North Carolina

Cahl had a work conference in Raleigh, North Carolina this week, and I was lucky enough to be able to go with him. We flew over on Saturday, and spent the evening scootering around near our hotel and finding a place for dinner. Sunday morning we went to the farmer's market and a swap meet, as well as a military collection sale that happened to be there. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Dix Park to check it out, and found one of the giant trolls that lives in the park! There are 5 total, and we are excited to go back and find the rest. In the evening, we went over to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, where Cahl's conference was having a reception. The museum is the oldest in the state, and the largest natural history museum in the Southeastern United States, and it was really neat to have it all to ourselves. 

Monday while Cahl was in class, I went over and toured the State Capital building, then walked through some of the little shops in downtown Raleigh. In the evening, we scootered all around again, and went back to Dix Park to find the other 4 trolls. They are so huge, and so cool! The whole park is really beautiful, and it was super fun to find them. 

Tuesday I went to the Mordecai House and Historic Park, which has some of the oldest homes and buildings in Raleigh, including the house that President Andrew Johnson was born in. 

Wednesday morning I went and checked out the City of Raleigh museum, then walked through downtown to find some souvenirs. In the evening, we met some of Cahl's colleagues for dinner, and I even got my own visitor badge for the conference!

Thursday morning we packed up and headed over toward the coast for the night. On the way, we stopped at Bentonville Battlefield and Harper House (which is a civil war site), and Moores Creek National  Battlefield (which is a revolutionary war site). Once we made it over to Carolina Beach, we had a great time relaxing on the beach before heading down to the boardwalk for souvenirs and dinner. 

Friday we walked around Fort Fisher, another civil war site, before stopping at the Burgwin-Wright House, which is the oldest & largest historic site in Wilmington. The house was built in 1770, and was built on the original walls of a former city jail. It crazy that you can see the basement jail cells, and some cells outside. We weren't able to do a tour, but hopefully someday we'll be able to go back and do it, because it looked so cool! From there we headed back to Raleigh to catch our flight home. 

Happy Birthday!

3 years ago, Cahl's uncle Mike bought a 1955 Ford F100 truck and started having restored. Cahl helped him with it for over a year, and Mike gifted it to Cahl when he passed away. It was a long and painstaking project- they essentially tore it down to a million parts and pieces, then rebuilt it from the ground up. It was fully customized and finished the way Mike had envisioned, and it turned out so beautifully! It has been a true labor of love for Cahl and all the guys and shops he has worked with, and I know Mike would be so thrilled with how it turned out!

It got done just in time for Cahl's birthday, so he and I made a quick trip to Vegas to pick it up. We had a wonderful family dinner celebrating his 45th birthday, and everyone got a chance to check out the truck. The next day, Cahl and I went down to Area 15 to check out Meow Wolf, then we went a walked through Ikea, before meeting his aunt Kathy for dinner. It was a fast and furious trip, but we are so happy to finally have the truck home. 

Moscow

Hunter went up to visit some friends in Moscow a few months ago, at the University of Idaho, and he loved it so much that he transferred! He spent the summer working as a student in the water lab for the Bureau of Reclamation, and after his last day off work last week, moving day has arrived. It's been a little bit of an emotional roller coaster for me for the last few months, preparing for today, but he is super ready and excited for the change. His and Morgan got an apartment together, and they've both been working hard to get their class schedules planned.

Hunter, Morgan, Jasen, and I took off early yesterday morning and got to Moscow around noon. We got the keys to their apartment and got everything unloaded, then headed out for lunch and a little grocery shopping. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and organizing their things before meeting some of their friends for dinner. Soon after, Jasen dropped me off at our hotel, then him and the other kids spent a few hours just hanging out. 

This morning after breakfast, we all headed over to a thrift store in Lewiston where the boys found a few furniture items, then Jasen, Morgan, and I headed back home. Morgan and her parents are moving her up next week, so Hunter is on his own for a few days. It was a quick and emotional trip for me, but he is settled in and so excited for this new chapter. I know he's going to do great, and he has Morgan and a bunch of friends there with him, so it's going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to see him when he comes home to visit!

Back to School

Today was Brinley's first day back to school- she's now a Junior at Renaissance High School. She is really excited to be an upperclassman, and part of the leadership team for Yearbook. She has a heavy load of classes this year, with most of them being college classes, but she works hard and is so motivated to do well at school. 

Pinewood Derby

This evening the ward held a Pinewood Derby for all of the youth and their families. Brinley worked hard on her car, Pinkalicious, and it turned out super cute. She didn't place overall, but she had fun racing and even took her other 2 cars to race as well. Hunter even took one of his old cars and had a great time racing it. Cahl took a few of the boy's old cars, and he ended up smoking all of the kids and their dads! He had the fastest time of the night, and even set a new track record!