Home

After 13 long hours in the car, we made it home from the beach.  I wouldn't recommend travelling that far when you're as pregnant as I am, by the way.  I can't even stand up today.  It didn't start out as a 13 hour trip, but when you have to pee every 15 minutes and also need to stop in Asheville during rush hour to find a certain ice cream shop, the trip takes a bit longer. 

I have been vacationing at Holden Beach, NC since 1995.  It's a great location because it's small but within an hour of Wilmington or Myrtle Beach.  My mom's parents moved there from FL when I was 12.  It was pretty cool to get to visit your grandparents who also happened live on the coast.  We lived in NC as well, but in the central part of the state.  After living in 2 other states, my parents moved to Holden Beach in 2005 and were followed by my other grandparents.  Also, my great-grandparents lived there until they passed away. They hadn't all lived in the same town since I was a small child so it's been really nice for the past few years to have them all together.  Selfishly speaking of course; when you move around like we have it's nice to only have to visit one place to see everyone.  When we first got married and lived in Fort Worth I think I got to visit them once.  Living in Atlanta was perfect because we were only about 7 hours from my family [and the same from my husband's family].  Now we live 2 hours from my inlaws and 11 from my parents. 

We got to celebrate my mom's birthday with her.  I'm not sure when the last time I was there for that, so it was great.  We went to a neat shopping center in Myrtle Beach where mom got to shop at Anthropologie and eat P.F. Chang's.  If you need a great gluten-free menu, definitely utilize P.F. Chang's.

Here's Justin with my mom's flourless chocolate cake.  He thought it would be funny to reverse her age.  I don't care if you need to eat gluten-free or not, this cake is h.e.a.v.e.n.l.y.

Here's a picture with my and the proud grandparents.  They have 2 on the way, the other being supplied by my brother and his wife. 

I have noticed that people always seem to be willing to stop and take your picture when you are either obvious honeymooners or pregnant.  This was our last morning at the beach.  It was HOT.  But, I chose to sacrifice my comfort for that of others; wouldn't have wanted to disturb anyone else's peaceful morning by waddling around in my swimsuit...haha.  We also wrote the baby's name in the sand and took some pictures of that but you can't see those.  :)

So now it's back to real life, I suppose.  Justin begrudgingly went into work this morning and I will eventually start the laundry.  It's time to buckle down and start getting the baby's room ready.  We were tremendously blessed by my family and friends of theirs in that we received many of our big needs.  She also has more clothes than she will need for her first 6 months thanks to a generous donation from a family friend.  It's time to wind down this last week of the second trimester and start really getting ready.  Although, I'm not sure what I'm getting ready for...ha. 

Here's to babymooning!