Day 9: the nicest mall in the US

I had half done this post and I cannot find it anywhere!!!!!!!!
I'll try and remember that far back....
Mark and I went down to brekkie and Aden and Patrick decided to forgo it again, much preferring sleep that filling their bellies!! Why would you care when mum and dad will just buy it for you!!
We decided on a little shopping today... Lol just for something different.
We asked the concierge and she suggested either a mall which was 7 minutes away (not 5 or 10 but 7) or some outlets that was a 30 minute drive! Not wanting to spend 30 minutes with psycho dad driving we Quickly picked the closest Mall!!
Well we got out to the main street and it was ok for a minute , then we hit some traffic and it was slow moving for absolutely ages! This 7 minute car ride took over 50 minutes!! Mark loves traffic delays.........
Finally arrived and It would have to be one of the nicest, prettiest malls I have ever been to. It had gorgeous fountains and lush greenery and lights everywhere as well as a lot of Christmas decorations. It was shaped like a cross and It had four major department stores at the end of each cross with lots of specialty shops in between.
We split up again and decided to meet up for lunch. Where Mark and I decided on a spud with cheese a decision I was regretting when I saw this lady POUR cheese on through a sauce bottle!! Ewwww! Tasted delicious though!
Went to another sports shop!! I personally don't think this family could buy any more Nike, Reebok or any brand for that matter sporting apparel .
I needed a Starbucks (love that lace) and we got our coffee and wifi fix while we waited for Aden and Patrick to come back from buying something! then I desperately needed a nana nap! We decided we were shopped out and wanted to go back to our hotel and have a rest before our trip to Metrolina Christian Academy school.
As it was only 30 minutes away we arranged to leave at 5.15pm so allow plenty of time. I dozed and about 4.45 Mark looked out the window and it was pouring so we thought we'd better go a bit earlier as the rain might slow everything down.
Once we got to the main street, it was ok and then we hit the freeway and I have never seen such a sea of red l brake lights in my life!! It went for miles and miles and we were NOT moving!!!!! We moved 100 metres in 20 minutes and as we had allowed a certain amount of time, that was slowly draining away! Now I'll set the scene.......... Foreign country, pitch black (at 5.30!) 100,000 cars moving at smail's pace, Lachlan's last game starting soon and a GPS that is directing is in the wrong direction!
Mark wasn't dealing well with the situation at all!!!
I literally saw the little car icon tell us to do something and then when we followed its lead, the little car drove in a completely different direction! Mark was screaming at the GPS and vowing to disembowel the hire car company!
To cut a very long and physically draining story short.... We eventually got to the school and there were a million, ok quite a few cars, with attendants directing traffic with the fluro batons. We thought bloody hell! This game is packed, must be very popular here! When we parked, we noticed A baptist church prayer service that the masses were going to! Lol
We raced into the stadium and here was Lachlan sprawled out on the bench with a massive ice pack on his ankle!!!!!! Once I knew he was ok I laughed!! The last 90 minutes in horrendous traffic busting to get to the game and he injured himself in the first 15 seconds!!!!!!
The boys played really well and ended up wining the game quite comfortably.
The older boys played well too, but ended up losing by 40 something. The boys were dropping like flies! Injured players were nursing icepacks everywhere! The toll of the 10 games was beginning to show and Aden mentioned he was ready to suit up should the need arise! Patrick mentioned he would be up for it too!
While we were watching the older boys play, the girls were swarming and pretty soon even Aden and Patrick were surrounded too! They were so friendly and inquisitive about everything Australian. I even had some of the mum's asking me questions and coming over for a chat.
After the game we all went out for dinner and after a few goes at it we finally got in to Applebees restaurant where we had a yummy steak and mashed potatoes with vegetables (only broccoli!) I didn't care I am craving vegetables!! Poor Patrick stuffed up again and ordered a bowl of chips as nothing else appealed to him and out came a bowl of cornchips! Jake did the same thing and rather than say anything that's what they both ate for dinner!!
It was really nice having dinner with the team, Aden & Patrick really enjoyed catching up with the boys and it was good listening to the teachers funny stories.
More photos to follow... Camera is being silly :(
Haven't done a spell check either so disregard any mistakes for the minute!!!!