Whirlwind Weekend

Saturday was busy with lots of visits.  We went to see Charlotte's godparents (the Walkers) for brunch.  They live on the Richmond Marathon route.  In years past, Roger has been a runner in the marathon and I have always been sure to make a stop at their house.  They are at mile 22 so it's a pretty key point in the race.  The runners need lots of encouragement.

We got there just as the lead runner was coming through (just shy of 2 hours into the race).  He was the leader by a LOT!  After some breakfast, we did lots of visiting.  Roger and I took turns being inside and wandering outside to see the racers.  Roger said it was very bizarre to be on the sidelines and cheering folks on.  At one point, both Roger and I were out watching the crowd and I just happened to see Dr. Tye running down the road.  When I realized it, Roger and I both shouted hellos.  He saw us, came by, and gave us both a hug!  What a guy!  How he has time to train for a marathon with everything else going on, I will never know.  We immediately came in and told Charlotte who we had seen and she just beamed.

Then it was home for a bit and we were off to Wyatt and Heather's house.  Wyatt had not seen his "girlfriend" in months thanks to our journey to Texas, their own travel plans, illnesses, and other unforeseen events.  It was nice to have the two of them together.  They built gingerbread houses and then watched a movie together.  We got treated to yet another wonderful meal.

THEN it was off to Lake Anna.  We stayed at Bob and Meryl's cabin (also known as Shangri-Log) for the evening.  The goal, of course, was rest and relaxation.  Charlotte had an odd night, though.  I think she ate too much (she had been shoveling in the food) so when she went to bed, she said her tummy hurt.  She did sleep for a little while but Roger and I both got up with her multiple times as she was "muttering" in her sleep.  Then she was awake as early as 2 AM and didn't seem to want to go back to bed.  She also was not content to read by herself and wanted company.  So Roger and I took turns with this (but pretty miserably as we were both tired).  We did finally both get some rest and then it was morning and the coffee appeared (magically!)

We were treated to another wonderful breakfast and Charlotte downed bacon, eggs, and toast.  Then we hung around the cabin, taking in the beauty of the lake and the woods.

Around 2, we set off back towards Ashland, stopping at a horse barn where our friend Kelly had offered a ride on a very mellow horse.  The horse's name was May and she was beautiful.  Charlotte didn't want to ride for very long (she rode with daddy) but Roger got to spend a little time riding.  Then we got to feed the horses (they like peppermints!  Who knew?),  and then we got a tour of the barns and saw a few of the other horses. 

From there, we stopped at Romp n' Roll to take care of a few things, ran into Kolbey, and we all went to Casa Grande for dinner.  I guess this was our "anniversary dinner".  Yes, today is Roger's and my 12th wedding anniversary.  Kind of surreal given the circumstances but we are certainly celebrating the fact that our relationship is strong enough to withstand even this kind of stress.  I am appreciative of my "other half".  Anyway, I had a chimichanga  (shout-out to my bridesmaids...you know what I'm talkin' about!) :-) and Charlotte ate an entire quesadilla and some chips!

With all this eating, i am SURE I gained about 5 pounds just this weekend alone!  Yikes!  But it was all yummy. 

We are now home, taking care of laundry and catching up on emails.  Charlotte is asleep and Roger is watching football.  Whew!  What a weekend.

Tomorrow is a meeting with Drs. Tye, Massey, and Bitsko to discuss some further plans and try to get an idea of what is coming in the next few weeks.  Tuesday we have a trip to the National Zoo scheduled (DC!!) and there are some other small events on the horizon for the week.  I am hoping that we get the Make-A-Wish stuff resolved by tomorrow. 

I can't believe Thanksgiving is almost here. 

- Rachel (Charlotte's Mom)