What makes NC awesome? Basketball, BBQ pork, Hushpuppies, airplanes, beaches, oh. . . and the Hatches.

Liesel digging for her Carolina roots. 

There was this one time in college when I was sitting in my room listening to a CD Erin Barr made me, wistfully singing "I'm go'n to Carolina in my mind ." The fact that I was actually seriously missing Carolina and feeling a little homesick didn't deter Jo and Fern (my roommates) from openly mocking my ballad.  At the time I was totally offended, but now it cracks me up every time I think about coming out of my locked basement room and seeing them laughing hysterically and singing "I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind!!" 

The thing is, I still sometimes get a little weepy when I think about how far I live from my family so Brian and I agreed that it was high time I made the trip out there. It was totally worth the 4 am wake up, 6 hour drive followed by the 7 hour flight and 3 hr layover and arriving at 2am (repeat process for return). It was a typical Hatch reunion filled with lots of sports, food, games, constant talking, sleep deprivation and singing. 

I played Alex Trebeck and made/hosted a Jeopardy! game for the family. I went a little too all out with the whole thing on Powerpoint hooked up to the TV, signaling flags and prizes. You know the Hatches if you can answer: "This will not be the source of contention in the home." . . (What is milk? is the correct answer). 

Despite living in paradise, I find myself sometimes craving the stiffling humidity of the south, jumping off diving boards at an outdoor pool, green grass, thick trees and having my mom cook the most divine meals that will have you consuming more fiber in one meal than you would in an entire week. 

We've actually had people stop and ask if there's a 5K going on when we run down the street. 

We managed to get the whole family out to Duke Chapel where Liesel listened to 5 minutes of Catholic mass and wondered why the statue in the fountain wasn't wearing clothes. 

Despite our lack of athletic prowess, us Hatches insist on playing sports. We packed in a few games of ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, basketball, swimming, running and knockout. And we got to meet Hunter (the boy in the photo) who Catherine is dating. . . 

My mom is smiling here, but I should have posted the photo of her asleep holding infant number three. After two days of three infants in one house we were all feeling a little sleep deprived. 

Allyson and Spencer helping with the hoggies. This tradition of ridiculously large sandwiches has even inspired an original song. 

The only thing my two weeks in NC was lacking was friend time. I flew out a week early specifically hoping to see a lot of Racheal (who was sick ) and Erin (who was in town only during the craziest part of the reunion). Now it's back to just visiting Carolina in my mind, but at least I spare Brian the ballads.