Our last NC vacation

We returned from our last North Carolina vacation today. We spent a long weekend in Raleigh because I had a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) leadership meeting and because we have good friends we wanted to visit there.

It was a fun weekend (though I forgot the camera so I can't prove it). I learned about investing my time wisely and had fun hanging out with some MOPS friends on Saturday, while Lane took the kids (well, I had the baby) out for adventures around Raleigh, including a snow ball fight (no, it isn't snowing here) and shopping for boy baseball mits and girl clothes (yes, he is amazing!). After their adventures around town, Lane was able to give directions to two people that evening. Only took him a few hours to become an expert of the area.

On Sunday we went letterboxing, which we had not done for over a year (baby being born and a deployment kinda took over the past year). It was fun, once again, and I hope we'll find more time for it this year. Afterwards, we met up with some good friends that had moved from here last summer. It was great to see them again. They hoped we could someday be stationed together again but it's hard to know what the future will hold (especially when Uncle Sam is involved with deciding for us).

Today we stopped on the way home for another letterboxing adventure. Then had a Southern cultural experience at a local barbecue restaurant. Have you ever had North Carolina barbecue? It's slow-roasted pork, chopped up and mixed with a vinegar based dressing. It hasn't grown on me yet, but I do love the hushpuppies and sweet tea (so did Bethany who spilled an entire glass on herself). The boys enjoyed the "bucking" pig in the lobby of the restaurant. Where else could you find great entertainment like that?

Now that we are home, it is time to buckle down and get ready for our move in about a month. But there are so many more things to explore here...