Hopefully, you've already been reading my regular website and know that Jim and I were planning a surprise visit to NC for the Holiday. We made replica gingerbread houses of my Mom's and brothers' houses, and told a whopper of a lie (the "Amish Buggy Incident") to throw my Mom off of our plans. Although it wasn't planned as a long trip (just the weekend, so that we could attend my family's Christmas Gathering), we were excited to leave the cold snowy North for even a few days.

I should probably start the story with the night before we left. We were chatting with my Mom, who was still trying to devise a way for us to visit after we had our "accident". Since she could see us on the webcam while we chatted, I had to keep leaning out of view to laugh and laugh, while Jim sat off-camera dreaming up ideas to make the accident sound worse. Suddenly, without warning, my Christmas tree collapsed on top of us! A sign?! No way, just another weird thing to tell you about on my website.

On Friday morning, while Jim worked a few hours, I spent the time trying to carefully wrap and pack up all the gingerbread that we were taking on the plane. I was trying everything. Not only were the houses bubble-wrapped; but I also had them wrapped in styrofoam and duct tape and packed away into the freezer. Eventually, I was able to pack a couple houses into one bag and Mom's house and our gingerbread trees for the kids in another bag.

Of course, we had to take a picture of where we parked. (After searching the Cedar Point lot for half an hour looking for our "lost" car one year, we're much more careful about "remembering" where we parked. LOL)

CAK (the Akron/Canton airport) isn't very big; but it's got a USAirways flight from Canton to Charlotte (CLT) everyday that takes about an hour. I'm still really happy that the tickets were half-price, so Jim and I both got to ride the plane for what I usually have to pay. Although we departed about 15 minutes late, the flight was as good as always.

I had already made alot of arrangements with my sister-in-laws, so Angie and her girls (Kayla and Allison) were there to greet us. Both the girls have grown up so much from the last time I visited home; but they were still as cute as ever.

It's seem to be the year for puppies for Christmas. Tara (at EAC) got Lucy, and my brother Donny and his family recently got Belle. Good! I think everyone needs at least ONE dog - if not a whole lot more.

After everyone got off from work on Friday, we congregated over at Donny's and had a lovely dinner before going to surprise Mom. Not only did Jim get to meet all my family; but he got to try alot of food he might never have eaten (from Angie's Jezebel sauce to the egg/saugage casserole, biscuits and gravy and fruit salad the ladies put together for the meal).

After dinner, it was time to prepare for surprising my Mom. Jim got dressed up as a delivery man, while I had to wait to climb into the gift-wrapped box (I told you that I made arrangements with the sister-in-laws and Lisa had the perfect box for me to hide in.).

As you can see, while we were loading up the vans, I still had time to get a quick picture with all my nieces. (that's Allision, Jenny and Kayla)

Jim and I spent the rest of the evening with my Mom and Dennis after my brothers and their families headed back home. Later Mom not only loaned us a car to use, but also rented us a hotel room for the two nights that we were in town. Although I usually stay at one of my family's houses, it was nice to have some quiet time - and easy access to the bathroom in the morning. LOL

The next morning, we meet up with Mom and Dennis and got a tour of downton Charlotte. Wow! My hometown sure has grown! My Mom sent me this picture of downtown the first year that I was away at college. The second picture is of downtown twenty years later.

The best way to tour downtown is by visiting the OverStreet Mall. Winding through several building, this mall of shops is connected through walkways between the buildings. We took quite a few pictures of the different atriums thoughout the mall and through the walkway windows of the various buildings.

After our tour downtown, we left Mom's and headed over to my youngest brother's (Jon) house before the family get-together. Not only had we brought the gingerbread houses for gifts; but we also brought gingerbread 3D trees and snowmen for the kids to decorate.

After a delicious dinner and great conversations,
we went upstairs to the rec room
to unwrap all the gifts.

Needless to say, the whole family worked on trying to convince Jim on all the reasons that he and I should move down to North or South Carolina. The fact that getting to my mom's house from the highway means passing right by Carowinds (another Paramount amusement park) was a pretty big incentive for Jim. (You know how he and I love those amusement parks. LOL)

A few last pictures of my Mom's dogs:
Jack and Inky
Baby, Sunny and Rudy

Jim and I had been anxiously watching the weather reports because a major arctic front was blowing straight through the US. I was worried , since I had once again booked the last plane out to Akron for the day (I'm always trying to squeeze as much time in as possible with the family), that our flight might be canceled. But I got lucky this year, and we still flew home Sunday night - although the plane did depart nearly an hour late because of the storm to the west and north. Oh, and that weather that was blowing in, well, by the time we left Charlotte, that wind had brought the temperature down to 17 degrees! (Some sunny, warm South, huh?) and when we landed in Canton, it was 7 degrees with several inches of snow on the ground. Brrr!

Back where I started from!
Back home at 11:00pm and boy are the puppies glad to see me. If you listened to me surprising my mom, then no doubt, you heard that Richard was watching my house, and taking care of the kidz while both Jim and I were gone. Need we say more? Yes! I want to give a special Thank You to Richard! I know that you love my doggies, and they sure love you, so I never worry about them when you're in charge.
Thanks bunches!
Woof! Woof! Meow! Woof! Woof!