Memorial Day

Memorial Day was really special this year. My grandma was born in Walstonburg North Carolina just 15 miles from where we live now. I have so many cousins and family from her side that still live in North Carolina that I cannot wait to meet. For memorial day we drove to Walstonburg and visited my grandmas parents graves. William and Esther Craft. It was really special to see where they are buried and to see the area my grandma was born in. My great grandfather was a tobacco farmer and died at the age of 34 from leukimia and his wife couldn't afford to feed all her children so she sent them (my grandma) to live at an orphanage in Raleigh. My great grandpa was a preacher at a free will baptist church. His headstone has written on it I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. The church is still there and it is on Craft road probably named after him. It is covered in brick now but the picture below is what it looked like before the remodel. Ever since moving here I have felt in a way that I am coming home. I love that I have so much family history here that I can explore and learn about.

The rest of the day we spent outside. Everett played in the sprinkler and helped Stephen wash the car. We bbq'd ribs and had corn on the cob. It was the perfect way to spend the Holiday.

Florida Vacation

Oh my gosh we had the best time on our vacation in Florida. We split the drive there into two days and spent the night in Savannah. We went to the beach about 3 or 4 times, went to Disney world, harry potter world, and universal. Stephen had his medical school graduation which was so fun. Somehow Everett managed to get a nap in every single day and got to bed every night at a pretty decent time. For all of the driving around we did Everett did amazing! We rented a huge car to fit us all and all of our stuff. This vacation seriously is one for the books or at least blog. That explains why it took about 7 posts to write everything down.

This was the perfect vacation to have before residency starts. I was so glad my parents were there for all of it and that we got to see Stephens family as well. This was Everett's first vacation and I was to say the least nervous! We were gone for a week and a half. I think what helped him do so well was me relaxing and just trying to have a good time without worrying to much about schedules. 

I read something recently about deciding not to travel with your children while they are young 'because they won't remember' is a little like saying you're not going to read to your children because they won't remember the books you read. You read to your small children because of the sounds they will hear, the words they will see, the skills they will acquire and the habits you hope they will form. Traveling with young children is very much the same. The first years of life lay the groundwork for future experiences. 

I really do love that and I think that is partly why I love taking small day trips so often. I love exploring the world and I want Everett to have that same love. And after such a successful trip to Florida I think in the future I will feel more confident taking Everett with us on longer trips.

Harry Potter World

Harry Potter world was amazing! It was everything I thought it would be and more. The wands and wizards everywhere and the music playing was so fun. After deciding for probably a good half hour on which wand to pick I finally decided on professor Snapes. The candy, food, and butterbeer was all so delicious. Riding the Hogwarts express was awesome. I mean really this place is magical. You feel like you are literally in the books which I decided as soon as we got home that I need to start reading again. The rides were so fun and made me oh so sick but it was worth it. 

Disney World

Disney World was amazing! We had the best time. My amazing parents spoiled us big time on this Florida trip. Everett loved experiencing Disney for the first time with papa and nana even if he won't remember it. Every ride we went on was so much fun. Pirates, splash mountain, space mountain, peter pan, all so fun! It was very hot and humid and poured on us big time a couple times but the day was perfect. It truly is the happiest place on earth!
At the end of the day my parents took Everett home and put him to bed while Stephen and I stayed to watch the fireworks. At 9:00 when there were supposed to start the loud speaker came on saying there was a delay. Then five minutes later still a delay. Ten minutes later, fifteen minutes later. Then twenty minutes later out of nowhere it was an instant downpour! Everyone started running for cover. It was like a huge stampede of people. We ran to the stores and stood just outside of one. Half of the park decided to leave. The rain lasted a few minutes then started to die down a little bit. Then just like that the fireworks started. We ran back to the castle to watch them. They were incredible! Stephen had me wrapped in his arms, we were soaking wet from the rain and it couldn't have been more magical. It was one of those nights that you just know you won't ever forget. After the firework and light show we had time for a couple more rides. We did the cars ride then ran to pirates while it was still raining. We asked to have our own boat and got the entire ride to ourselves. Then on our way out of the park we noticed no one was at the tree house not even a worker. So we walked to the top of the tree house and had it all to ourselves.