I took the red eye flight back to NC on Wednesday night (unfortunately following UNC blowing a big lead against dook). As usual I didn't get much sleep (none of it solid) on the plane. I landed and suddenly had some energy when I saw my sister and niece for the first time in 5 months.
We went the The Little Gym in Clayton. It was awesome to see Natalie running around on the equipment (pictures and maybe video to come). She had so much energy. She loved the rings (and I guess just the swing in general). I liked seeing her do flips and rolls. Afterwards we went to the Bojangles drive-thru (mmmmm... sweet tea and biscuits). Back to my parent's house and I did a little work before laying down to take a nap (Natalie and I were co-conspirators on that one.)
Whitney and I had planned to run, but a couple of things were working against us. I had very little energy after the flight and was not very motivated after the nap. The weather also wasn't helpful. I've been spoiled with the Southern California sunshine. We decided to put it off until Friday when it would be warmer.
Whitney's sister-in-law arrived from Ohio (through all the snow and inclement weather) to see Whit and Nat. We ended up getting dinner from Smithfield's Chicken and BBQ (mmmm... more sweet tea, hushpuppies, and bbq). I think you may see a theme in these NC posts (and a detriment to my training). It was a low-key night in which I watched some TV and did some work before bed.
Friday morning brought T-Mart biscuits and play-time for Natalie. Whitney's friend Marcia came down from Garner with her daughter Maddi. One of Whitney's friends from high school (well actually I guess it was as much middle school as high school) brought her two daughters over too. The girls colored, dressed up as princesses, watched some cartoons, and played outside. I cooked lunch (grilled cheese sandwiches) for the entire crowd. Later in the afternoon it was nap time.
After all the guests left, Whitney and I finally got a run in. It was a 4-mile run around Dunn. It was pretty cold to me, but Whitney thought it was warmer than what she has been used to. That shows the difference between our current climates.
MichaelNorris's Activities | RunKeeper
That night was dinner at the bowling alley/arcade cafe with mom, dad, whitney, beth, jeffrey, aunt cookie and natalie... Guess who was the center of attention at that one (especially in her squeaky shoes). After the food was done, it was off to the arcade. Natalie ended up with quite a few tickets thanks to Jeffrey. She of course didn't want to leave, but it was really close to bed time. Nothing exciting after getting home. I crashed pretty early.
Saturday was family lunch at my grandparents' house. I got there early to help my granddad with the cooking. He was a lot further along than I expected him to be when I got there, but I manned the grill at the end then chopped the BBQ. We all ate lunch and hung out for a while. Then the UNC game came on and my food coma started to kick in. I ended up with a quick nap during halftime, but caught the end of an ugly win. I'll take it.
I started feeling a little sick (cold and flu type stuff) before we got back to my parent's house. So I took some medicine and took a longer nap. Dad and Natalie also laid down for a nap, but Whitney and mom went to Smithfield for some shopping. I woke up from my nap much later than intended, but dad and Nat were still asleep too.
I finally got up and motivated to shower then headed to Garner to pick up my friend Billy. We drove up to our friend Gary's house in Raleigh and hung out for a while. It was the first time all three of us had been able to get together since October (which was a wedding, so not the normal hanging out situation). I got back home a little later and went straight to bed.
Got up in the morning and went for a 6-mile run with Whitney. We ran down to the trail that used to be the railroad track, then ran the trail out to the country (I think it's technically in Erwin.) It took me a while to get warmed up in the cool morning weather, but the sun came out and helped me out.
MichaelNorris's Activities | RunKeeper
After the run I had to shower and pack for my flight back to San Diego. We drove up to Raleigh to run some errands and grab food at McAlister's Deli. We went out to the fountain to let Natalie throw some coins. She was pretty entertained with that. Then it was time to get back in the car and go to the airport. I said my goodbyes to the family and went into the airport. It's always tough to say goodbye to them, but I am very thankful for the days I got to spend with them.
Love you Angel Ryan!
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