Aubrie and I just came back from our first Mother and Daughter trip, since she was an infant (which really doesn't count since she can't remember it!) Our good friends (more like family) from Raleigh are having their second baby. It's a very exciting time for them, especially since they have been trying for many years to have another baby. Did I mention it was a "he" and they are naming him Dawson (my maiden name if you didn't know!) I decided to surprise Abbie and fly out for her baby shower. Since Aubrie LOVES the McGee's, and gets along with Sydney (their 7 year old) so well, I decided to bring her with me. Aubrie was very excited for the trip!
Since our flight left Thursday, at noon, we had to pull Aubrie out of school most of Thursday and all of Friday. Aubrie was very excited for the plane ride. She used to fly all the time (we counted over 20 times at one point) before we moved to Phoenix. Once we moved here, there weren't any Christmas or Thanksgiving trips on the agenda! So the last time she flew was when we went to Raleigh when she was 4 1/2. So flying is a distant memory for her. Unsurprisingly, she was trying to be very independent the whole time. Wanting to help carry luggage, find her seat on her own, and figure out where our gate was etc. We had about an hour to kill, so we got some lunch at the Starbucks right by our gate, and sat down and played Go Fish. Every time we passed a Starbucks in the other airports she would say, "I love that place"! What did I start? I can just see it now at the next Testimony meeting. "I just loved when my Mom and I hung out at Starbucks together...blah, blah, blah". HA!
Finally it was time to board, and she was a little nervous to take off. The fact that the landing gear was making a popping noise, really didn't help matters! Once we were in the air, she was fine! She spent the time listening to her ipod, reading, and playing card games. I spent my time doing the same. She also liked looking out the window. The guy in our row was nice enough to switch seats with her...I'm sure he liked the aisle better!
We had a layover in Memphis and got some pizza and played some more cards. Our flight from there to Raleigh was on a little commuter plane. It was very small, and Aubrie kept making comments about how small the bathroom was, etc. Luckily the flight was only a little under 2 hours. We arrived in Raleigh at 10:00 PM and Jason was waiting in baggage claim to greet us. It was a nice surprise, much better than curb pick up! It was also nice that I didn't have to carry all the stuff to the curb by myself! Aubrie was excited to see the luggage come down the shoot and she was very anxious to find ours and "try" to get it!
We got to their house about 10:30 and Sydney woke up and shot down the stairs as soon as Abbie whispered to her that Aubrie was there. We didn't see Aubrie and Sydney for a few hours, after that! Jason, Abbie and I stayed up talking till about 1:00. 
The girls spent the night up in the attic, and Aubrie was in heaven with Abbie's new baby kitten. Who knows how late they were up. I took an Ambein and was "out" by 1:30!
Unfortunately, I had an early morning wake up call. At 8:30 the girls were up singing to the High School Musical Wii game. It resonated through my bedroom making it impossible to sleep. Remember now that 8:30 translates into 5:30 Phoenix time! I still laid in bed and finally was able to get another 30 minutes of sleep. Friday consisted of just hanging around the house, which was GREAT! Sometimes the best vacation is where you do nothing! The Shower was at 7:00 that night. It was at the Henderson's house (friends from the area). They did a lot of things to the inside of their house since we were there last, so It was nice to look around at the improvements. I also got to catch up, on life, with a few friends. It was nice to see a few familiar faces, even though a few is all there was. I also chatted a bit with their neighbors, who lived in Phoenix for 5 years. The commented on how they loved the weather in Raleigh. Who wouldn't, after living in "hell" 6 months out of every year! They asked me how I liked Arizona and they were surprised to hear that I liked it. Of course, so was I! Ha! I told them it wasn't the summers that sold me, but the great winters, our friends, and our church members. The shower wrapped up around 10:30. We headed home and hung out for a few more hours, including Aubrie and Sydney. By 1:30 I gave up on falling asleep and took an Ambien! 
Sunday we slept until 11:00, again. Still remember we didn't' go to bed until 2:00 and that 11:00 is 8:00 our time! Church started at 1:00 and so we only had a few hours to pack and get ready for church. Aubrie loved going to a different primary! She was gleaming when they asked for visitors and she got to stand up front while they sang to her! I guess when you think of it, she really has never done that! I snuck out of 3rd hour (which is their wards first hour) to find some friend from our old ward. When I walked in the Chapel it was so surreal! I didn't recognize anyone! I finally found the friend I was looking for and after that only ran into one other familiar face! Then when we got into the McGee's second hour (which was the first ward we were in when we moved to NC) there were only a handful of familiar face. The whole 3 hour block just felt like I was in an unfamiliar place. It just didn't feel right and then I started getting sad, realizing that the place had changed so much and if we came back it wouldn't be what we once knew. Then towards the end of the testimony meeting, one of my YW when I was a Beehive leader in the ward, stood up and bore her testimony. She thanked every one of her teachers she had every had and wanted them to know how much she appreciated them since it was her last Sunday before she went off to college. (I guess Spring semester?) I then realized how much time had passed since I was in that ward, and how wards do change! Then it was affirmed to me, once again, how North Carolina is no longer the place for us and that we are right where we are meant to be! Though sometimes I feel as though I want to run for the hills, this is the place for us! Of course, I miss the trees, our few good friends that remain, being an airplane ride from family, the sweet southern smiles and the the South Carolina beaches,....oh and the not so hot summers, but for now Peoria is where we need to be! Retirement is a different story! Ha!
After Church, we rushed home, packed up the car and headed to the airport. Jason was a gentleman, parking and carrying in our luggage and walking us to security. I was glad, once again! Aubrie was sad to leave Sydney, and it came out in her behavior. She wasn't listening to anything I told her and was being more defiant than ever.
When we got on the plane a girl let her have the window seat and in turn I had a 30 minute conversation with her. She was a young girl, barely engaged to a air force boy leaving for Iraq. She offered up the whole story and then the drinks came! By then, Aubrie softened up until I told her she needed to read. She fell asleep reading. Aubrie slept the second half of the first leg, which landed us in Minnesota. I looked for the Mall of America as we were landing, but I couldn't spot it! Aubrie and I got a quick dinner at Chili's Too! Then we walked half the airport to catch our connection. Aubrie and I played Seven's for about an hour, and then she fell asleep. I talked with the guy next to me, who was a Pilot, so I got some cool info on airplane stuff. Then I tried to sleep, which is impossible for me! We finally landed at 11:15 and got home and in bed around 12:45. Whew! It was a long day and Monday was tiring! It was a nice trip! It was nice to relax and not run around, and having such good friends that we felt comfortable just doing hanging around the house! It was also a great time for just Aubrie and I! Thanks Ben for holding down the fort for our little "get away"!
