up so fast! Evie Kate and I had a serious conversation about her need for a big dog. A girl must have a big dog to sleep in her bed with her!

Hattie was supposed to be ready to come home on Monday and my brother was going to bring her all the way to Benton. Fortunately there were so many adoptions over the weekend, the vet didn't have time to do Hattie's surgery on Monday. Unfortunately, that put a kink in our plans. Because of this, I wasn't able to see several of my best friends including: Autumn, Lara, Sarah, and Stephanie. Girls- I was so bummed I missed you!

On Tuesday we picked up Hattie and on Wednesday we packed up and headed out to Memphis.

In Memphis we had a wonderful time visiting The Bloodworths and The Webers. We ate dinner with The Webers on Wednesday and had a great time playing with our nephews. They're so adorable, we just love watching them grow up! We took William and Christopher on a serious golf cart ride. Extreme sports at it's best.

The highlight of our trip was making a stop at our storage unit to check on our stuff. We were in for a real treat-white mold all over everything! Thursday we spent almost our entire day removing mold and moving furniture. Luckily the people at Extra Space Storage were awesome! They helped us get a new unit and hired movers to help us with our things. Check this pic- we hope our furniture is salvagable!

We spent Thursday evening at the Polo Club where Russell and I got engaged. We met The Bloodworths, The Webers and Russell's brother Christopher. We had drinks on the patio where the weather was exceptionally wonderful followed by dinner and birthday presents. The highlight- Polo Club ice cream. I had banana with chocolate sauce. Superb!

We left for the lake on Friday and had an uneventful and relaxing 24 hours at the lake with the fam.




Saturday we headed to Birmingham. We were excited to see The Mitchell family as well as Christopher and his fiance Lindsey. I loved seeing everyone. I was especially excited to hear about the upcoming wedding plans. I love wedding planning now that I don't ever have to plan my own wedding ever again! Our nieces and nephew are adorable. They're growing up so fast and they are so smart and funny! We had take out for dinner from Pinches tacos and it was scrumptious.

Sunday we went to church with the fam, had lunch and headed out of town again. This time we were off to Atlanta for my birthday trip that Russell had surprised me with the previous week!

I'll continue the riveting story of our trip across The South in the upcoming post that focuses on my awesome birthday surprise from Russell!

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