We arrived back in Dunn on November 18th to help prepare for Thanksgiving. The first week we were in town we spent catching up with family and talking about the last six months of our lives. Brian had no interest in going to the outlets shopping so his mom and I went; it is much easier to shop without two boys who do not like to shop. We did manage a “girl’s day out” for shopping in Smithfield although I only bought two shirts, the boys got shirts and pants which were greatly needed. One other exciting occurrence was Carson losing his first tooth the day before Thanksgiving; he was glad that the tooth fairy does come (and leaves money) when you are staying at Grandma’s house.
The next week was the week of Thanksgiving and we started talking about what to take to Sanford for Thanksgiving. Pecan pies are always on the top of the list and I got my hand at making a couple of them this year, to be safe my pies were left at home. Thanksgiving at Janice & Donald’s (Brian’s aunt and uncle) house in Sanford was nice; part of the family was not able to attend, so the “gathering” was smaller than usual. We enjoyed sitting around talking to Grandma Ruby (Brian’s grandmother who is 91) and listening to her talk about growing up, bringing up five children and the things that have changed over the years. The day passed quickly spending time with family and Thanksgiving 2009 was over.
The week after Thanksgiving we returned to Asheville for doctors and dentist appointments, cleaning out the motor home and finalizing things at our office to be left for another 6-8 months. We did not expect anyone to have a cavity but Carson was the unfortunate one and had to have it fixed before we “hit the road again”. This was one adventure that I hope we do not have to endure again, although with the medicine that he was given he probably will not remember the ordeal. A few more play dates, birthday parties and visiting friends and we started making plans to return to Dunn for the Best Christmas Party on December 20th.
On December 20th, we had a wonderful time with a house full of family enjoying Christmas goodies. There were stories of old times, ping pong games, and lots of family pictures, then more eating and talking. There were tours of our home and questions on how we possibly could live in less than 450 sq feet and the consensus from most of the family was that they could not live in our home (for an extended period of time). I think that everyone enjoyed finally getting to see the inside of our traveling home, since most everyone had only seen the pictures of the outside.
Christmas Eve we grilled steaks, opened gifts and enjoyed a game of family football. It was Brian, Mark, Carson and Carter against me, Janice, Zachary and Ryan. The game did not last too long after a couple of minor accidents, so everyone ended up back inside to enjoy punch and goodies. The afternoon ended with a couple of ping pong games and some friendly Wii competition. Everyone had to get to be early so that Santa would not miss dropping off presents. Christmas morning the boys were surprised when they did not see any gifts inside Grandma’s house. Since, we had moved into the motor home, I guess Santa thought that was where the gifts were to be left and we found that all their Christmas gifts in the motor home. They found Wii games, Lego sets and Rock Band setup when they opened the doors to the motor home. Santa must have thought that we had more room than we really do when he left a drum set, a guitar and microphone in addition to the other toys, stuffed animals and books. Zachary, Carson and Brian enjoyed Lego Rock Band and they had the idea that we needed to start a band on the road. Brian will play guitar, Carson playing the drums and Zachary will sing Bella and I will be the audience.
The week after Christmas was spent cleaning up and organizing the motor home and trying to find a home for all the new Christmas toys. Our check list had to be finished- car maintenance and inspection, home school books ordered and any other necessities had to be ordered and arrived prior to January 12th, when we planned to leave. Everything except our new license plate arrived prior to us leaving, so that will have to be mailed before the end of January. I spend New Years Eve baking yeast rolls and French onion soup; this was my first try at making each. The rolls took all day to make since they had rise two separate times. We ate hot yeast rolls that tasted more like biscuits with butter just before midnight. On New Years day we had a traditional lunch of black eyed peas, collards, and salmon patties for lunch. We decided since we would be traveling we need to eat lots of peas and collards since it is said that these two will help you with money in the New Year.
The boys really thought that they would be staying with Grandma when we left NC, since she had satellite which included four different Disney channels. January 13th we left Dunn for Cape Canaveral, FL for our first Families on the Road Rally. We were really excited to meet other traveling families and see how our daily lives compared. We planned on stopping around Saint Augustine, Florida and then to Cape Canaveral for the rally which stated on January 14th.
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