Is That the End?

Monday was spent recovering a little more from the aforementioned illnesses, and then Tuesday we went to a FANTASTIC exhibit at the art museum of one my most favorite artists in the whole world, Norman Rockwell. I love his eye, how he tells a whole story with just one image that is packed with details, and how there is always hope and finding the goodness in people.

I could write a whole lot more about his art, and how wonderful it was to see the originals of some of my favorites, and how the only problem is that a ton of other people thought it was wonderful too, so it was pretty packed, but I’ll stop there (and probably do another post about it). 

We also went to the Raleigh farmer’s market restaurant for lunch, which was Eastern NC barbecue (the noun, not the verb) for most of us.  Afterwards we went to the pavilion and got a few treats, like apple cider, an “ugly” sweet potato (seriously, that’s what they call it), and some homemade jam.

On Wednesday we took the grown-ups out to a great Mexican place that Jeff and I love, but, again, a whole lot of other people had the same great idea, unfortunately, so the service was extremely slow. After dinner we went to the temple and did sealings, which was such a treat, to be in the temple with my sister, her husband, and my parents.

On Thursday the Georgian delegates had to leave in order to get back for various army things, but it was great to have a couple more days with the folks. We saw Tangled (really cute!), my mom and I went shopping, and then Mom and Dad took care of the kids for a few hours so Jeff and I could go out and have some couple time. It was heavenly!

On New Years' Eve we played "flashlight-hide-and-go-seek-in-the-dark" with the kids.  Then, after the little ones were in bed, the grown-ups watched a movie ("Oceans" that that I had gotten Jeff for Christmas), and went to bed way before midnight.  Because, hey, it's midnight somewhere, right?  :o)

New Years Day we cleaned the house from top to bottom (thank you, thank you, thank you, Mom and Dad!!), and then took the kids bowling.  That's one of our family's fun things to do, and always a favorite when Grandma and Grandpa visit.

Jeff got a high score of 186, while I think I tied with Kelcey for last with 71.  The sad part is that I was really trying for that score, while Kelcey just rolled it down the lane underhanded.  But we all had fun, which is the important thing.

Mom and Dad had to leave Sunday after church, but they got see Jeff conduct Sacrament Meeting for the first time, which was neat. And he did a fantastic job, of course. :o) We always miss them when they leave, but we love it when they come, so it’s an ok trade-off.

Well, that's it.  No more Holiday stuff, but I think I feel ok about it, even though our house feels a little bare and empty.  It's kind of nice to pare down after all the sumptuousness of the holidays.  Plus the kids are tracked out, so I have that crazyness to deal with.  Anyway, it was wonderful, and the kids are already looking forward to next year!