Jordan Family Holiday. Year Four.

September 30, 2011

Jordan Family Holiday. Year Four.

I had initially thought we’d spend this year doing something over a long weekend - heading to the mountains or the beach or camping somewhere with the kids - but September had other plans for us and by the time the smoke had cleared, planning a little vacation was no where on my radar. We decided earlier this week that we’d spend our anniversary this year with the kids at the zoo…except that we woke up on the morning of 29th with two blissfully sleeping kids between us and without saying a word, looked at each other, rolled back over and slept for another hour. Then when Dovie began to stir, we turned on cartoons, answered her call for “JUICE PWEASE!” and snuggled in bed all together until well after 9am.

Plan B was breakfast downtown and a trip to the kid’s museum. We loaded everyone up and headed to Mecca - a Raleigh staple since the 1930s.

(Oh Everly Veda, you are such a ham!)

It’s a beautiful old restaurant and everything remains as it once was - down to the vintage children’s booster seats in the old wooden booths. I will tell you this though - anyone who makes you think that going to breakfast with two children under the age of two is blissful and relaxing is FULL OF IT. Brent and I ate our meals in shifts, I wiped a lapful of grits off Everly’s dress, nursed Arlo over bites of eggs, and Brent devoured his fried chicken as best he could while wrangling our wiggling daughter with the other hand. We kept laughing at how hard it is to actually get everyone fed sometimes.

After breakfast we walked down to Marbles Kid’s Museum. It’s this amazing, super interactive play space for kids with two floors worth of fun and activities especially suited for small children. A veterinarian’s office stuffed full of furry dogs and cats, a hospital nursery with tiny babies, a grocery store with lots of play food, a giant lego blocks building area and more. It was our first time taking Everly and we were kicking ourselves for not going sooner! We’ve decided that we’re going to ask our families to contribute to a year’s family pass instead of toys for the kids this Christmas. It’s the perfect place for Brent to turn the kids loose during the week to let them creatively work out some energy.

Once Everly was thoroughly worn out from all the playing, we walked along the sidewalks of downtown Raleigh and just enjoyed the perfect indian summer weather. Spring and fall are absolutely amazing in North Carolina and Brent commented that the weather felt exactly as it did on our wedding day - mid 70s and sunny.

The kids fell asleep in the car during what would normally be their naptime so we drove around and looked at some houses we are interested in around town. We decided back in August to take a few months off from our house buying search and start again in October - and thank goodness we did! I can’t imagine having to jump through all of the hoops of buying a home on top of everything we’ve been dealing with this month.

Last night, my dad and stepmom came over to hang with the children so that Brent and I could go to dinner together. We ordered way more sushi than we could eat, and shared a bottle of unfiltered sake (a favorite from our days in SF when we lived just down the street from a sake shop!) We savored the time alone together, eating slowly and talking about all of the amazing things we’ve done together since we fell in love 7 years ago. We each shared our three favorite memories from our wedding day and held hands and just enjoyed the uninterrupted vibe of our quiet, dimly lit booth.

I remember the moment the preacher said “I now pronounce you husband and wife!” I bounced on my tip toes and let out the most joyous squeal. Sitting across from my husband last night and reflecting on our journey together, I still feel the pureness of that moment. From the second I was officially his wife until today, my adoration and love for this man has only grown. Of all the paths I’ve chosen to go down in my life, following the one that lead me to Brent has given me the most love, beauty and happiness.

Love,

To see our past anniversary adventures check out:

Year 1 here and here.

Year 2 here here and here

Year 3 here and here.