Summer Camp is coming to an end...

Tomorrow is the day - well technically Friday is the day but we leave tomorrow :) Matt and I are loading up the truck tomorrow for our cross country drive to pick Maddy up from summer camp! Driving is one of those things that sounds like a good idea until it's time to leave. I always think of it as an adventure, family bonding and a chance to see new places. Check back with me early next week to see if my positive ray of light has faded. We will get to Texas Friday morning and spend the weekend. We head back to Charlotte sometime on Monday.

Just today we had two moments when we realized how long she's been gone. 1. I was sitting in the living room and looked over to notice a HUGE cobweb. It's in a place that Maddy plays but I guess it's not a place we frequent because it's collecting dust in her absence. 2. Matt came home from the store tonight and had picked up a few things so we don't have to run out as soon as we get home Tuesday. Maddy has been gone so long the packaging on the pasta she likes has changed! He almost didn't find it in the aisle.

We are both SO excited to see her but I dread leaving on Monday. I'm hoping she smiles and waves goodbye. I'm afraid it's more likely she will scream and claw on the back window as we pull out of Nana's driveway. If you have a free moment, pray that process is as painless as possible for all involved.

I have the empty suitcase ready that Pawpaw requested. Just a few of the extra things coming home with us include - a Dora tent, lots of "jewelry", a new bubble machine, new swimsuit/cover up, new shoes, new pajamas, new clothes, etc. I'm hoping a suitcase is all we need :)

I'm looking forward to a great weekend. We have lots of Father's Day celebrating to do with Pawpaw, Grandad, Papa, Daddy (Matt), Uncle Justin and Uncle Jeremy. We also have birthdays to celebrate with Aunt Brandi and Uncle Jeremy.

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads in our lives. Have a great weekend and I'll update next week!

Weekend Fun

We miss Maddy but we are making the most of our time. Friday I went with our friend Heather to pick out Maddy's flower girl dress for their wedding in September. She's going to be a little princess!

We finished the evening meeting Brent and Matt for dinner. It was actually really funny because around 8pm the lights and the music changed in the restuarant and it turned into Dance Party USA! I guess we've never stayed there long enough to see this change when the sun goes down because we're normally at home getting Maddy ready for bed! We're really living life on the edge this week!

Saturday was Dave and Amanda's wedding. We had a blast dancing on an uptown rooftop. SUPER hot outside but that didn't stop the party!

Sunday was a cookout at Kenny and Cristina's house. Again it was VERY hot but they had great food, good music and some fun games. We came home last night and it took everything I had not to go to bed at 7:30 pm.

All in all a great (busy) weekend

Summer Camp (aka Parent's Honeymoon) Update

Well, 11 days into summer camp and all is well in Texas. Maddy could care less that we're not around and we have come to accept that. She is getting much better at talking on the phone to us so that is a lot of fun. It's good practice for when she comes back to North Carlolina and can hopefully talk on the phone more to our family. She's been at Nana and Papa's house for the past week and has now moved to Memaw and Pawpaw's house for a few days. I just received a text message from Pawpaw informing me that I need to bring an extra (empty) suitcase when we come to get her. :) That text message was then followed with another one that quoted the following conversation:

Pawpaw: Maddy, here's your babies high chair. You can sit your babies bottle there or your sippy cup.
Maddy: Or my beer

Not sure of the guilty party just yet but wanted to make sure to document here for future reference :)

Other notable events from the past week:
- Washing the golf cart
- Riding in the golf cart
- Washing the plane
- Riding in the golf cart
- Swimming
- Riding in the golf cart

You get the point! She's happy and enjoying her time. Still haven't determined if summer camp means she gets a t-shirt but from the sound of things, we will be coming home with much more than a camp t-shirt!

Happy Monday!

Some more beach photos

Matt and I at the beach house

Just the Girls!

Time to relax!

Group Photo!

Beach Weekend and Sweet Dumpling

Matt and I returned today from a couples beach trip for the Memorial Day weekend. We had a great time with 3 other couples. Great weather and fun times. We will now spend this next 5 days recovering from our sun burn. We called Maddy twice a day and talked to her a couple of times. Most of the time she was too busy playing to pause and say hello. She has gone since Thursday now without her pacifier and doesn't seem to care. I think she's been too busy and probably too tired at night to even think about it. We are very excited about that! We've been distracted all weekend so it will be interesting to see how we do this week once we get back into our routine and our little monster isn't here. She has learned a new phrase - Nana was calling Maddy "sweet dumpling" and Maddy thinks that is very funny and was repeating it for us. She got on the phone and said "Sweet dum-pli-ng Daddy!" We hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Summer Camp Update

Quick Update - I spoke to Nana this morning and found out that Maddy slept all night without her pacifier!!! Woo-hoo. Apparently Nana "lost" the pacifier at the airport and Maddy seemed to find that excuse acceptable.

Summer Camp - in TEXAS!

It's official, Maddy is gone for her 3 week summer camp in Texas. Mom (Nana) landed in Charlotte Wednesday night and took off Thursday morning with Maddy, a car seat, a stroller and a Dora suitcase! We've always known that summers would be split between North Carolina and Texas and once Maddy's school told us that we wouldn't have to pay tuition while she's away, we booked her flight :)

There are lots of exciting events planned during Grandparent summer camp and the best part is that Mommy and Daddy don't have to pay the typical summer activity fee! I'm not sure if she gets a free t-shirt though.

Matt and I have both handled this experience differently. Matt didn't look forward to it - he knows Maddy will have a blast and he's happy that my family is getting some quality time but it's still a LONG time to be without his little Monster. I, on the other hand, planned every last day of the three weeks down to the minute with all the productive things I want to accomplish! Then the time came for her to actually leave and the tables turned a little. What if she gets homesick? What if she really gets sick? What if she gets mad at us when we make her come back home? Is it possible for Nana to keep Maddy on her schedule? All these things hit me in one 24 hour period. I'm sure I was thinking them all along but blocked them out. So, yesterday was a rough day for Mommy and Daddy. Maddy was a trooper at the airport and I actually had to make her kiss me good-bye. 24 hours have past and she has yet to even ask about us. That is great news! While I would love for her to miss me - one of my biggest fears in all of this was that she would get homesick or be sad in some way - so I'm RELIEVED that at least in the short term she could care less that we're not there.

Some people look at me like I'm a horrible person when I say this but it's the truth. You always miss your kids. You don't want to be away from them for extended periods of time but when you get to sleep in an hour later, fold laundry and actually make the bed before work - it feels good! I miss my little peanut but I plan to use this time to recharge, get organized and make time for me/us!

I will continue to post while Maddy's away and update on her adventures (as I hear them) and we'll see if my tune changes over the next few weeks.

Matt and I are headed to the beach tonight with friends for the holiday weekend so I'm hoping that keeps us distracted for a few days :)

Happy Holidays!