Sunday, October 4, 2009

"August and Everything After...."

Back to the Ol' Stompin' Grounds!

It's been 14 years since Bryan served his mission in North Carolina and he hasn't been back to visit until now. Since Michelle's sister and family live in NC, we both decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and visit the beautiful state of NC. We spent one day hitting all the places that Bryan served. He served over a year in Durham and wanted to see if he could find his apartment. We spent some time driving around familiarizing himself with the area and then Bingo.......we found it. We also drove to Raleigh to see the new Temple. It was absolutely beautiful. I'm a HUGE fan of doing destination races so we signed up and participated in the Salem Lakes trail run. It rained the entire time we ran. I'm typically not a fan of running in the rain, but it wasn't pouring and actually created a nice little mist. I wish I would've taken more pictures because this lake was beautiful. We didn't stay for the awards ceremony after the race, but later found out that Michelle and I both placed 1st in our age division. Not too shabby!Teresa and Scott (Michelle's sister & brother-in-law) taking a photo of taking a photo! Visiting NC this time of year is a MUST. It is so lush and green and with the leaves starting to change, it was absolutely breathtaking. We spent a day driving to the Smokey's.
This photo was taken on Grandfather Mountain.

John, Michelle and Finn
As much fun as we had, we were both very excited to get back to Miss Mia!

6 comments:

Nicole said...

Ahh...Alan hasn't been back to South Carolina yet. We want to go sometime. Maybe your trip will inspire us. Except that it might be tough finding a sitter for four little monkeys!

Ryan & Brytten Pettit said...

Wow... the NC, I have a lot of family in that area, I don't know if I should admit it :D, but I bet Bryan knows them! Small world, glad to see you doing so well, Mia is always dressed so dang cute, I wish I had a girl to play dress up on!
Take care, HEART HUGS!

The Dumas Family said...

That looks so nice. I'm glad you guys were able to go and had so much fun. Cole and I still think your nutso for running in a race on vacation. Maybe I need to explain what vacation means to you ...

Nelson said...

Looks/sounds like it was a wonderful trip. You look amazing.

Maddy and Amber said...

Loved seeing all your recent pictures. We miss you guys too much! Mia is getting so big! looks like your trip was so fun! It is so beautiful back East in the fall! Hope to see you guys soon! BTW my girls say HI!

Charisse said...

Marcae,

I emailed you awhile back about running a half marathon and I actually ran one! It was awesome! Thank you so much for your training tips. Your family is so cute. Love the pics.

Charisse Allen