After saying good-bye to my family in PA, we flew down to NC and met Chris at the airport. He was coming from a business trip in Texas and had already been to Cup A Joe by the time we arrived! I guess that's no real surprise, now is it?? :) We drove to Wilson and were greeted by Gammy, Grandaddy, and all the dogs - Katie, Mason and Charlie - and the cats.

We had so much fun in North Carolina. The only thing I think we didn't get to do this year was go to the NC State fair! :( Our time was jam-packed with stuff to do - from breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to doctor appointments to birthday parties!!

Max and Siena had lots of fun staying at Gammy and Grandaddy's house, and we loved seeing Aunt Kendal and Uncle Daniel and our cousins - Evie, Brinley, Kapri and Sebi! In fact, during our trip, we got to meet the newest addition to their family, Sebi, who was born in July! He's an absolute delight. Here he is with Uncle Chris and with Siena holding him!! Too cute!!

Our first weekend was a busy one! On Saturday, we had Kapri (2) and Evie's (7) birthday party at the Kids Park in Cary. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast! It was fun seeing the cousins all play together. Kapri, Brinley, and Siena were fascinated with a beetle on the ground and even Sebi joined in the fun...well, he had fun with Uncle Chris! :) Grandaddy and Gammy came and Grandaddy played on the "dragon hill" with the kids. Uncle Daniel's parents - Martha and David - were there and it was great to see them too!

I absolutely love this picture of the cousins (minus Sebi) playing during the party!! Girls are right-side up, and Max is upside-down. Those silly kids!

Here are other pictures from the birthday party!



Then, on Sunday, we had Siena's 2nd birthday party at Hillridge Farm in Youngsville. It was so much fun! Here's us having fun on the train! All aboard!!!


Now for the hay ride!


Let's eat and have cake!!! The cake turned out so cute - it was a barn with pig, lamb, and chick cupcakes. YUM!




After an early dinner and cake/cupcakes, it was time to pick some pumpkins!!


Afterwards we played at the farm and fed the animals for a little bit. The kids loved playing in the huge silo filled with corn. It was a really fun day and was special to get to spend it with all our family and so many friends!!!



That week, not only did we spend lots of time with Gammy and Grandaddy, but we also had several doctor visits scheduled. Max had an appointment with the allergist (and his current medication seems to be working), and he had his first trip to the dentist!!! He did amazing!!! DeeDee at Dr. Martin's office kept saying it was as if he'd been there 5 times before. No fear at all. He was just lying there letting her get all the "sugar bugs" off his teeth! I (Mommy) had a dental appointment before Max, and he was as good as gold playing while I had my teethed cleaned! DeeDee did explain everything that she was doing to me so he'd know what to expect. What a good boy! But, can you believe I don't have a picture of this life event???!!!

After our trip to the allergist, we spent some time with the Heard's and Wohschlegel's at North Hills Park. Siena was home with Gammy and Grandaddy. She missed a fun time! :(



We also had a great time at a play date at Aunt Kendal's house. The girls showed Max and Siena their new rats - Bernie and Nick! Yes, I said rats!! According to Kendal, they are very clean animals...much cleaner I'm sure than the rat family that lives down on our road, Thanon Saladaeng! :) Here are pictures of our fun-filled day of having lunch, playing with the rats, jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes, and just having fun!!! Oh how we miss our cousins! :(





The kids had a blast at Gammy and Grandaddy's house all week. As usual, there were lots of treats and the days were filled with playing, playing, and some more playing. The kids came in every day filthy and I think they had to get a bath every night while we were there!!! As you can see, Max was into building tents again, and this year, Grandaddy took Max on a "boat" ride on the hammock with "very" rough waves! Gammy took us for several "hay rides" in the back of her truck. The kids would help get pine straw into the back and then she'd drive around the neighborhood. I was a little uncomfortable...being that it wasn't very safe and we were in the US and not Bangkok...but, I figure they do ride Tuk-Tuks and in taxis in Thailand, so I suppose this was okay! :)


Since we were having a birthday party for Max in Bangkok, we didn't have a joint birthday party this year in the States. But, Max celebrated his actual birthday at Gammy and Grandaddy's with his special strawberry muffins Gammy makes and gifts in the morning and you guessed it, a Darth Vader cake in the evening!!

While we were in NC, Chris and I took advantage of staying at his parents and we left the kids for a night! We went to the Fearrington House near Chapel Hill to celebrate our 10 year anniversary! Oh, it was fantastic! The accommodations were awesome and the food, well, it was divine!!! :) Plus, I love seeing the Belted cows; they are so cool.



Our final weekend in NC was another super busy one. We went to Jennifer and Ben Heard's annual Halloween bash that Friday. Oh it was so much fun to hang out with friends. I miss my friends in Raleigh so much......As you can see, Chris disappointed me. We were suppose to go as Mr. & Mrs. Gandhi, but we went at "Chris - federal employee" and "Mrs. Gandhi". Kara and Keith's outfits were really good - the Statue of Liberty and John Wesley (at least I think that's who Keith was! :))

Gammy and her friend, Marie, had planned a picnic at a park in North Raleigh, but it was really cold. So, the "picnic" was moved to Gammy and Grandaddy's house in Wilson. It was a really nice day with family and friends. Aunt Kendal and her family were there, Edd and Marie, and their daughter Donna and her family were there too. They have a little girl, Alyssa, so the house was full of kids! We had a huge lunch and lots of yummy desserts! As you can see, the kids had fun playing and I'm not sure what the heck Max is doing, but maybe he'll be a bow hunter later in life?! :) Sebi enjoyed watching The Grinch on the iPad!





Since we would be flying on Halloween, we celebrated it a couple days early. Max was Darth Vader, of course, and Siena was a puppy. Gammy made her a really cute outfit. Doesn't she look adorable!?!? :) We went to 3 houses, including Edd and Marie's house. It was so much fun to Trick or Treat!



After a packed Saturday, we woke up Sunday morning to return to Bangkok! Oh, the dreaded 26 hour flight - longer back since we had 3 flights this time (RDU-Dulles-Japan-BKK). But, the kids did terrific again! The awesome thing was that Grandaddy got to accompany us to the gate at the Raleigh airport! It was a great send off!!!

Here we are on the LONG JOURNEY HOME!!! The kids occupied themselves with the usual stuff - arts and crafts and videos. Siena went a little heavy on the stickers, though!



Here are the kiddos on the flight from Japan to Bangkok....oh we were oh so tired!!! Although it was great to see our family and friends in the US, it's always nice to be home!! However, our journey was filled with a little worry. Due to severe flooding, which flooded parts of Bangkok, the big question for us was - did our area in Bangkok flood? Not to worry, though, Mommy packed lots of supplies to bring back - the essentials - bread, peanut butter and jelly and mac n cheese! :)