- Spending several days in a row with my sisters and their familes
- Visiting with Grandmom and Granddad
- Spending time with Daddy and having quality Papi-and-grandbaby time
- Learning that Dave's mom wanted to name him "Dugal"
- Hot tubbing in the POURING rain with the Brominator
- Taking some quick dips in G & G's pool
- Spending time sitting with Granddad on his bed and holding his hand
- Boating around Lake Lure
- Watching Grandmom and Granddad light up while the babies played in Granddad's room and on his bed
- Snuggling with Nick and Hudson in our king-sized bed
- Attending Ribfest in the rain (after we lathered on sunscreen!)
- Creating our signature sister hashtags - #bangsfordays & #unibang
- Sipping wine at two wineries (Parker-Binns Vineyard & Overmountain Vineyards)
- Taking a few extra minutes one evening to visit with Grandmom, Granddad, Claire, and LIsa - and to hear G & G tell their love story
- Saying "I love you," through my annual tearful goodbye, to Granddad one last time ...
***
Our Trip in Photos
(These are mainly my photos. Claire has many, many more!)
During our trip to NC...
Arlo and Hudson waited patiently to board our airplane
- and we almost missed our flight!
Hudson and Nick played on the iPhone and iPad
- while Claire, Aaron, and Arlo snoozed: )
Arlo and Scotty looked out the window...
We visited Cracker Barrel...
Arlo and Hudson had a little snoozefest on the way into Tryon...
We saw Morris, the Tryon Horse!!!
Arlo and Hudson sat with Great Grandmom...
We visited Asheville...
Hudson, Arlo, AND Scotty took some baths...
We visited Lake Lure
- for a delicious lunch and a boat tour...
Hudson and Arlo shared snuggles, tickles, and pictures with Papi...
We visited two wineries...
We enjoyed G & G's pool, deck, and solarium...
We dealt with a power outage!
We attended Ribfest - in the rain!!!
Arlo (and Aaron) met Granddad and Grandmom...
Hudson and Arlo acted silly together...
We took turns in the hot tub; )
We visited (and Aaron cleaned up) the pond...
...and then it was time to say our goodbyes...
...and fly home...
***
The day after we returned, I posted my favorite vacation pic (and favorite Hudson/Arlo pic to date!) on Instagram, and Grandmom (51slyfox) wrote us a sweet message...
I like to think that Granddad saw the picture, too, and that the picture made him smile. Six days later, and exactly one week after we left North Carolina, our sweet Granddad passed away. I will forever be thankful that we took this trip and that we were able to say goodbye.
***
I didn't get a picture of Hudson Bob with his Great-granddad (Bob!), but I do have this photo from last year in Hudson's photo album...
Most nights we look through his photos, and we talk about the people in the pictures. I always feel like Granddad is looking at us when we get to this picture, and we wave and say, "Night, night!" to him. Tonight, without any prompting, Hudson waved and said, "Nigh nigh!" to Granddad. I hope Granddad can hear us. We already miss him very, very much.
