Well, the real highlight was meeting my nephew and seeing my family (in-laws sounds a little weird, doesn't it? so I'll just call them family), but here are a few other things that were notable:
1. I arrived at the airport and since I hadn't checked any bags, I just walked straight out. Thank goodness for technology, because I was able to notify one of my friends in Montreal via Skype that I needed Paul to call his family via Nextel because I didn't know where they were. I was chatting on Skype while trying to find them, and for a while we all got scared that maybe I wasn't at the right airport. So I went up to an officer and asked him, "Am I in Jacksonville?" and he answered, "Yes mam, this is Jacksonville International Airport." After 45 minutes I realized I was at the departure level and needed to go down a flight of stairs to the arrivals! Not one of my proudest moments, but at least I was in the right city!
2. First impressions of Jacksonville = lots of highways, lots of space, everything super beautiful and well-organized. My sister-in-law and her husband live in a really nice suburb. There was also a southern feel to everything, including the architecture. I kept feeling like I was in a novel.
3. Amazing cleaning products! My sister-in-law and her husband have a very 'green' house, and Paul & I also enjoy eco-friendly everything, so it was neat to see she had made her own cleaning products that smelled heavenly and worked so well! She also had a super cool vacuum and mop. I swear I would clean more if I had some of those! Oh and I used them because I helped clean the house before the baptism.
4. Pizza on the grill = delicious! The recipe is actually my husband's (well he found it on the internet, but you know). I helped make the tomato paste and the dough from scratch. Then in the evening when the whole extended family had arrived, we cooked the pizzas on the BBQ. It was so good! The dough tasted even better than usual.
5. A beautiful church and deep conversations about God and religion with my sister-in-law were inspiring and eye-opening. It helped get me in the mood for my nephew's baptism, which was beautiful.
6. Shopping! Right now the Canadian dollar is high and American prices are usually lower anyway, so it was a great time to buy in the States. I got a little carried away at the Dollar Tree store because they have some an amazing section for teachers! I really am excited to be able to decorate my classroom!
All in all, it was a great trip. It was just so good to see family again and to meet my nephew, I don't think words can describe it. Just picture one big happy family I guess. From discussions to helping to watching the Kardashians on TV, everything just felt so comfortable and right. I am so excited to get to spend Christmas with them this year. A year apart was really too long!
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