Five on Friday: Our North Carolina Trip

This past week we headed out to North Carolina for my friend Taylor’s wedding and it was quite the adventure!   To be honest, I was SO anxious about taking Caleb on this trip. He had a really rough few weeks before we left and it seemed like everything he’d ever learned about sleep just went out the window.  I went into the trip thinking it might be mostly just survival mode, but he actually did great and we had a lot of fun showing him off.

Below are some updates and (mostly grainy iPhone) pictures from our weeklong trip t0 the beautiful North Carolina! I’m lucky my hubby and friend Haley take pictures because I only had about three pictures from the whole trip and had to steal theirs for this post!

1) Charlotte & Davidson, NC

Caleb did great on our plane ride out, napping in the stroller at the airport and then mostly just hanging in his carseat on the plane ride. I was super anxious about this so it was such a relief.  He’s turning into quite the little traveler after a trip to California in July, this trip in August, and a trip to Baltimore for a funeral in September.  I’m glad he’s been taking all these plane rides in stride!

Once we arrived to Charlotte on Tuesday, we headed to my friends Mark and Ashley’s house.  Ashley was the Young Life area director where I went to college and it was so great to see them and catch up.  Their house is also GORGEOUS and was the perfect backdrop for a mini photoshoot with my friend Haley when the humidity and stormy weather made an outdoor photo shoot not ideal for our little man.  We only spent about 30-45 min snapping some pictures but they are so, so cute. Caleb’s hair looks fire engine red in these bad boys and they capture this sweet little season of his life so well.  I can’t wait to share them next week!

Photo: Haley George Photography

That afternoon we headed into Davidson to see the Davidson College campus and have lunch on Davidson’s main street.  My four years at Davidson were such sweet, joyful times of community and growth and it was so fun to reminisce about them as we walked around.  The town of Davidson is adorable and it was so fun to walk around with Caleb in our arms! We got some sweet Davidson t-shirts to end the outing and then headed back to Charlotte.

2) Seeing Old Friends

On Thursday, we headed out to the mountains.  Let’s just say road trips with babies take quite a bit longer, especially since Caleb has decided that naps longer than 35 minutes are for suckers.  We stopped and had lunch with an old friend in Hickory and finally made it to the mountains by late afternoon. Haley rode with us and made an excellent backseat buddy for Caleb!

Once we got to Cashiers, NC (the location of the wedding) we got to see and catch up with a few old college friends. It was so fun to have them meet Caleb and catch up on our adult lives. It’s crazy that we’re already over four years out of college and settled into our lives, even if they all look so different.  These girls were such a huge part of my college experience and I’m grateful for their friendship!

With the stunning bride-to-be before the rehearsal dinner!

3) Wedding Goodness

The next two days were a whirlwind of wedding preparations.  The wedding was at the groom’s parents’ mountain home in Cashiers, NC and oh my heavens, y’all…the view was GORGEOUS.  We spent quite a bit of time at the house helping to get everything ready and I am still not over the incredible mountain views.  They were so kind to host the whole event and have me dreaming of owning our own mountain home one day (since teachers and stay-at-home moms make so much money, you know?).

The view from the back deck of the house!

The day of the wedding was beautiful and sunny (we had prayed like CRAZY for no rain) and everything turned out perfectly.  Taylor did an incredible job with all the details and everything looked beautiful.  It truly was an honor to stand by this beautiful girl on her wedding day, just like she stood beside me on ours!

Even though we had to leave the reception a bit early due to a sleepy, fussy baby, I loved getting to see everyone and celebrate Taylor and Will.  They are a beautiful couple and I’m so glad that my best friend has found such a sweet, thoughtful, amazing guy to spend the rest of her life with.

4) Daddy Day Care

I need to give a shoutout to my amazing hubby because he ROCKED his daddy duties this week.  I had to be away from him and Caleb for most of Friday and Saturday for bridesmaid duties and Jordan did a great job taking care of Caleb while I was away. I love how sweet and playful he is with our son and I got to see the two of them bond in a whole new way this weekend.  I am so grateful for Jordan and how much he loves our little guy and I love that when Caleb’s with him, I know he’s completely safe and taken care of.  He also sends me great selfies like this one when my mama heart worries and texts to see how things are going!

5) Traveling Craziness

Sunday was a bit of a whirlwind because Caleb slept in later than we expected (and I had no alarm set because he’s usually my early-riser!).  We had to rush a bit to make the three hour drive back to Charlotte, drop off the rental car, and get settled in before our flight but we managed to do it and Caleb was a trooper.  He did fuss a bit on this flight back but we survived and made it back in one piece!

All in all, it was a great week of adventures with my boys and lots of old friends.  I’m so proud of how we took care of Caleb throughout the whole thing and feel so much more confident in our abilities to take care of him on upcoming trips.  It was also fun to see Caleb’s little personality shine – he actually gave lots of smiles and giggles to everyone we met and it was fun to see our shy little guy come out of his shell for a bit! He was absolutely adorable and made us so proud!

Photo: Haley George Photography

Jordan is back to work and the year has officially started, but this trip was the perfect way to end a fun summer.  Here’s to many more travel adventures with our little family!

Source: Haley George Photography