After staying at Aunt Kiki's for a few weeks we were joined by Daddy. It was time to begin our cross country trip! So.....one morning we packed the rental van, (Well, actually..Daddy packed the rental van...we just dragged ourselves out of bed and into our seats.) said goodbye, and began the drive to Virginia. It took us about 7 hours to get to Baltimore, MD where we dropped off the rental van and repacked all of our stuff into Emma. (our real van) Then we drove the remaining hour to the Clancy's. (my best friend's family) That was the boring part of our stop in Northern VA. From then on it was all fun!
We ate a really good American dinner (Kentucky fried chicken) with the Clancys and explored their new house. (We aren't the only ones moving!) Mariana, Jacinta, and Charlie didn't really remember the Clancys from their visit to BE 2 years before, but it didn't take long for them to make friends with Caitie's brothers, Andrew, Alexander, and Joey. Meanwhile, Caitie and I were catching up on the last year. (I had visited my Northern VA friends the previous September) She showed me her new bedroom, I exclaimed at how big her bunny was getting, and we just talked..and talked..and talked...
I was going to stay for 2 nights at her house while my family stayed at some other friends of ours, the
Beatty's. So we went out to Emma to try to get my duffel bag out of the trunk. I solemnly swear that I will never ever ever try to get something out of the fully packed trunk again.........well..no..I probably will...but I won't open the trunk. We made the fatal mistake of opening the trunk. Did I mention that Caitie's driveway is on a very steep slant? Or that when Daddy packs the van it is like a jigsaw puzzle each bag is in the perfect position so that there is enough room for everything but only if placed just so? Well, picture this: Two girls opening the trunk of a van that is completely full to the roof with suitcases, boxes, dufflebags, etc on a very steep driveway, two girls desperately trying to hold back the avalanche that comes pouring down on top of them, one of the girls imagining her father's imminent rage at seeing his masterpiece of a packed van in a large pile on the driveway..Not pretty. : O
After extracting ourselves from the pile of bags we tried to put it all back the way we thought it had been before but to no avail. It was hopeless. Despite the desperate situation we were both giggling helplessly. No, it wasn't exactly funny..just comical. After trying for ages to fit the pieces of the puzzle back together and failing miserably I got up the courage to go and approach my father. Well...................let's just say he wasn't exactly thrilled. Caitie and I, sensing a smoldering volcano about to erupt, grabbed my bags and scooted for the house and the refuge of her bedroom where we collapsed once again in giggles. Mercifully, my parents soon left and we didn't have to witness the volcano erupting, though the occupants of the car on the way to the Beatty's might have. We went to sleep pretty soon after.
The next day we decided that it was too cold to go swimming in the Clancy's pool, (Yes, they have a pool in their backyard..How cool is that?!) so we spent the day keeping the boys occupied and rescuing a baby bird that had falled out of a tree in their front yard. That evening we went to the Beatty's for a 'Welcome Back!' party. My family was there already (obviously) and we a great time talking and meeting old friends, some of whom we hadn't seen in years. While there I saw
Maddie, Andrew, Jack, and the rest of their family. It was a lot of fun. That night I went back to the Clancy's where Caitie and I talked far into the night.
The following day we went swimming in the Clancy's pool and had lunch before it was time to leave for Richmond. Then we said our goodbyes and headed off to the southern part of Virginia
My family during their stay at the Beatty's. Back row (left to right): Mrs. Beatty, Bridget, Valya, Nastia, Nora, Lucy, Andrew, Jack, and my mom Front row (L to R): David, Charlie, Jacinta, Mariana, and Ben
Me during my stay at the Clancy's. Back row (L-R): Aunt Heidi (a.k.a. Mrs. Clancy), Caitie, Caitie's Grandmother, Me, and Caitie's Grandfather, In front: Andrew, Alexander, Very front: Joey
Me and Caitie (I would say Caitie and I, but I'm on the left.)
Caitie's bunny: Basil
Me and the Clancy kids messing around with the camera (in case you can't tell we were pretending to be shielding our eyes from the mysterious blinding flash of light)
This picture was taken before a throw-in. I know that I look like I'm actually throwing the ball, but I'm really just backing up.
Hmm...I look like I'm about to fall over, but I promise that I didn't.
And..this one is pretty far away..and my jersey makes me look rather large.... 
