I was thrilled when Betsy and I were able to put a weekend on the calendar for The Marchants to visit. We have been in Apex for almost a year and have been trying to get together the entire time that we have been here. They arrived late Friday night. Karcie was already in bed, but heard them and HAD to get up.
We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning. We enjoyed chocolate doughnuts that Betsy brought! Then, we loaded up and headed for the Life and Science Museum in Durham. It was freezing cold that weekend so we had to find indoor activities. While some of the museum was outdoors, a lot of it was indoors. The kiddos had a blast and were worn out by the time that we left that afternoon.
After the museum we enjoyed lunch at a yummy burger joint that was obviously a local Durham favorite. It was packed and we weren't sure we would get a seat. Luckily, they had a heated patio outback which was perfect for a table full of tired and hungry kiddos!
The two little kiddos came home and took a nap. (Don't tell Luke that I called him little. He would be REALLY upset with me!!) The two bigger kids played on the Wii. Preston LOVED it!! He entertained us with how much he got in to playing. He loved it so much that his Mommy and Daddy have already purchased one for him. Betsy is practicing "Just Dance" right now....I just know it!! ;) Kamdyn and I had a dance off to Just Dance. We couldn't get Betsy to participate just yet. Next time, she will be ready!!
That night, Richard prepared a delicious lasagna along with a salad for dinner. The kids were so good that we even got to have some uninterrupted adult conversations. After dinner, Betsy busted out the glow sticks and the kids went crazy! We had the Open House Dance Party playing, the lights were out, and the kids were dancing machines. To say that they loved it would be a complete understatement. None of them wanted to go to bed. As soon as Karcie woke up the next morning, she kept telling us to turn out the lights and make the glow sticks work again. She couldn't understand why the glow sticks were "broken." Great idea, Betsy!! It was a hit and I will keep the $1 glow sticks in mind for our next event.
Before they left on Sunday morning, the kiddos attacked Richard who engaged in some wrestling fun with them. They insisted on bundling up and playing on the play-set despite the freezing temps. Preston loved the monkey bars. I see a play-set in the Marchant boys' near future when they move to their beautiful new house in the Spring.
We snapped a few photos before we said our good-byes! I can't tell you how glad I was to have one of my dear Clemson friends/roommates here with her sweet family. Watching our kids play together made me happy, happy, happy! We can't wait to visit them in Richmond when they get settled in to their new house!
See you soon sweet Marchant Family!
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| Luke playing the bean bag toss! |
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| Preston was "coaching them up!" |
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| Playing Plants and Zombies on the Kindle Fire. |
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| Museum time!! |
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| Checking out all of the contraptions! |
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| The eyes were powered by the wheel! |
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| Karcie's turn! |
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| Preston loved the balance. |
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| Carter and Luke loved the snakes!! :) Just kidding, snakes aren't a Marchant favorite....we learned that this weekend! |
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| In the space shuttle. |
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| Playing with the spinning magnets! |
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| Watching the cups go up the shoot! |
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| Fearless Karcie climbing the rock wall all by herself. |
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| Building with blocks. |
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| Playing the drums. |
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| On our way to see the dinosaurs. |
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| Climbing on the dinosaur...this was the only one we were allowed to touch. |
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| Watch out, Carter! This dinosaur appears to like bald heads!! :) |
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| Woah!! |
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| Digging for dinosaur fossils in the frozen ground! |
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| My precious! |
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| Gorgeous butterflies in the butterfly exhibit. |
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| Hi, Karcie! |
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| YUMMY lunch!! |
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| Play-Doh time! |
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| I finally got this precious dimpled face boy to smile for the camera!! |
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| DANCE PARTY!!! |
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| Most of the photos are blurry because they were moving so fast! |
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| My big camera had a full memory card. |
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| So the cell phone camera had to suffice. |
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| ATTACK!!! |
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| Where's Richard? |
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| He took cover to escape! |
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| What a sweet little group! |
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| Easy, Karcie!! She already thinks that she is in charge!! |
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| Precious! |
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| Love this girl!! |
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| What a great weekend! I can't wait to do it again soon! |
