last leg

The last leg of our trip was spent at my parents' house in North Carolina.  It ended up being a very busy week because we were trying to fit in lots of doctor appointments, lots of errands, lots of food, and lots of fun.  I spent much of my time stocking up on items that we either can't get or are much more expensive in Peru (like kid shampoo, stain remover, contact solution, sunscreen, peanut butter, raisins, presents for birthday parties).  I actually brought back almost 50lbs of shampoo and stain remover alone.  I also shopped for everyone's clothing for the next year since clothes seem to be more cheaply made here and therefore don't last. We were also given lots of hand-me-downs while we were in the States which helped so much.  I spent way too much time searching for winter clothes (since it is winter right now in Peru) only to come up pretty empty-handed.  I quickly realized that in this upcoming year I need to shop online in January or February for winter clothes that I can pick up when we come to the States next July.  

I don't know that I've ever stuffed myself as much as I did during this week.  Cookie cake, cheesy enchiladas from La Carreta, powdered doughnuts, Arby's, brocoli cheese soup in a bread bowl from Panera (twice), bagels, Wendy's, chocolate ice cream with sprinkles, pretzels and pizza from Mellow Mushroom.  It's ridiculous how much I ate, but I just couldn't stop myself.  It was all so yummy!

Some of the fun things that the kids got to do in their last week...

Swim
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Hang out with my mom's side of the family.

Each of the boys got to spend a night with my sister and brother-in-law and their dogs.

The dogs were the highlight.  

Visiting Uncle Chad, a chemist, at work.


The kids made keychains at my mom's work, Amani Village Market.

More swimming.

We always fit in some Wake Forest University indoctrination while visiting my parents since it's where both of my parents (and all of my mom's side of the family) went and my dad has worked there since I was 2 years old.  Since there was no games we could attend while we were there, we went to both football and soccer practices.


Riley bought in on this trip and officially made a verbal commitment to Wake, so class of 2024 here she comes!

If you ever wonder why there aren't as many pictures of Ford on this blog, here's the reason.  He hates having pictures taken of himself and usually puts his hand over the lens so that I can't do it.

One last time with Ever.  


One of the fun things that I got to do was get my second tattoo.  I had been wanting it for almost 3 years and decided that it was finally time.

My only regret about my tattoo is that I got it the day before I flew home with 4 kids by myself.  Although everyone did great (especially on the red eye where they all slept), it was painful to carry Tyler and our millions of bags because my skin was still very sore.  Tyler kept apologizing for hitting "sweetly broken."  
5am and we made it home.

Our time in the States was amazing and we were so thankful for every minute of it.  Every moment of community, every hug, every meal, every word of encouragement, every friend, every home, every day was a gift.