Virginia

Zachari and I were blessed with a trip down to Lynchburg, Virginia over the weekend to surprise the dear Wendy N. D. Hutcheson for her 30th birthday. Never in a million years did I expect to be able to spend so much quality time with her on such short notice, but what a fantastic gift it was to me to be able to do so!


Zachari got to fly on a plane for the very first time and she did amazingly well! Here we are leaving Columbus on Thursday afternoon. 

I don't have any pictures of the look of excitement and surprise on Wendy's face, but trust me, it was priceless! It was fabulous to see her, hug her, squeal with her. Andrew finally got to meet my baby girl and she warmed up to both him and Wendy rather quickly. The next day Z was thrilled to have an elevated deck at the Hutchesons' to explore!

Wendy and Zachari made up for lost time and hit it off like they'd been friends for years. 

Wendy and I made up for lost time too and got pampered by her husband with a pedicure...

and later we enjoyed a most scrumptious birthday girl feast and local microbrew. 

We cooked out on Saturday night after scoring some tasty pre-summer goods from the Farmers' Market and these two needed their picture taken because they were matching.

From stop to stop my girl was a trooper. She wasn't thrilled about being strapped into a car seat or a stroller all of the time, but she handled it well. This was our last day in Virginia... she's over all the traveling, I think.

And wouldn't ya know a certain He-Hutcheson totally had baby fever while we were in his presence. Stinkin' adorable, these two were!

We had a suuuuper early flight out of Lynchburg Monday morning and while Mama enjoyed some much-coveted Starbucks coffee, Z continued to warm up to the day by rocking in this luxurious rocking chair at the Charlotte airport. 

When that grew old for her, I gave her my cell phone (set to airplane mode so she couldn't do any damage) and she was good to go. 

It was my first time going on a long-distance trip without Blinn since we've been married, which is sort of hard to believe. Its easier being the one who's not left behind at home, the one who's out having a blast. I missed my husband, I missed our simple family life, but it was incredible to be away and reconnect with my dear pal. The trip was like an early birthday gift for me too!