Smile and just keep swimming...: Summer is finally here!

Yes, Summer is FINALLY here!

And we made it to North Carolina.

The kids are right in the middle of the splashes.

Ok, that was skipping ahead... now, back to the beginning.

The 2013-2014 school year is over. All classes were passed! Yay! I could go on and sing their praises but I have a lot of ground to cover... suffice it to say, I have smart kids. :-)

Our classroom was packed up. It was bittersweet. While I am now looking forward to moving to the Hilltop Campus, I have loved being next to a particular 1st grade teacher. Our paths have crossed several times and I do hope they cross again. She is delightful!

Jake had pre-marching band Friday evening and Saturday morning. He said, "Friday night we learned how to stand and warm up. And Saturday we started working on the show music. We were REALLY good!" I am glad he is so excited. They will have sectionals every few weeks throughout the summer in hopes of having all music memorized before camp starts July 29th.

Saturday morning while Jake was at band and Annie was visiting a friend who will be moving while we're away Jack and I picked up our rental for the week. They offered us an upgrade to a Minivan. I tried my hand at negotiation but flinched a bit too soon for Jack's liking. We settled on $8 extra a day. Not bad, if I do say so myself but Jack was hoping for $5. It is NICE! And the extra space is great! A little after 2 p.m. hit we the road. We drove through a few rain showers but nothing too bad. Our first stop was Mt. Vernon, Illinois. We arrived before 8 p.m. and took Suzy for a long walk. I was the first one to fall asleep.

Yesterday, we were on the road by 9 a.m. Time and again we all echoed "beautiful!" throughout the day. We stopped at what had to be the most beautiful rest area in America just across the border in Virginia. Outstanding facilities, picnic area, pet run, all showcasing beautiful landscaping. Three tunnels and five states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia) later we entered the sixth state as the sun was setting. We had been looking for a dinner options and found the perfect place in King, North Carolina. Our waitress was bewildered as to why we stopped at Little Italy in her little town. I think she's probably convinced her that all people from Kansas are a little crazy... but we had been in the van for many hours. ;-) We made it to our destination for the night, Greensboro, took Suzy for a walk and settled in the van. As we made our hotel arrangements we looked for pet friendly hotels, however this hotels "friendly" charge was more than we paid for the room, so Suzy slept in her kennel in the van.

<- Indiana

-> Kentucky

<- Big Sandy River

-> Charleston, West Virginia Capitol

<- awesome travelers!

-> Hello Virginia!

Good News!

<- Selfie Sunday!

Crazy Kansans!

Today, we overslept. We planned to be on the road at 9. That didn't happen. I woke up at 8:57 a.m. Eastern time. My first thought? "SUZY!" (She was fine.) Jack called the front desk only to discover we missed breakfast. Oh well, there are worse things. It was morning filled with beauty! The highways had gorgeous wildflowers dotting the median I don't remember what time we got on the road but we arrived at our home away from home just after 1:00 p.m. We unloaded, took Suzy for a walk, made a grocery list and piled back in the van (minus Suzy) to go to the market. I soon remembered why we never all go to the store. Even WITH a list the extras were many. Lots of locally grown fruits and veggies. Complete meals, breakfasts, lunches and a few dinners, too. We had not eaten lunch (I know, another error in judgement) but decided to forgo it and go out for an early dinner. Captain John's Seafood in Calabash was calling our name. Carolina crab cakes, shrimp, fish taco's and calamari were our selections. Delicious!

<- Swamp Fox Highway (the name cracked me up)

-> Jake enjoying the deck

The view from our table at dinner.

Low tide but still beautiful!

After dinner we found our way to Sunset Beach beach. It was low tide but that didn't stop the kids from jumping in! Yes, they had their swimsuits on. They held hand and jumped over waves. Adorable! Annie wished we had brought a pail and shovel - tomorrow, I assured her. As silly as it sounds, I now regret not saying until sunset. Maybe tomorrow.