Winston-Salem

A couple months back I was craving a trip to the west side of the state where there are rolling hills, big shady trees, and small mountains. So you could say that's what I got for my birthday. Monday night we got to go to Winston-Salem so that Nathan could interview there the next day. We had originally planned to only apply here and if he didn't get it, then he would do research here. However, at the last minute (2 weeks ago), he applied to Wake Forest and got invited for an interview for May 19. I was thrilled to be going on a trip. They got him a hotel room with a king bed, so Nathan reserved one adjoining it with 2 double beds for the kids.
We picked Nathan up from work Monday evening and took off for the 3 hour drive. We had a great FHE in the car and made good time.

Madalyn and Kylie were so excited to be in a hotel. I'm surprised they even went to sleep.


Spencer and Alexis. Poor Lexi, she's never been in a hotel and was excited to see what it was like, but fell asleep before we got there.

The kids' room

Eating the free breakfast in the morning-- the best part!

Nathan interviewed from 10-2 and I took the kids on a drive out of the city up towards the mountains. They kept saying they wanted to see a real mountain because they've never seen one before. Suddenly, one popped up!

Pilot Mountain. It was beautiful.

We decided to stop at Pilot Mountain State Park (see, I got to go to a state park afterall!) and suddenly we were driving up a winding road. Spencer kept telling me to be careful because he thought we were going to fall off the edge. At the top there was a beautiful view.




Then we climbed up a rocky trail to another lookout point. The kids loved it.




It was a beautiful place and everyone wants to move there so that we can go whenever we want.
On the way back down the mountain and foothills into town the kids were singing various children's songs and hymns. I wanted to record it, so I held up the camera while I was driving. I love them singing as we drive. I wish they could always be this harmonious (haha. No pun intended. I meant getting along.)

Here is another video of them singing "The Morning Breaks."
I don't know what was up with Lexi's singing. She normally sings on key with the girls. Maybe her ears were plugged from the elevation. I was so into trying to get a good video and drive safely that I ended up getting lost. I'm not sure I'm ready for a big city. :)
The interview went really well. Nathan said he loved the people and it would be a hard choice which to rank first and which to rank second: here or Wake Forest. Wake Forest is more prestigious, but also more patients per fellow. Here it would be less work, but less experience. Match day is June 17, so we'll find out then.

On the way home we stopped at McDonalds for the kids and Thomas got his first cheeseburger. He looked pretty pleased with it. It was a great trip and I'm so glad we all got to go together. It might be our only family trip this summer.