Trip to NC

We went to NC to visit family over Labor Day weekend, and I've been meaning to post some pictures and video from that trip for days. It was a great trip, and we were very busy with get-togethers the entire weekend. Carter barely got any naps in, but that didn't slow him down. He was excited to be able to spend time outside (it was a lot cooler there than it's been in Austin) and to have new places to see and explore.

We flew out on Thursday night, and Carter had his own seat for his 50th and 51st flights. The flight from DFW to Greensboro is on a little commuter jet, and with it being a holiday weekend, I couldn't imagine keeping Carter crammed into that little space between me and the seat in front of me. He ended up sleeping the whole way to Greensboro, as expected. (The flight was 8:00-11:30.)



We got in really late on Thursday night, and of course Carter was completely awake by the time we got to my Mom's house. He stayed up and played with her until 1:30am, and then slept in until almost 10:00 the next morning. That's one of the great things about Carter -- he's not one of those kids (yet, anyway) who wakes up at 5:30 in the morning regardless of when he went to sleep!

The next afternoon, my sister brought her kids Aidan and Emma over to play, and they all had a great time.





They especially enjoyed pushing ride-on toys around in the driveway. Carter liked pushing them down the hill so that they would crash into the house, and which point he would laugh and say, "Crash!" He also wanted to chase them as they rolled down, which resulted in him having a spectacular crash of his own. He had scrapes all over one side of his face for most of the weekend, poor kid.



Here Carter and Aidan are cleaning the driveway.



On Saturday, we headed up to Mount Airy for a family gathering at my Aunt Bonnie's house. In addition to Bonnie and her husband Lane, my grandparents, Bonnie's daughters Lindsay (and her fiance John) and Julie (and her husband Matt and daughter Matti), my Aunt Pam and Uncle Scott, my sister Donna, her husband Chris, and kids Aidan and Emma -- all were there. We had a cookout and spent the day watching the kids play in the backyard, and it was so much fun!







Here you can see Carter's scratches. I love this picture, and I photo-shopped those out and have it as my new desktop. ;-)







I don't think any of the kids got a nap that day, but they certainly had a lot of fun!

On Sunday morning, my Dad and Step-mom (along with my niece Taylor) picked us up early to take us to the mountains for the day. We had breakfast in a diner, and then headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to go to Mabry Mill, a working water-powered mill where you can learn a lot about 19th and early-20th century life in Appalachia.

Taylor loved learning about all the historical aspects of the place, but Carter was mostly interested in running around!



Carter with Grandma.



Papa shows Carter how an old-fashioned plow works.





Here Carter and Taylor are playing in the water flume that powers the mill. Carter REALLY wanted to get in the water!



Here is a cute video of him dancing to some banjo music.



We had intended to go pick apples at an orchard after that, but it started to rain. Carter fell asleep in the truck, so it was just as well. He got his first real nap in days We got back to the house and Carter had a chance to run around and explore Papa and Grandma's farm.



Here he is looking at the chickens. (You can hear him say "chicken" here.)



On Monday morning, we even managed to get in a full morning before we headed to the airport. Donna brought her kids over and Mom came over too, and we spent the morning outside. Dad saddled up a horse to take the kids for a ride. Carter was not so interested in that!



Here is Mom playing with Emma.



Dad got the tractor out to take the kids for a ride, and Carter LOVED it.



Here is a video of the tractor ride. Incidentally, Carter LOVES this video. He will point to my computer and say "Tractor!", meaning that he wants to watch it. I could put it on a continuous loop and he would happily watch it for a long time.



We rushed to the airport after that and flew back to Austin. Carter rode on his 52nd and 53rd flights! It was a great trip, and we really enjoyed seeing everyone. I wish we could visit more often. :-)