What a trip!

Well, Casey, Erin, and Ainsley are back in NC! I woke up Friday morning at 3:15 in Raleigh to catch a flight at 6 AM to Texas. I landed in Texas 4 hours later, and met Erin and Ainsley in the airport. I gave her my keys so she could pick up my car when she landed. Then I went out and went with Casey to pick up the second truck so we could finish loading everything. We loaded until 4:30, and then I went to dinner with the ladies I use to work with at the YMCA in Texas. It was so good to see them.

I got back from dinner at 6 PM, and Casey and I were on the road around 6:10. We drove until 6:45 AM Saturday, and we decided to take a short break. We pulled over at a rest stop and slept in the trucks for about an hour. Then, we pushed on to Raleigh.

We finally arrived in Raleigh around 6:45 PM on Saturday. We unloaded a couple things that needed to come off of the trucks (with the help of some folks from the church ward they will be attending), then Casey and I went up the street to grab a bite to eat. When we got back, we both stretched out on the floor in the living room and fell asleep. We figured it out while we were getting dinner...I had been up for 41 hours, and Casey had been up for 38 hours.

I woke up the next morning around 8, and mom, Ronnie, and I started unloading a truck. We got most of 1 truck unloaded by the time Casey, Erin, Erin's mom, and Ainsley got there. A little later, Kory, Allen, CJ, and Rylee came over to help, and then Hannah, Brandon and Brayden shortly after that. We got everything unloaded, and I headed back to Charlotte around 4:30. After dropping Ronnie off at their house, I ended up back at my apartment around 8 PM last night.

It's wonderful to have all of the family in NC now...but Casey and I both agreed that we wouldn't be doing that again. At least, not anytime soon.

I hadn't seen Ainsley in 3 months, and when I saw her at the airport, she looked at me like she knew who I was, but wasn't exactly sure how. Well, yesterday, I walked by the kitchen and saw her with Erin. I stopped, looked at her and smiled, and she looked at me and said "Bob" and came running over to me! She finally remembered who I was! I'm so glad that all of my nieces and nephews are within easy driving distance now!

I spoke to a friend of mine today who was worried about us driving, and I told them about the trip. When they found out that we only stopped for 1 hour for rest, they were not very happy with me. They said that I told them that we would stop and get a hotel, and that was what kept them from completely freaking out. I didn't remember saying anything about a hotel, but they said that I did, and it was a good thing that they thought that we would. I'm happy to have such a good friend that cares about me like that. :)