We're back...and exhausted

Well, we made it back yesterday afternoon after driving 20 hours straight from North Carolina. It is really only a 16-18 hour drive, but when you are stopping at every single rest area to let your toddler run loose...it tends to take longer. But it was so worth it. We had such a great time. Just a few highlights from each place we stayed:

Raleigh, North Carolina

We stayed one night each way at my sister's house in North Carolina. Her little girl is only 8 months older than Ellie and the two of them played so well together. It was a lot of fun watching them. Plus, it is always fun hanging out with my little sis and her husband. North Carolina is so beautiful and my sister lives in this awesome house that is like something out of a storybook. On our return trip back, my BIL (Daniel) drove us around downtown Raleigh and we got to look at all the really cool historic mansions. I love old houses. Especially big ones.


Washington, D.C.

We shared a hotel room in D.C. with my sis, BIL, and niece. I loved walking around D.C. and checking out all the historical sites. Also, Washington D.C. has the friendliest squirrels! They were eating Ellie's Cheerios right out of our hands. Even Dianna fed them which I though was very brave of her considering she was once bit by a squirrel (that I had caught and made her carry). When we first drove into Washington, D.C., I got a little too excited and exclaimed to Tom, "Look, Tom! Famous buildings! Like in the movies!" It was a little crazy that night trying to get our girls down. We had them in pack-n-plays on opposite sides of the room and we adults went and sat in the hallway while waiting for them to fall asleep. We kept waiting and waiting. One would cry, then the other, then both, then silence, and then the crying again. People kept giving us strange looks for sitting on the floor in the hallway, but we were having a great time visiting. We kept cracking up over the smallest things. The girls never did fall asleep until we went back in there to cuddle with them on the beds.


Toms River, New Jersey

Our first night in New Jersey, we stayed at Tom's sister's beach house. The day was gray and chilly, but Ellie still LOVED the beach. That is until I lifted her by the hand and hurt her wrist. I felt so bad about it. We went to the board walk that afternoon and Tom won Ellie a stuffed lizard on his second try. Ellie loved it, but kept trying to run over it with her stroller. The rest of our time in New Jersey was spent at Tom's Aunt Patty's house. We got to stay in the in-laws quarters and make use of their pool. Aunt Maureen and Mike took us out on their boat. Ellie loved walking around on the boat and mooching drinks off everyone. All of Tom's New Jersey fam is so awesome. His aunts crack me up and they are so easy to talk to. We really got spoiled during our stay there. Tom's Aunt Patty actually kept Ellie overnight so Tom and I could go to NYC all by ourselves for the night.














New York, New York
Tom and I stayed in The New Yorker Hotel which is like this historical landmark, but let me just tell you...the place is a dive. It is under renovations right now, but our room hadn't been renovated yet and it was so tiny and cramped and antiquated. We couldn't help commenting on how the money we spent for that room would have gotten something much nicer anywhere other than NYC. But we still had a lot of fun and we were all tourist-y and did the double decker bus tours. I highly recommend those bus tours. You hear the most interesting stories on them. Plus, it was on those tours that I witnessed the guy getting hit by a cab and another guy being brutalized by undercover cops. We also did A LOT of walking. As in more walking than I have ever done in my entire life. I credit NYC for the fact that I only gained 5 pounds on this vacation even though I ate like a pig the entire time. I think my favorite New York experience was getting my very own library card at the New York Public Library (pictured on the left). I am just that dorky.



















*For more vacation pics, check out my Flickr photos in the banner above*