Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Whirlwind Vacation

We went on our first "family" vacation about 2 weeks ago to spend some quality time with our families in North Carolina. We spent just as much time in our parents' homes as we did in the car! The 6 day trip went by so quickly; we managed to see everyone, get lots of love and hugs and introduce everyone to Derby!

We set out on our adventure Thursday, May 20. Christopher finished his last final EVER and we hit the road. Derby did great in the car (both coming, in between and going); we were a little hesitant of the way she would travel as she had been timid and nervous in previous car ride experiences. She loved to play with her toys on the floorboard and loved to take naps in her crate. She is easy to travel with, which makes Christopher and I excited for future trips! We stopped half-way to North Carolina for the evening.

Friday morning, we set out for Rocky Mount. We arrived home around lunchtime where Mom and Dad greeted us. Soon after a quick bite to eat, we set out for family visiting. We first saw Russell, Robin, Halie and Gracie. It was great to see Halie as she had been recently discharged from a scary time in the hospital with a urinary tract infection, strep infection and pneumonia. We were so glad to see a recuperating, young girl. Gracie, as always, was quite entertaining with her funny antics. After a short visit there, we, along with other family members went to the wonderful K&W Cafeteria to eat dinner for my grandmother's 85th birthday. It is where she wanted to go as they had her favorite meal for dinner, chicken livers. Although I do not care for chicken livers and sometimes the "old folk" scenery at the cafeteria, it made for an entertaining dinner with our friends (Get it, Russell?), I mean family.

Saturday, was the day to celebrate Nanny! All of our nieces and nephews came over early to play outside. We played with sidewalk chalk and on the playground, ate popsicles and prepared for Nanny's birthday party. Our family was able to enjoy the warm weather all day. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner, danced on the porch and so much more! There is never a dull moment of laughter and entertainment with the Miller family!

Sunday, soon came and it was time for us to hit the road and head to Kentucky. After lunch with my mom and dad, we endured the long 8 hour drive to Christopher's mom's house. We made it there around 9pm and were greeted by Gayle and Aunt Susan. We spent the evening on the patio drinking coffee and eating banana pudding!

Monday was a day of visiting family! We spent the morning running outside with Derby at Gary's home. Derby loved the grass and open fields! We ate lunch with Granny; she always has great stories to tell and normally a "honey do list" for Christopher. For dinner, we spent the evening with Christopher's dad's family celebrating Christopher's recent 24th birthday. We ate steaks, fresh vegetables and more. As always, Gee cooks a fabulous dinner! After dinner, we found ourselves on the patio again with Gayle and Susan enjoying coffee and conversation.

Tuesday came and the road was again calling us! We spent the morning and afternoon visiting and saying our goodbyes. Before heading out of town, we got to meet Christopher's second cousins. Hadley and Hudson, twins, were born on the day of our wedding. We were so excited to meet them as well as congratulate their parents, Street and Erica. Those babies are adorable! After dinner with Gayle, we hit the road to head to Chattanooga for the night.

Wednesday morning, we hit the road again and made the lengthy and boring trip on I-75 back to Bradenton. It was nice to be able to break up the trip in Gainesville; we stopped to see John Thomas for about 20 minutes. After saying goodbye to him, I was able to introduce Christopher to Pita Pit. We also discovered Mochi frozen yogurt. I felt like I was back on Franklin Street in college enjoying Pita Pit and The Yogurt Pump; it was AMAZING! We finally made it to our home, sweet home!

Our whirlwind trip was fun and exciting! We love being able to spend time with our families, even if it is a short amount of time. We are now back in our same routine, except Christopher is not in school! He began rotations for pharmacy school today. It is hard to believe that this time next year he will be graduating from pharmacy school and will be a Doctorate of Pharmacy! Time flies by! Hopefully, as his rotations progress, I will be able to get him on here to blog about his experiences! Summer is in full force here; temperatures reach 90 degrees and with humidity, it is close to 95-100 already! If anyone needs a vacation or getaway, we are just a phone call, e-mail or text message away! :)