South Carolina!

I'll try not to make this post too long since I need to save some juicy details for my diary ;) but Miles and I just got back from SC the other day and it was such a great experience.
I traveled with my cousin-in-law and her little boy who is about the same age. They drove me to SLC and we did all the plane traveling together. Her bro-in-law also came with us on the plane rides back and was a complete life saver! Miles traveled about as good as you could expect a wiggly 1.5 year old who has to sit on your crammed lap for 5 hours to do. Does that paint an adequate picture? He actually did better than I thought he would thanks to Mr. Benadryl. I was always surprised at bumping into such kind-hearted people. We had plenty of strangers stop to help us with our bags etc etc. We even ran into the head of audio visual for the church and I think he saved my sanity on the ride home. He forfeited sitting next to his wife to sit next to me and talk to me. He would adjust my seat, fix my head set, pick up something if Miles threw it etc etc. Just totally changed my night.
All traveling aside, the trip was fantastic. I got to stay one night at G&G Garner's home and it was just full of love and memories and southern charm, complete with screened in porch. We spent the majority of the reunion in Ashville North Carolina where we stayed at a ski resort lodge place which was absolutely beautiful, the accommodations and scenery. We went on a small hike on the Appalachian trail which runs from Georgia to Maine and did a little rafting on the French Broad River. But my favorite parts of reunions are just sitting around and talking. I got to know many family members much better, meeting some for the first time. It's such a treat to be a part of a family which reminds me so much of my own. I have no problem feeling comfortable or asking for help. Everyone was willing to help me!! I couldn't have done it without everyone else's help. Heck, I wouldn't have even gone if it wasn't for them!
The south is fantastic. I've never been to that part of the country and it's beautiful. I never did get over how many trees there are and how green it is. It's just what a pictured; people saying "ya'll" and country style homes with gardens, humidity and bugs, and more ethnicity than I usually see in a year! :) I definitely did NOT get enough pictures, but here are a few. Miles is in almost all of them, go figure. I guess I'm one proud mamma! This is the longest amount of time Richie and I have ever been away from each other, not counting our engagement, so that was super hard for me. Someone tried to make us feel better by saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder, to which Richie replied, "Whoever said that is crazy. Absence stinks!" Semi-true, but man was I happy to see his beautiful face at the airport.