What a GREAT day it was, yesterday ~ a day to celebrate YOU!
You bring so many people joy by tending to them
in such caring, thoughtful ways.
After work yesterday ~
we headed downtown
to a restaurant that had been recommended to us
It was AMAZING ~
We had such a great time ~
enjoying the time together AND an amazing meal
Sorbet/ice cream sampler ~ SOOOO good
(and isn't it SO cute!)
We had heard you could go up on the roof ~
AND....of my,
the sights were beautiful!
A most wonderful evening ~
We headed home ~
to skype with Hannah :)
Steve joined in after awhile
Hannah celebrated her dad with a note....
and a picture of the two of them. :)
AND...then....we all sang happy birthday together
and Alden blew out his candles on his cake!
How fun was that....
celebrating with Hannah.....from Guatemala!
*****************
Okay......so here begins the post .....
of Alden's birthday trip!
{warning: MANY pictures to follow!}
When I asked Alden what he'd like to do for this BIG b'day.....
yes, 60.
I asked: Would you like a party? No
Would you like to go to Cancun? Um, no.
He said, let me think on it for a few days.
He soon said ~
I'd like to go home and visit with ALL my aunts and uncles....
individually, in their own homes.
So.....
we planned and took off on our Road Trip!
We left after work on a Thursday evening ~
yes, he was STILL doing work in the car.
On his cell phone......before we ever left the driveway!
We arrived in the Raleigh area ~
the area where Alden and I met.....
at NC State University
We checked into our hotel ~
and rested good.
Friday we visited with his Aunt Shirley
(his mom's sister)
She shared about her growing up years,
and what Alden meant to her.
Shirley took us to see Uncle JB ~
(his mom's brother)
and we had a GREAT visit with him.
He doesn't speak anymore ~
but he can nod yes or no.....
and STILL has the most beautiful smile ever (which we saw lots of!)
We headed to get some lunch together before
heading on to our next visit.
Shirley and I enjoying our peach shakes at Hardees!
(and of course each other!)
We headed to Aunt Foy's (Alden's dad's sister) house following lunch.
She also shared some great stories and pictures with us.
We so enjoyed our time with her.
Next....we went to Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Bill's ~
(Alden's Mom's sister)
What a sweet time we had with them.
Leaving their house we enjoyed some dinner ~
just the 2 of us.
We talked about the wonderful memories we had just made
seeing all those precious family members.
and....of course enjoyed some SWEET tea. :)
Going into each house ~
I had a little photo album of pictures from our family to share with them.
AND.....my little notebook that I would open up as soon as we would
walk into a house.
As each person shared I jotted down the stories....
so we can remember!
As we drove around we saw great places of remembrance ~
this was the ice cream place Alden's Grandpa Smith
would take him to when he would work with him
during the summers.
Friday morning we went to see Uncle Jerry (Alden's dad's brother)
and Aunt Louise (Alden's Uncle Cecil's {dad's brother}wife.)
What a good time we had ~
we not only enjoyed the people all along,
but enjoyed seeing their homes,
the pictures on the walls,
and the memories we had at each place already.
The 4 of us went to lunch together ~
and got some GREAT southern cooking.
The guys eating some banana pudding. Yum!
Um......these 2 could not deny they are related, right?!
Alden's grandparents (on his dad's side) lived in Angier.
Two of their sons settled on either side of their house.
Alden is walking away from Uncle Jerry's house....
about to pass through the back of his Grandma's house....
to visit Uncle MR and Aunt Jean on the OTHER side of the house.
Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house
Uncle MR's house
Alden and Uncle MR
Alden, Aunt Jean, Uncle MR
As we headed back to Jerry's house ~
Alden shared some amazing stories of his growing up years
right here in this place.
pecan tree behind grandma's house
pecans maturing
We headed back over to Uncle Jerry's to see Aunt Jean
(yes there are 2 Aunt Jean's).
She had been out at an appt earlier in the day.
Soooo....good to see her!
Sweet time ~
We headed to Alden's home ~ Spring Lake.
This is his home church.
We spent Friday evening with Ken and Lynne ~
enjoyed dinner together and talked into the wee hours of the morning.
Saturday morning we spent some time with
Aunt Elma (Alden's dad's sister), cousin Cindy and her husband Don.
By the way, the weather was GORGEOUS the whole
time we were away.
We loved sitting outside here ~ to visit and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Sweet times of connecting ~
Aunt Elma lives RIGHT behind Alden's parents' house ~
so we then just enjoyed some time there....at his homeplace.
This end of his house ~ is where we would stay.
the driveway ~
where our kids rode bikes, golf carts and even
learned to drive. :)
We walked all around the house ~
reminiscing.
His dad built this house ~
it burned down once....and he rebuilt it.
the barn ~
His parent's room
Entrance at the back of the house ~
this is where you would enter.
Nobody hardly ever used the FRONT door.
The equipment
Grandpa had an ice machine in here at one time ~
that little crushed ice.
Ohhhhh, how the kids loved it!
front yard
front porch
The kitchen window to the right ~
eat in area to the left ......
SOOOOOOOO many memories at that table and in that kitchen
400 Odell Road ~ Home
a most wonderful place ~
full of love and fun through the years.
Louise's house ~
Louise's yard
Precious
We even got to visit each of his grandparents' cemeteries
Granddad Britt
Grandma Britt
We so enjoyed all these precious moments .....
together.
Grandparent Smiths' cemetery
Grandpa and Grandma Smith
their church
Alden and Uncle Linwood (his mother's brother)
A beautiful picture of Alden's mom ~
Linwood showed us
Alden's mom and dad ~ 1948
(in their 20's)
Alden's dad on the left, Linwood on the right
Linwood and Alden
I cannot even express what a special time we had visiting all these wonderful people.
It filled us both up with love and "family"......connecting, hearing how they are REALLY doing,
stories of the past, and a satisfaction of knowing they realize we love and appreciate THEM.
Simply blessed ~
After visiting with the family ~
we took 2 days to relax and enjoy each other
and to ponder over the people and stories we had heard
in the last few days.
arrived at our hotel
beautiful sight from our balcony
Um, yes, we enjoyed some GREAT southern food
(eggs, grits, biscuits and gravy)
One happy man
Here we come .........
Alden checking out the waves
He L.O.V.E.S. body surfing!
{click on any picture to see it closer and clearer!}
We finished the night off with some
delicious seafood
The next morning we took in the sunrise ~
we could hardly contain ourselves.....
wanted to get some much needed rest,
but the sunrise and beach were outside!!!!!!
More body surfing
A little more "work" to be done....
conference call.
Rode the wave ~ and LOVED it!!!!!!
He is like a little kid when it comes to the BEACH!
I love watching him enjoy it so much!
Feet in the sand.......
{be sure to click on both the above pics!}
Our chairs.......
no words needed.......
Alden....headed for the chairs
running up with a HUGE smile :)
Almost heaven.......
Yep....a little more work on the way home.......
got some of our favorite chicken ~ Zaxby's
One more sunset......
to complete a "trip of a lifetime".
Another birthday ~ a special birthday.
Content. Happy.
We love you Alden!
Thanks for being who you are.
