It all started months ago, when Marcia said she was considering attending a conference in North Carolina. I immediately told her, "We'll come see you!"
As time drew nearer and we began to talk details, I started getting more and more excited. How very cool to think about actually seeing one of my very best blog friends -- all the way from South Africa! -- in the flesh!
We met Marcia in Charlotte, NC, on Sunday afternoon. We picked up immediately, just as I knew we would.
It was a bit surreal for me at first, but we quickly got past that and got down to "business"...talking and laughing and exploring...and taking pictures, of course!
We meandered to dinner through beautiful downtown Charlotte. And how I loved seeing my sweet girls sided up to Miss Marcia!
On Monday, while Marcia took a city tour with her friend B, we met another of my great blogger friends, Mandy, and her precious family at the children's museum.
A&B wasted no time in jumping in to play with E&C, and it was seriously one of the cutest things ever, seeing them all together.
The first thing they did???
Knock down several wooden towers in the building area. They were meant to be played with / deconstructed / reconstructed...but two sets of three-year old twins took care of the "deconstruction" part very quickly...with very little patience for any "reconstruction". HA!
One of the favorite spots for the girlies was this computer / telephone station. I'm not sure they really learned anything about polar bears, but they had a big time with the equipment!
We met up with Marcia and B for lunch, which was -- THANKFULLY!!! -- followed by a nap at the hotel.
Monday afternoon we all met again to explore the downtown area a little more.
The girls were happy to be reunited, and they were very willing to sit (although not exactly "pose") on the purple couch in the lobby of the hotel.
I would love to know how many pictures Marcia, Mandy, and I took of the girlies walking and holding hands...it's easily in the 100's!
Here are the little girls acting silly, and Miss Mandy in the background. (I love the delight on her face!)
We scoped out all the fountains around the city's center...
...and appreciated some of the great sculptures, too. This one seemed to inspire B&C to perform some "Ring Around the Rosey".
We enjoyed one more meal together, at a delicious Southern BBQ joint (albeit a pretty nice one, which doesn't usually go with "Southern BBQ joint" in my mind...HA!). Here's a great picture of Marcia and B.
Here are the girls with their gorgeous bags from Miss Marcia (and Kendra and Connor). They love them!!!
Our time together was so much fun, but just too short. Here are my girls, hugging Miss Marcia goodbye.
But it wasn't farewell for the Three M's just yet. After the kiddos (and husbands) were down for the evening, we met one more time for some more walking, and lots more talking. It was a truly memorable evening, as Mandy said, full of many, many laughs.
Thanks for everything, Marcia and Mandy! "Blog friends" turned "IRL friends" = awesome. We must do this again, ladies!!! :)
And we missed you, Deanna!
12 comments:
Love this post! How fun to meet bloggy friends in real life :) It looks like you became friends in the first place for good reason.
Great pictures--love the girlies all holding hands, and the one of you three ladies is pure joy :) What wonderful memories!
You have had so many wonderful adventures with A&B this summer! How awesome to be able to take to discover you have such amenable travelers :)
Jealous! How super fun to get to hang out in the real world. :)
What a great,eet up IRL. I am really jealous but so happy that you got the chance.
That last picture is fantastic, and the girls walking amd holding hands - just precious.
All the pictures are so beautiful. Especially love the ones of the 3 Ms, the girls holding hands and of the wooden towers 'demolition' :)
I'm glad you 'liked' Marcia. She's a beautiful person through and through. It's interesting because we also became friends courtesy of the blog, but at least we live in the same province.
That is so awesome and I am sooooooooooooo jealous!! (In a "luv ya" good friend kinda way" ;)
Oh my goodness that is so awesome! I'm totally jealous that you guys all met. What a cool thing. This was a beautiful post and I love all the pictures.
What an incredible meet-up! And the photos of the foursomes? Unbelievably adorable. :)
Maybe you all can re-enact it on a regular basis as they all grow?
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How fun! If only Charlotte were a bit closer. We are in Charlottesville, VA.
That picture of the 4 holding hands is sooo sweet!!!
And yes, usually the best BBQ is in some shack! Ha!
I love all the pictures!! I'm so sad I missed out on this trip. Glad y'all had such a good time!
Like you mentioned a few weeks ago, it should be relatively easy for us to get together sometime. I'm thinking a trip to the Nashville Zoo when it cools off just a bit??
I love them all! I was a wee bit sad on the LONG drive home knowing this wasn't something we could pull together next weekend, or in coming months for that matter.
It was truly a joy to make the jump to IRL friends! I can't wait till next time, which I'm sure there will be. The girls love their books and are begging for pictures of their friends! You are such a sweet and amazing person!
OOQOHHHHHHHHH I love the pics and am also sad like Mandy.
Next year in south Africa, or Thailand?
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