On Friday 29th March, after visiting Arlington Cemetery, we left Washington DC for North Carolina. I mentioned this briefly in my DC post.
Here is Will on our Journey. He wanted to wear mummy's sunnies for part of the trip. Meanwhile, I snoozed away in the back seat with a giant suitcase in between him and I. We got pretty good at squeezing in all our gear. It was crazy the amount of stuff we had but we made it work.
Will loved searching for Eggs and did quite well. He even won a special prize as one of his eggs had a lucky number in it. I was so proud of him for choosing a stuffed toy instead of candy!
After the activity, Metta and Marcos took us for a walk around the University of North Carolina. It is a gorgeous campus. The Universities in the USA are so gorgeous. This particular University has a very high reputation and you could tell Marcos and Metta were very proud of it and their association with the place.
By this stage the day had gotten beautiful and warm. It was about 21 degrees and we were loving it. I still felt like we were defrosting from the past week and a half of bitter cold! Evidence of Spring was everywhere...
We replenished ourselves at the Old Well. Apparently, drinking from the well brings good luck!
That night the Prieto's had a bunch of friends join us for dinner. They were excited to start digging into some of the chocolate goodies we'd given them - especially Tim Tams. It seems every Aussie Missionary introduces their Mission friends from around the world to The Tim Tam Slam. I even made a bunch of Milos so they could have the true experience!
If you want to head over to the Prieto blog, you can read about our stay from their perspective. I didn't want to post pics of their friends as I thought that might be a little weird/inappropriate but there are some great shots of everyone indulging in chocolate goodness on their blog :-)
Sunday morning we joined the Prieto's at their place for Easter brunch and yet another Egg hunt. The kids were so happy to be doing this again. I was excited because one of their friends made an Easter bunny shaped with cinnamon rolls. It was amazing!
Will and Simeon grew really close on our trip. I'm so glad we had Simeon come with us. Sure, he was there to help us out with Will but it wouldn't have been the same without him and he and Will are so close now because of it. When we were in Adelaide in August Will's Uncle John asked him "Who is your favourite Uncle?" Will didn't pause long before saying "Uncle Sim!" The next day John asked again and got the same response. John got shut down! ha ha. Of course Will loves his Uncle John but having had the opportunity to spend so much time and experience so many amazing things with his Uncle Sim has made their relationship a special one.
After brunch we were able to attend church with the Prieto Family. The ward did a special musical presentation for Sacrament meeting and it was so nice to hear the lovely Easter music and reflect on this special holiday. To share the time with great friends was lovely. If we had been elsewhere, staying in a hotel, Easter would have been just another weekend!
Will didn't hesitate going to Nursery. He knew the drill and felt completely comfortable with the predictable church format. We are so glad he is chilled out. The ward there is so big they have 2 nurseries. It's pretty amazing how big the church buildings are over there. We were a bit jealous!
That night Metta's mum arrived home, along with her brother who was there for a visit. We then spent Sunday night at the Prieto's home. We stayed up into the early hours of the morning talking.
Monday morning we went to a local park for a run around with the kids. I am glad we didn't plan much for this day. It was a gorgeous sunny day and it was great to be outside with everyone enjoying some downtime.
Sim, Marcos and Pete disappeared for awhile. They ended up having a game of Frisbee of all things. Simeon was really funny when I saw him after - puffing his lungs out but with a goofy grin like he was having the best time.
For lunch we went to this amazing Mexican cafe I guess you'd call it. Though it was more like a random shed on a sideroad. However, it was the yummiest Mexican food I had ever tasted. I couldn't get over how cheap it was too. This is another good thing going for the US. During the first couple of days of our stay Metta asked us what things we loved about the US and did we think 'Hey, we should do that in Australia!' We're lucky we didn't offend her because we all responded with 'ummm'...We came up with some pretty ordinary responses and felt kinda bad actually. Over the rest of our stay we would randomly pipe up with things we noticed and would tell her. It's not that we don't love the USA, we totally do. We just love where we're from and I guess are happy with our lifestyle...Anyway, the reason I say this is because Australia really need more decent Mexican eateries. We have some nice restaurants but they are expensive and certainly not overly authentic if you ask me.
After our amazing lunch we got these awesome ice-creams. They were the coolest flaours and packed with chunks of real fruit. My real highlight was the Mexican soda. I'm not a huge fizzy drink fan but these sodas were so good! My one fail of the day was ordering something for Will that I didn't really understand. It was basically a chocolate burrito. I think it's called Mole. It was the strangest flavour so we gave that to Marcos. Ha ha. I had fajitas and Pete ate a bit of everything I think ;-)
Here is Will on our Journey. He wanted to wear mummy's sunnies for part of the trip. Meanwhile, I snoozed away in the back seat with a giant suitcase in between him and I. We got pretty good at squeezing in all our gear. It was crazy the amount of stuff we had but we made it work.
We arrived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina about 7pm ish and were warmly greeted by the Prieto family. So, a bit of background here. When Peter and I served our missions in Japan (over 7 years ago) we had the opportunity to meet and work with some pretty amazing people.
When I was doing my training in Provo, UT at the Missionary Training Center I met this crazy girl from Hawaii. Sister Pratt-Bosley as she was referred to then, entered the MTC like a whirlwind. Her group were in the intake 6 weeks after I'd arrived. She was outgoing and I admit, a little intimidating. Just one of those people who walk into a room and command attention. Not through any conceit mind you, just through a big heart and personality!!
I'll never forget the moment that I knew we just had to be friends! We were attending what's called a Large Group Meeting. These meetings were like a giant training and improvement session and happened once a week. We could ask questions and participate depending on who was taking the meeting.
One particular day a question had been asked and all I remember is that Sister Pratt piped up in front of the whole group (about 300 odd fellow missionaries) and said something so witty but slightly cheeky that half the group laughed and the other half kind of looked stunned. You could tell they were thinking "Did she really just say that?!" My companion, Sister Charles, leaned over and whispered to me "I love that girl!" Coming from Sister Charles, this was a MASSIVE display of approval. I remember nodding mutely and just thinking that she was pretty darn cool; especially for an American ;-)
Anyway, we became fast friends and even though we didn't see each other much except between classes and during our gym time I loved knocking around with her. During our missions (Her to Tokyo North and me to Hiroshima) we kept in touch. The funny thing is, out of all my beloved companions and friends she is the one I keep in touch with the most. What was especially funny is that she went on to marry one of Pete's favourite companions; Marcos Prieto. They have 2 adorable children, Giovanna and Orion.
When we knew we were going to the states we knew we REALLY wanted to catch up with them. It just made sense to do a special trip to North Carolina and I'm so glad we did.
So back to North Carolina. Within minutes of arriving we were chatting away like we'd only seen each other recently. They warmly welcomed my brother Simeon and he felt comfortable right away. But how could he not love this family! During dinner (a delicious home-cooked meal of Spag bol) Metta admitted that she and Marcos were a little worried that things might be awkward after so long. She was happy to say that they weren't at all. We were glad too!
Metta's lovely mother was out of town for the first couple of days we were there and kindly let us stay at her apartment. We were so spoilt! Being Easter weekend Metta and Marcos had quite a bit planned in their social calendar but we were so glad they let us tag along to the various activities. I can't tell you how nice it was to be staying with good friends, in a home environment where Easter is celebrated. On Saturday morning we went along to The Prieto's local ward (church congregation) to their Easter breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt. It was a slightly crisp morning but the sun was shining beautifully. As we drove to the activity we got to see a bit of Chapel Hill and were impressed with how pretty the place was. It is just a lovely city. Heaps of trees and just a great atmosphere.
After a yummy breaky some ladies in the ward organised the kiddies for their egg hunt. I wasn't sure whether Will would understand what was happening but it took him no time to go off in search of the eggs. GiGi took him under her wing (at least initially) and they had the best time exploring the field. The church in Chapel Hill owns a huge block of land at the back of the church building. I was totally jealous of all their space and resources for hosting activities like these.
Gi Gi was very proud of her stash!
Will loved searching for Eggs and did quite well. He even won a special prize as one of his eggs had a lucky number in it. I was so proud of him for choosing a stuffed toy instead of candy!
The gorgeous Prieto Family
I just want to smoosh that cute little face! Also, Can you see my tummy starting to pop?
Will chose strawberries over most other food that morning!
After the activity, Metta and Marcos took us for a walk around the University of North Carolina. It is a gorgeous campus. The Universities in the USA are so gorgeous. This particular University has a very high reputation and you could tell Marcos and Metta were very proud of it and their association with the place.
Gi Gi and Will just loved being able to run amok
By this stage the day had gotten beautiful and warm. It was about 21 degrees and we were loving it. I still felt like we were defrosting from the past week and a half of bitter cold! Evidence of Spring was everywhere...
We replenished ourselves at the Old Well. Apparently, drinking from the well brings good luck!
That night the Prieto's had a bunch of friends join us for dinner. They were excited to start digging into some of the chocolate goodies we'd given them - especially Tim Tams. It seems every Aussie Missionary introduces their Mission friends from around the world to The Tim Tam Slam. I even made a bunch of Milos so they could have the true experience!
I love showing people how to 'slam.' The looks of ecstasy on people's faces are awesome!
Metta has the best face here!
Sunday morning we joined the Prieto's at their place for Easter brunch and yet another Egg hunt. The kids were so happy to be doing this again. I was excited because one of their friends made an Easter bunny shaped with cinnamon rolls. It was amazing!
Will loved the egg hunt but got a little distracted when one of the neighbors came to visit in their car. They were nice enough to let him have a little ride. I really loved that everyone in the Cul de Sac knew each other beyond just polite hellos. I wish people were more like this in Australia.
I love this photo of Will and Sim.
Will and Simeon grew really close on our trip. I'm so glad we had Simeon come with us. Sure, he was there to help us out with Will but it wouldn't have been the same without him and he and Will are so close now because of it. When we were in Adelaide in August Will's Uncle John asked him "Who is your favourite Uncle?" Will didn't pause long before saying "Uncle Sim!" The next day John asked again and got the same response. John got shut down! ha ha. Of course Will loves his Uncle John but having had the opportunity to spend so much time and experience so many amazing things with his Uncle Sim has made their relationship a special one.
After brunch we were able to attend church with the Prieto Family. The ward did a special musical presentation for Sacrament meeting and it was so nice to hear the lovely Easter music and reflect on this special holiday. To share the time with great friends was lovely. If we had been elsewhere, staying in a hotel, Easter would have been just another weekend!
Will didn't hesitate going to Nursery. He knew the drill and felt completely comfortable with the predictable church format. We are so glad he is chilled out. The ward there is so big they have 2 nurseries. It's pretty amazing how big the church buildings are over there. We were a bit jealous!
That night Metta's mum arrived home, along with her brother who was there for a visit. We then spent Sunday night at the Prieto's home. We stayed up into the early hours of the morning talking.
Monday morning we went to a local park for a run around with the kids. I am glad we didn't plan much for this day. It was a gorgeous sunny day and it was great to be outside with everyone enjoying some downtime.
Sim, Marcos and Pete disappeared for awhile. They ended up having a game of Frisbee of all things. Simeon was really funny when I saw him after - puffing his lungs out but with a goofy grin like he was having the best time.
Will and Gi Gi played for ages and ages.
Gi Gi has already got the pout down pat!
For lunch we went to this amazing Mexican cafe I guess you'd call it. Though it was more like a random shed on a sideroad. However, it was the yummiest Mexican food I had ever tasted. I couldn't get over how cheap it was too. This is another good thing going for the US. During the first couple of days of our stay Metta asked us what things we loved about the US and did we think 'Hey, we should do that in Australia!' We're lucky we didn't offend her because we all responded with 'ummm'...We came up with some pretty ordinary responses and felt kinda bad actually. Over the rest of our stay we would randomly pipe up with things we noticed and would tell her. It's not that we don't love the USA, we totally do. We just love where we're from and I guess are happy with our lifestyle...Anyway, the reason I say this is because Australia really need more decent Mexican eateries. We have some nice restaurants but they are expensive and certainly not overly authentic if you ask me.
After our amazing lunch we got these awesome ice-creams. They were the coolest flaours and packed with chunks of real fruit. My real highlight was the Mexican soda. I'm not a huge fizzy drink fan but these sodas were so good! My one fail of the day was ordering something for Will that I didn't really understand. It was basically a chocolate burrito. I think it's called Mole. It was the strangest flavour so we gave that to Marcos. Ha ha. I had fajitas and Pete ate a bit of everything I think ;-)
Sim enjoying his ice-cream.
Pete ate so much that day I was thinking we'd have to roll him into the car ;-)
Will loved the lime soda too!
It was sad that our time with the Prietos had to come to an end. I almost didn't want to go on to the next part of our trip! Monday night we got to take Metta out for dinner to an Aussie steak house. Good ol' Marcos stayed home with all the kids. We had another late night of talking and all agreed 7 years between visits was just too long. I hope we can see each other soon. It's our turn to have you guys stay!!
