Brown Beginnings: America, America!

We recently finished our 3 week holiday to the States. While there we got the chance to travel and visit with our family & friends. Our time away was split into 4 different trips: Gatlinburg, TN; Athens, GA; Gastonia, NC and of course, Holland, OH.

But first we had the plane journey. Anyone who has ever traveled with an infant will know that the plane trip is perhaps the most arduous part of a holiday. However, we were extremely blessed as Lucy was a complete star! During take-off and landing she laughed and giggled the whole time.

We spent our first week in the Smokey Mountains in a 8+ person cabin with the rest of the King Family. We spent our days relaxing at the cabin, seeing the mountains, shopping at the outlets, the Dixie Stampede, Ripley’s Aquarium and of course in the hot tub!

The road through the Smokies

Cades Cove

Hanging out in the Penguin Enclosure

Daddy & Aunt Sarah being silly

Puleeeaassse let me take one home!

Finding Nemo......

Myke, Lucy & I then traveled on to Athens, GA to stay with our friends, the Klaymans, and visit the Athens Link Fellowship (our sister church). We had a great weekend with Sarah, her Mom Kelly, and Emily Anne (Keenan was unfortunately away for the weekend). Last summer Sarah & her husband Keenan spent 6 weeks in Dunfermline. Sarah was just at the beginning of her pregnancy and I was nearing the end of mine. So it was exciting for Lucy & Emily Anne to come together! We were also blessed to spend time with the Athens Link. A more welcoming and hospitable group people you’re never more likely to meet, unless of course its our own church family here in Dunfermline, lol! We were absolutely blessed by the people of Athens Link and look forward to seeing them again.

The next leg of our journey was particularly sweet for me as we traveled to Gastonia, NC where my friend of 17 years lives with her family. Now if I had no shame I would put up "then and now" photos of Diana and I, but I’ll just leave that to the imagination. Diana and I have walked through a lot of life together and with 5 years having passed since our last visit it was well over due.

Hanging out at Diana's

We completed our last week in Ohio. Traveling back through North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia added nicely to Myke & Lucy number of states visited (we had already done Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee & Georgia). We were able to visit with many family and friends, most of whom were meeting Lucy for the first time.