We headed up to Kingsport, TN this weekend to meet Nannie and to celebrate Gran Jan's 60th birthday. First car trip with Leighton... success! We were pleasantly surprised how easy it turned out to be. The usual 6 hour car ride was about 8 hours total with L, but she barely made a peep the entire trip. We couldn't have asked for anything more from her. When we arrived, we were inundated with family who hadn't seen her in awhile and couldn't wait to get their hands on her.
Love my Great Aunt Kathy and Uncle John
And I've missed Gran Jan so much!
On Saturday morning, we went to Dobyns-Bennett High School (where Kent and Jan went to school) for "Kellan's Princess Prance." Kellan is the granddaughter of the Stairs' family friend who was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year and is currently in remission. The Princess Prance was a 5k walk/run in celebration of Kellan's 5th birthday and to raise awareness about childhood cancer. Hannah and I opted to run (well, we weren't in shape enough to run the whole thing so we "interval trained") while the rest of the family enjoyed a chilly morning walk.
Then, off to go meet Nannie! It was so special for Leighton to get to meet her great grandmother and Nannie was beside herself in love with Leighton the minute she saw her.
Four generations
So happy to meet my Nannie
On Sunday, we gathered at Chop House for Jan's (surprise) 60th birthday lunch with family and friends. What Jan didn't know was that 12 of her dearest friends had made the trip Sunday morning from Atlanta to Kingsport to surprise her. She had absolutely NO idea and was so surprised that she started crying after she realized what was happening! And, of course, her friends loved meeting Leighton and everyone took turns holding her, which was a nice break for me!
And the weekend didn't end there. Kent also planned for Jan and her friends to spend a relaxing two days at The Martha Washington Inn, a gorgeous inn in Abingdon, VA (a short 30 min drive from Kingsport). Hannah took the day off work and she, L, and I joined the girls for a one night stay there before heading back to SC. It was fabulous and Jan was truly surprised. She is blessed with an incredible group of girlfriends and I hope when I'm her age, I am surrounded by the same overwhelming love and support from such amazing friends.
