last few days in NC

Saturday morning we started prepping for a big Crissman gathering here at Mom and Dad's house.  What does that mean?  Mom in the kitchen (always these days!), with me at her side.  And the kids and Matt outside helping Granddaddy in the yard.

Hard workers working hard.  It yields results!

Then the guests arrived - and Uncle Eric was perhaps the most anticipated arrival? or maybe Uncle Gary?  Eric taught the kids to call him "Favorite Uncle Eric" - and anyone who plays that much high-energy Monopoly probably deserves the title ;)

Monday we celebrated a few early events - Lydia's birthday, and John Paul's gotcha.

Look at Lydia's face!  That Grandmama knows how to pick a birthday present :)

And my friend EA and her two boys were here so we had plenty of help sharing the cake too!

And now the van is loaded and the gas tank is full.  I told Matt, "I feel like we just moved into our van for the next three days."  And he answered, "Well, we basically did."  We planned one night in Kentucky, one in Wisconsin, and then meeting Matt's family at a lake in northern Minnesota.

I'm hopeful we will still be happy when the road hours get long!