Downtown Charlotte: Queen City
We had a couple hours to kill,
so we went to the Nascar Hall of Fame.
Giddy boy.
Excuse our childishness for the next couple of hours.
It was hilarious.
Hardest racing simulator EVER.
Unbeatable.
Pit crew race.
#1 baby!
Then we hit up Mert's,
"the best soul food in Charlotte"
and had Fried Green Tomatoes, Collard Greens,
and Salmon Cakes, all for the first time.
Holy goodness.
We then headed to Fort Mill, SC
The Peach Stand
(where they used to get Filet Mignon)
The road he lived on
His old house!
Same road
Parking lot they used to race their bikes on
The huge bump in the sidewalk they'd jump off
The spot where his companion flipped over his bike
(which Phil teased him for relentlessly, of course,
and then Phil crashed HIS bike there the same day!)
The road to the Ciarrocchi's
which they rode often, apparently
and we finally made it to the Ciarrocchi's!!
We played with the kids for a while
And kicked the boys' butts in football
until Bella got hurt...
That night, the girls let me do their hair!
(my co-workers are convinced the key
to being a good mother is being able to do hair)
Besties!
Elizabeth and Bella.
And who could forget Gabe??
He took a little while to warm up to us
Saturday morning, the toilet upstairs exploded,
so we spent most of the day entertaining the kids.
Doing magic tricks
Saturday night was Mark's surprise birthday party!
Phil loved getting to reunite with some people he remembered
Bill Fox, Phil, and Mark
Again, more kid-time
Love my Bella!
Sunday, we went to church with the fam.
The girls loved my "clacky" boots
And they let me do their hair again!
Then at night, Bella did MY hair!
Monday morning, we watched Mickey Mouse Club
while Gabe conducted the songs
Gabe LOVES twirling hair!
He just snuggles right up to you and twirls.
It's freakin' adorable.
Decorating the tree
We love these kiddos!
Thanks Carolyn and Mark for everything!
It was so great meeting you!
The house. Which they're selling.
So we'll probably never see it again.
Thanks Fort Mill!
