Mike and I met Natalie at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. We stayed there over night and drove to Blacksburg. Andrea had invited us to surprise Michael on his 40th birthday. We followed her to his office. We walked into the office and started to sing to Michael. He looked at us as if we looked a little familiar and then recognized us. It was so great to see him. Andrea invited us last January when we saw her in Arizona. It had been so hard to keep it a secret from Michael. Mike just about told him of our trip the week before.
Raquel was taking a Karate class, so we were able to watch her. We loved watching her do flips, leaps, and obstacle courses.
Raquel and Natalie were very busy decorating. Andrea had planned a surprise party for Michael
and had invited their neighbors and friends. It was great meeting them. Andrea had a wonderful dinner planned with great salads and desserts. Mike helped on the grill.
Raquel and Natalya helped blow up the balloons and put up the streamers. It was a beautiful hot, sunny day. They girls made everything look so festive.
Steve had fixed a few things on Michael's Mustang. He is so good to share his talent on Michael's classic car.
We were able to see Marcus blessed, while both sides of the family were together. Margaret and Steve left that morning traveling to the beach. It was fun seeing them. Andrea was so good to host everyone.
Oh, you kids are so cute. Thank you for letting us come to play with you. Raquel loved our shiny make-up. We put sparkles on her eyes a few times a day. She would tell us that the sparkles were off, and needed more on. She had beautiful sparkly eyes everyday. We told her that she looked beautiful even without the sparkles.
What a darling family. Marcus is just a little bundle to hold. He scoots all over the floor and gets in all of the toys. At the end of the week, he was crawling better and getting into the videos. We just loved playing with him. Andrea, thanks for planning such a fun party for all of us to enjoy.
Michael and Andrea live in the most beautiful area. Shade trees are covering the yards and roads. Mike and I loved being outside with the kids. Yes, Natalie and Andrea were walking and visiting behind us. Michael was working. We kept him up late at night, and then he had to get up early to get to work. Friday morning he went to guard for the weekend. We sure did miss him.
Look up kids so we can see you in the camera. This is the life.
We had lunch at a downtown cafe and had delicious wraps. This is just a cute picture with Andrea and Natalya. She has such a cute personality.
Raquel and Natalya both have swim lessons. Even Marcus loves swimming. We have been anxious to watch the girls. Raquel has been on the swim team and has done so well. It was so neat to watch them. Michael got off work early to be at the pool with us.
Raquel swimming laps. She is so good- a very talented swimmer:
Natalya playing in the water:
Marcus loved the water:
Michael is reading coupons the girls had written for his birthday. They each had drawn pictures of what the coupon is worth. Best gifts ever.
Mike telling Raquel a bed-time story. His famous 'going down the bath tub drain' story to a magical land with cotton-candy clouds. Classic.
Michael was at guard from Friday to Sunday night. Andrea took us to the Mill in the Smokey Mountains. What beauty everywhere. We loved learning the history. We could visualize the civil war around every corner.
This mill is a high photographed location. Doesn't it look like a postcard or fake backdrop? This is so fun to be with the kids and reading the history of the first settlers in this area.
We watched a lady spin the yarn to make a throw cover like this. We forgot the stroller, so we took turns holding Marcus.
The girls loved being with Natalie. She played with them just like a big sister would. These were special days for all of us.
You know we took turns taking pictures, because I need them for my blog............
Kids were so good to keep posing for us. Raquel had a birthday party after we get through with our tour. The girls always look so cute in their dresses. Wish you could see the sparkles on their eyes.
Natalie and Raquel looking so cute together. Raquel shared her bed with Natalie. They talked and laughed all night. In the mornings, Raquel would wait for Natalie to wake up. Natalie would look over and Raquel would say...Hi. Such a cute girl.
We stopped at an overlook. Guess that is why they call them the Blue Ridge mountains. This is a great place to be with someone you love, huh Mike.
It is a beautiful evening, just for a great walk. It was fun being together and talking as we went. Mike found a frog crossing the road and Raquel dared to touch it.
Natalie took a picture of Raquel pointing at a firefly. We loved watching them fly around. They were coming out for the evening.
Michael took Monday off. We all woke up early and drove a few miles from their home. There is a beautiful pond that has a great walking path. The girls put on their pretty pink dresses. It was a nice, warm day. The girls fed the ducks.
We stopped to take pictures along the way.
Natalya is taking a fast drink out of the bag on Michaels back. They sure do love him. You are a great Dad, Michael. I miss your family as I am writing this. Wish you didn't live so far away. But after seeing where you live, I can certainly see why you are there. You have a great job, and a beautiful home. You and Andrea have great friends and you are so happy there. We just miss you and your family.
This is just a pretty bridge that we needed our picture by. We took several hundred pictures of our trip. It was so hard to choose just a few for this posting.
We love taking turns getting our pictures together. We are having such a good trip. We know that we are leaving tomorrow. It is always hard to leave and know that it may be quite a long time before we can see each other again. Andrea, thanks for putting such a great party together for us. You are a wonderful wife and mother. Thanks for taking care of Michael. He is so happy.
We went to Chinese for lunch. Natalie and Natalya are practicing the art of using Chinese sticks.
Natalie and Mike are showing the greenery going to Michaels home. Those trees are so healthy. Beauty everywhere you look.
We are enjoying the shade watching Raquel. She is out in the heat. It really was a really hot and humid week...even for there.
Natalya loves to pick flowers off from any green stem. This shows how maticulous she is in getting the flower off.
Raquel takes horse riding lessons. She takes the bridle and rides around the arena. Natalya waited very patiently for a quick ride also. We really enjoyed watching the kids do so many things. We were so glad Michael was able to take the day off.
A picture of us around the swimming pool watching everyone cool off. They fill the pool with hot water coming from a hose of an outside sink. So they have it really nice. They have flowers on the deck with a picnic table and grill. It is huge.
We are watching the little kids swim. This is Michaels back deck, overlooking a dense backyard. I walked down one day to watch the kids jump. I felt like I had stepped out into a rain forest. We were able to experience a rain/thunder/lightning storm. The rain came down so hard. Fun to watch. So beautiful and green.
We took a picture of Michael's current sign out front of his office. Just wanted everyone to see it.
This is Michael's new building they will be moving into. This is the back entrance. They are just finishing the landscaping and driveway. Pretty neat to see his name on the front. So proud of all you have done Michael.
I wanted to get a picture of Michael and Andrea's home. His red truck is in the driveway. The Cadillac is on the right of the picture. Hard to capture how beautiful it is. Thanks for the wonderful trip. Hard to say Good-bye to all of you. We are anxious to see you soon. We drove back to Charlotte, and Natalie was dropped off to get her airline ticket, and Mike and I checked in also. We met at our gate and visited until it was time to say Good-bye. See you in eight days Natalie when you fly to Idaho Falls for your procedures in Utah. We love our family and so proud of all of you. You are our life. Thanks for all the great memories. Thanks for taking care of our grandchildren. We truly are blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment