Trip to Charlotte, NC

This weekend we took an extended weekend trip to Charlotte, NC where John's sister and her husband live. We had such an amazing time! John was off on Thursday and I worked a half day so we left around 4PM, after I had Heidi's new big girl car seat inspected.

*side note - did you know that 7 out of 10 kids buckled in seats are not buckled properly? Food for thought...

Heidi did such a wonderful job on the trip up there! At least until the last 1 minutes, but it was bedtime and she can get cranky near bedtime if we are not in her routine. Charlotte had received some nasty storms and Rebecca and David had lost power around 5PM. We arrived around 8 and the power was still not on, but we had flashlights and Heidi entertained us with some scary ghost stories. David's parents arrived about 15 minutes before us and all of us sat and chatted for a bit. Later than Heidi's normal bedtime I finally took her up to our room and she went to sleep. The power ended up coming on around 4:45AM. I woke up at about 5 after 5AM freezing because the air had come on and I was not under the covers :) So I got up and closed all the windows and snuggled under the covers.
Friday we woke up and had a delicious breakfast and decided to head to the Lazy 5 Ranch where we had the most amazing time. We went and visited a few of the animals and then took a "hayride" through the park to feed all of the animals. {You also have the option to drive your car}. The ranch had all sorts of animals - sheep, goats, deer, zebras, a rhino, giraffes, ostriches, birds, kangaroos - and probably more! Heidi {as well as everyone else!!} just loved every bit of the hayride; she was captivated the entire time.

We ended up leaving later than anticipated {later than Heidi's nap time} and headed to Chic-fil-a for some lunch. It was unbelievable how wonderful Heidi was - considering she didn't have a nap. The last 5 minutes of the trip back to the Cooper's Heidi fell asleep. When we got to the house I took her upstairs and we napped. After nap time we enjoyed a "friendly" game of Rumi where David's father threatened to break my arms off :) and then we had delicious hamburgers and hotdogs off the grill. Once our bellies were full we went to the pool in the neighborhood for a little swim. When we finished at the pool we put Miss Heidi to bed and then we went to bed shortly afterwards.

Saturday we woke up and went out on a boat in the lake! It was so much fun! I really enjoyed the boat time and the lake. I could not get over how warm the water was. It felt like bath water. Heidi had a fun time on the boat as well - except the life jacket part. It was super uncomfortable for her. We ended up putting a life jacket on me and hooking it to the boat and I just held her in the water. She liked that much better :) Lunch was at T-Bones and then we boated for a bit more, Bec tubed, and Heidi nursed and fell asleep for the rest of the boat ride home. Surprisingly once we got back Heidi napped for a little bit longer in the bed. After the boat ride and naps we all just chilled at the house. Well, David's parents left - but the rest of us chilled out after the long day in the sun. We ordered pizza for dinner and then Heidi and I went to sleep at about 8:30.

Sunday we got up and went to the Discovery Place in uptown Charlotte. Such a great place! Heidi {and us big kids!!} really enjoyed all the science/learning spots as well as the aquarium and kids center! We had lunch at Rock Bottom and then headed back to the house for nap time! After naps we went to the pool and had fun in the water center and slide! Even Heidi enjoyed the slide! For dinner we headed to seriously one of the best restaurants ever - Sammy's in Belmont. Oh my, it was delicious. I already know what I am going to order the next time I go! Yes, there will be a next time!! After dinner Heidi went to bed and then we played cards for a bit. Then we went to bed.

Monday morning we all lounged around the house and we got on the road around 1PM to make the trek back home! Heidi slept for a little over an hour for a nap on the way - which was nice.

We had such a wonderful time with our family and cannot wait to go again! I feel like there are so many fun things to do in the Charlotte area and we barely touched the surface on all the fun there is to have! Thanks Bec and David for being such wonderful hosts and tour guides!!